Canada’s Oil Capital Gets Its Own Separatists

It’s not just the Quebecois who sometimes imagine themselves breaking away from Canada. Ever since Liberal Justin Trudeau was reelected as Canada’s prime minister in October, a small but vocal group in the oil-rich province of Alberta has worked to rally support for seceding from the country. The separatists complain that climate crusader Trudeau is working to cripple the oil industry, and that the province sends too much in taxes to Ottawa and gets too little in return.

The so-called Wexit movement, named for Alberta’s location in western Canada and inspired by the U.K.’s separation from the European Union, was on display at a November rally in Calgary, where most of Canada’s energy companies are based. The event drew about 1,700 people, some wearing hats emblazoned with “Make Alberta Great Again” and “WEXIT” in all caps. Speakers, including the movement’s co-founder Peter Downing, spoke directly to Albertans’ frustrations, painting a picture of an independent Alberta flush with cash, freed of the burden of federal taxes, and driven by a booming oil industry no longer restrained by regulations imposed by eastern elites.