Sask. shows signs of post-election western alienation, but many seem willing to give Carney a chance

CBC

01-05-2025

With the federal election a few days behind us, western alienation is already creeping into the political discussion in Saskatchewan.
Premier Scott Moe posted a video on social media Tuesday vowing to work with Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal Liberals, but the post garnered backlash and calls for western separation from some Saskatchewan people.
CBC talked to people on the streets of Saskatoon on Wednesday to see if these sentiments were shared by all. Some people agreed that the Prairies have been undervalued.
"Alberta's got a lot of oil and Saskatchewan's got a lot of wheat and agriculture. Those are critical to the country both domestically and internationally," Rob Soze said. "It seems like those provinces are kind of forgotten about in the grand scheme of things."
But most of the people CBC spoke to seemed more willing to give the new Liberal government a chance.
"We have a different Liberal government with different leadership who is kind of solid, and he's standing up to Trump," Dave Boykochukski said. "I think that's what Canada wants right now."
WATCH | Do Sask. voters feel alienated from Eastern Canada after the federal election?:
Do Sask. voters feel alienated from Eastern Canada after the federal election?
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Duration 2:25
Do farmers feel valued nationally?
Jeremy Welter, who farms canola in west-central Saskatchewan, agreed that the Liberal government seems to cater more to eastern provinces.
"There were some things that happened where people out west were to a greater or lesser extent overlooked, and I think agriculture is certainly one of the biggest ones," Welter said.
Welter is among many farmers hit hard by canola tariffs. He said it feels like the federal government may be putting more effort into fighting for the auto industry than the agriculture industry.
Despite what he may have seen in the past, Welter said he's cautiously optimistic the Carney government is negotiating these tariffs behind closed doors. He just hopes more of an emphasis is placed on the importance of Prairie exports.
"We don't have a national plan for our export commodities," Welter said.
"Regardless of if we're talking about canola or wheat or steel, if we don't have a plan to get our commodities out to the market and out to the rest of the world, the value of us producing them very quickly evaporates."
Welter went on to say that, financially and socially, separating the west from the rest of Canada would do more harm than good.
As the discourse around separation continues in Alberta and Saskatchewan, it's not clear whether some people are simply looking for a place to vent their frustrations or actually seeking real change.
Loleen Berdahl, a professor of political studies at the University of Saskatchewan, said that while the separatist movement has always existed in Western Canada, it has ramped up in recent years.
Berdahl said that's partly due to rhetoric from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and a lack of Saskatchewan voices in the governing federal party.
"The lack of strong provincial and regional voices in the federal cabinet in federal policymaking can be an issue," Berdahl said. "In the last Trudeau liberal government there was no representation from Saskatchewan, because all the MPs were Conservative."