Develop natural resources to unify Canada: Frank McKenna, Gary Mar on Canada's unity crisis
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Two of Canada's most prominent business and former political leaders are urging the next government to make national unity a top priority.
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Former New Brunswick premier and ambassador to the U.S. Frank McKenna championed the nation-building Energy East pipeline. Gary Mar, formerly Alberta's intergovernmental relations minister and representative in Washington, now president of the Canada West Foundation.
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Both joined columnist Tasha Kheiriddin on Thursday for a live discussion about national unity and the federal election. Watch the full video above.
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McKenna suggested to National Post that Mark Carney, if elected, should spend a lot of time out west to heal the wounds of division.
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However, McKenna pointed to a long history of high-level representation from Alberta in particular: 'Alberta has enjoyed a lot of respect at the national level,' he said.
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Still, McKenna firmly acknowledged that sensitivity to western concerns continue: 'I hope and pray that when (the election) is all over that the pain points, the points of stress will be worked out. That we will have national leaders, the premiers included, that will work on assuaging some of these issues.'
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Mar noted a shift in national politics has given rise to the present sense of western alienation. Past prime ministers, such as Brian Mulroney, Jean Chretien and Stephen Harper 'had national visions' leading to 'legitimacy as a national government, because you represented the whole country,' he said. This resulted in inevitable, but acceptable compromises.
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Today, he said leadership is more equivalent to 'followership,' and 'vote maximization for the sake of power' — pushing politics to where the majority sits — in central Canada.
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