The Western Canada Concept was a Western Canadian political party founded in 1980 to promote the separation of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia and the Yukon and Northwest Territories from Canada in order to create a new nation. Western Canada is a geographic region of Canada, also known as simply the West, generally considered to be west of the province of Ontario. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Latin: Glorious and free) Official languages English and French, per mandate of the Constitution Act 1982 Flower Prairie Crocus Tree White Spruce Bird Great Grey Owl Capital Winnipeg Largest city Winnipeg Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard Premier Gary Doer (NDP) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 14... Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires (Latin: From many peoples, strength) Official languages English Flower Western Red Lily Tree Paper Birch Bird Sharp-tailed Grouse Capital Regina Largest city Saskatoon Lieutenant-Governor Gordon Barnhart Premier Lorne Calvert (NDP) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 14 6 Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of... Motto: Fortis et liber (Latin: Strong and free) Official languages English (see below) Flower   Wild rose Tree Lodgepole Pine Bird Great Horned Owl Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong Premier Ralph Klein (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 28 6 Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of total... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Official languages English de facto (none stated in law) Flower Pacific dogwood Tree Western Redcedar Bird Stellers Jay Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 36 6 Area... Motto: none Official languages English, French Flower Fireweed Tree Subalpine Fir Bird Common Raven Capital Whitehorse Largest city Whitehorse Commissioner Geraldine Van Bibber Premier Dennis Fentie (Yukon Party) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 1 1 Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of total)  Ranked 9th 482,443 km² 474,391 km... Motto: none Official languages Dene Suline, Cree, Dogrib, English, French, Gwich’in, Inuktitut, Slavey Flower Mountain avens Tree Tamarack Bird Gyr Falcon Capital Yellowknife Largest city Yellowknife Commissioner Tony Whitford Premier Joe Handley (Consensus government (no party affiliations)) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 1 1 Area Total  - Land  - Water...

The party's concerns centred on the perception that Western Canada could not receive fair treatment while the interests of Quebec and Ontario dominated Canadian politics. The party gained popularity in Alberta when western alienation was at its height following the federal Liberal government announcement of the National Energy Program in October 1980. This policy aimed to ensure low energy costs for Canadian industry and consumers, a policy that would not benefit Alberta, Canada's major producer of oil and gas. Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English Flower White Trillium Tree Eastern White Pine Bird Common Loon Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 106 24 Area Total... Western Canada, defined politically Political map of Canada Western Alienation refers to the concept in Canadian politics of the Western provinces, namely British Columbia (B.C.), Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, being alienated, and in extreme cases excluded, from mainstream political affairs within the greater Canadian system, in favour of especially... The Liberal Party of Canada (French: ), colloquially known as the Grits (originally Clear Grits), is a Canadian federal political party positioned at the centre of the political spectrum, combining a progressive social policy with moderate economics. ... The National Energy Program (NEP) was an energy policy of the Government of Canada. ...

A member of the party, Gordon Kesler, was elected to the Alberta legislature in a 1982 provincial by-election in Olds-Didsbury riding that drew national attention. The best showing for the party in a general election was later the same year in Alberta, where they took 11.8 per cent of the vote, but did not elect any MLAs (Kesler lost his seat). Gordon Kesler was a politician from Alberta, Canada. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Olds-Didsbury was a provincial electoral district in central southern Alberta, Canada. ...

Kesler became leader of the Alberta WCC with his election to the legislature. In 1984, he was replaced by Jack Ramsay, later a federal Reform MP. Some of the more doctrinaire figures in the party opposed Ramsay's leadership, claiming that the he was not genuinely committed to western independence. 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... F.J. Jack Ramsay Born August 23, 1937 in Biggar, Saskatchewan, is a former Reform Party member of the Canadian House of Commons Ramsay is better known for his personal problems rather than any kind of parliamentary flair. ... The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party founded in 1987. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ...

The Saskatchewan branch of the party attracted two sitting Members of the Legislative Assembly who represented the party for a few months in 1986 before being kicked out of the party. The Western Canada Concept Party of Saskatchewan was a provincial political party that was the Saskatchewan, Canada branch of the Western Canada Concept, a federal political party that advocated the separation of the four western provinces of Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) to form a new country. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1987, a group of Alberta members who were dissatisfied with the party's leadership and direction left the party to establish the Western Independence Party. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Western Canada Independence Party. ...

The most prominent leader of the party was Doug Christie, a British Columbia lawyer best known for having represented neo-Nazis James Keegstra, Ernst Zündel and Wolfgang Droege. To distance itself from this, the national party expelled Christie from the leadership in 1981 and subsequently denied him a membership in the party's Alberta branch. He later became leader of British Columbia's provincial WCC and ran for the party at the national and provincial levels several times. Christie continues to run an organization with the "Western Canada Concept" name, but it is no longer a registered political party. In 2005, he announced the creation of the Western Block Party which would be a western version of the Bloc Québécois. Douglas (Doug) Hewson Christie, Jr. ... The terms Neo-Nazism and Neo-Fascism refer to any social or political movement to revive Nazism or Fascism, respectively, and postdates the Second World War. ... James Jim Keegstra is a far-right Canadian political figure, and former public school teacher. ... Zündel leaving prison (1985) Ernst Christof Friedrich Zündel (born April 24, 1939 in Bad Wildbad) is a German Holocaust denier and pamphleteer who was jailed several times for publishing hate literature. ... Front page of the Toronto Sun, April 14, 2005. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Western Block Party is a political party in Canada founded in 2005 by Doug Christie. ... The Bloc Québécois is a centre-left federal political party in Canada that is devoted to the promotion of sovereignty for Quebec. ...

Party program

1. Independence for Western Canada, chosen by the people of each of the four Western provinces and northern territories in a referendum.
2. A citizen's constitutionally established right of reasonably accessible referendum, initiative and recall.
3. Protection for the sanctity and safety of human life, property and security of the person and their fundamental freedoms.
4. An end to immigration to preserve our environment, culture and stability.
5. Equal rights for all, with no special status for any race, or ethnic origin.
6. Preservation of our Christian culture and European heritage.
7. A two-house legislature, one elected by population the other by region, both with original legislative jurisdiction and both required to approve before a law was enacted.
8. One official language of Western Canada.
9. The establishment of a balanced budget by law under the constitution so no future debts can be incurred by government.

See also

• List of political parties in Canada
• Secessionist movements of Canada
• Western Canada Concept Party of British Columbia
• Western Canada Concept Party of Manitoba
• Western Canada Concept Party of Saskatchewan

This article lists political parties in Canada. ... Throughout the history of Canada, there have been movements seeking secession from Canada. ... The Western Canada Concept Party of BC was a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. ... The Western Canada Concept was a Canadian political party. ... The Western Canada Concept Party of Saskatchewan was a provincial political party that was the Saskatchewan, Canada branch of the Western Canada Concept, a federal political party that advocated the separation of the four western provinces of Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) to form a new country. ...

External links

• Western Canada Concept