One gets the frustrations — political and otherwise — that Westerners feel right now.
Were the downturn in the oil sector couple with the dismal fall harvest trying enough, most out here must contend with a Liberal government in Ottawa that has offered little to suggest that it has understood the depth of our problems.
But before we work ourselves into a further lather the way Premier Scott Moe and others have — some of whom are raising the spectre of Western separation — let’s explore a couple election realities.
First, it is a minority government, which is much better than a majority.
Sure, there’s still much to fear about alliances with the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh that opposes pipeline development.
But for a Liberal minority government that lost prairie seats on the pipeline issue — including that of long-time party stalwart Ralph Goodale in Regina-Wascana — does it make any sense to become any more aligned with the environmentalist Greens or NDP?
Do Liberals also not need to take serious stalk of the national political landscape, too?
Given that the federal Finance Minister Bill Moreau was already talking the morning after the election about TransMountain going forward, it appears some in this Liberal government are already taking stock. It takes time and patience.
And given that other Conservative Premiers like New Brunswick’s Blaine Higgs and even Ontario’s Doug Ford offered somewhat conciliatory tones after the most acrimonious federal election, it does seem as if others are seeking a productive way in moving forward.
It is too bad Moe wasn’t taking the same approach.
The ballots had barely been counted when issued a thunderous salvo aimed at Trudeau, demanding the newly minted minority Liberal government withdraw its carbon tax and implement a new equalization deal.
But it was the tone of Moe’s missive as much as it was demands that was the problem. Moe was loud and angry. Maybe that appeals to many and wins the arguments in a bar. But it doesn’t change much after a vote.
Again, one gets the latter.
And one supposes now is the time to make the case.
However, the most effective to make a case is a matter of “how” and “when”. And Moe raging about on about how the Prairies are frustrated and angry — while perhaps accurate — is hardly an effective strategy.
The timing problem is that Moe chose a time when voters are tired and fed up with what they have been hearing for the past 40 days. If anything, Eastern voters are looking for justifications for the way they voted. Moe may have provided that for angry Westerners who voted Conservative like he did. But he also likely provided fodder for similarly frustrated easterners who may be tired about hearing about Western oil concerns when they have issues of their own.
Sure, Trudeau’s 2015 airy-fairy “sunny ways” haven’t exactly accomplished much beyond the legalization of marijuana. The Jody Wilson-Raybould/SNC-Lavalin affair clearly tarnished his reputation. So did consecutive deficit budgets.
But the point is, we just had 40 days to settle such matter and we, as a nation, chose a minority government.
Two-thirds of the nation didn’t vote for the Liberals, but two-thirds of the nation didn’t vote Conservative, either. And if we are to be a sea-to-sea country, we have to respect those in other parts of this country that might have a different view.
Regardless of the overwhelming voters for Conservatives here, it’s tough to argue that it really demonstrated it was any more of a national party than the Liberals. After all, the Conservatives got more votes in Alberta than they did in the Atlantic provinces and Quebec combined.
Really is there much to be gained by fanning the flames of Western alienation and even talk of separation the day after an election.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 22 years.
