Saskatchewan separatists promise independence would bring prosperity

Some Saskatchewanians who feel neglected by Ottawa are banding together to advocate for the province to become independent, said the separatist group known as the Saskatchewan Prosperity Project.

In an effort to spread that message, the group’s president is hosting town halls province-wide. More than 40 have been completed, president Brad Williams estimated. He described the project as desiring independence to ensure fair representation.

“Those who tell you that we’re trying to tear the country apart and we’re traitors — tell them to go suck an egg,” Williams told a town hall audience in Moose Jaw in late May.

“Because no, we’re actually patriotic.”

One of the main grievances bringing the separatists together is perceived overreach by the federal government. Many members have also voiced fears of culture or freedoms being under attack, while others have criticisms about taxation and natural resource extraction, he said.

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The project’s board is comprised of eight people, and its Facebook group has 10,000 members. Many supporters aren’t even online, according to the project’s president.

Williams said some members are interested in unifying with Alberta, should voters in that province choose to separate. Unifying the two provinces as a single nation would also be popular among Alberta independence supporters, according to Williams.

“When you start looking at all the values, and the culture, and the resources, (you will find) that we all would benefit from being our own country,” Williams told Global News.

Ken Coates, a political analyst and professor emeritus from the University of Saskatchewan, says he is taking the movement “very seriously.”

“This is not a new thing at all. It’s a very old thing, but this one is quite different because it actually is very much stronger and is much angrier,” Coates said.

“I think what’s going on right now in Saskatchewan and Alberta is a frustration and anger with Confederation, the likes of which we haven’t seen before.”

Provincial leaders say progress is happening

The group’s concerns about Ottawa overstepping are not unfounded, but are being addressed since the Trudeau government was replaced by the Carney government, said Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.

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“It’s not perfect. I won’t agree with everything Prime Minister Mark Carney puts forward, but at least you’re being heard,” Moe said.

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The premier said the Saskatchewan Prosperity Project is shortsighted and failing to consider the benefits of being in Canada. He pointed to the country’s membership in the G7 and inter-provincial collaboration as examples.

“We live in a very good place. We have differences. We need to continue to respect those differences, but also then, move forward where we can,” Moe said.

“The work is beginning, and it is starting to show some results.”

Carla Beck, leader of the Saskatchewan NDP and Official Opposition, said it would be “a tragedy” to waste recent progress in interprovincial cooperation in favour of allowing political division to take hold.

She said some of the grievances held by members of the Saskatchewan Prosperity Project are shared by federalists like herself.

“But this is a time when I can also have more optimism than I’ve had in a very long time that some of those grievances could be resolved,” she elaborated.

2:05 Saskatchewan professor calls separatism illegal

What comes next?

Albertans will vote on Oct. 19 whether they want to stay in Canada or begin a process to undertake a second referendum. That second vote would be binding and pave the way for separation from Canada.

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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said she hopes “it doesn’t come to that.”

First Nations in Alberta have expressed anger with separatist sentiments, with the grand chief of Treaty 8 threatening to get in the way of industry, if necessary, in that province.

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Treaty 8 Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi has said talks regarding Alberta’s separation cannot happen without consultation with First Nations, as treaties were struck between First Nations and the federal Crown — not individual provinces.

Smith has maintained the referendum vote does not trigger her province’s duty to consult First Nations. Her comments come after a recent Alberta court decision quashed a petition in favour of separation, saying the provincial government failed to consult with First Nations.

There are six numbered treaties covering the province of Saskatchewan, which were struck with the federal government between 1871 and 1906. First Nations groups in Alberta and Saskatchewan have also been vocal, saying separatism encroaches on their treaty rights.

Williams says he has spoken with some of Saskatchewan’s Indigenous leaders.

“We don’t want to change any treaties. That has nothing to do with the people that are coming to these meetings. What we want to do is change our agreement that we have as non-First Nations people with Ottawa,” he said.

Story continues below advertisement 1:47 Treaty 8 chiefs vow to stop Alberta separation referendum

Separation sentiments were a central theme during the Western Premiers Meeting in Kananaskis, Alta., last month, as tensions rose between leaders, as well as in some communities with resource-dependent economies, Moe said.

“At the very heart of the issue is that we do need a commitment. Not just by the federal government, but a serious conversation by all Canadians that wherever we live in this nation, we’re going to be able to develop our resources,” the premier said.

“We’re going to get them to the world in a safe manner, in a consulted manner.”

Calls for separation have also been heard from some northern B.C. and Yukon residents.

–with files from The Canadian Press

1:40 Western premiers tout benefits of united Canada amidst Alberta separation talk