Jared Wesley: Alberta Should Lead Canada, Not Leave It

Political scientist argues separatism mistakes the difficulty of Canadian federalism for evidence that the country is broken.

Canada is difficult to govern, but that does not mean it is broken, says University of Alberta political scientist Jared Wesley.

Wesley argues that Alberta separatists misunderstand the basic nature of Canadian federalism by searching for a simple, permanent solution to the province’s grievances. Canada has always been a shifting system of negotiation, compromise and trade-offs, he told Energi Media.

“Canada is difficult, but that doesn’t mean it’s broken,” Wesley said. “The status quo is always shifting.”

His alternative to separatism is a renewal of the institutions and political norms that historically allowed governments to manage conflict inside Confederation. That includes regular First Ministers Conferences, jointly defined agendas and stronger machinery for intergovernmental relations.

Wesley also wants governments to revive and expand the Social Union Framework Agreement, or SUFA, negotiated in 1999 after the Quebec referendum. The agreement placed limits around new federal programs in areas of provincial jurisdiction and provided mechanisms for provinces with comparable programs to receive compensation.

He argues that many of the reforms now demanded by Alberta can be pursued through political agreements rather than reopening the Constitution.

The larger problem, Wesley said, is a separatist vision of politics that assumes Alberta could avoid compromise by leaving Canada. Independence itself would require difficult negotiations, while any democratic system contains competing interests, minority rights and institutional checks on power.

Wesley connects that thinking to a broader far-right populist movement that includes Donald Trump in the United States. Populists, he argues, often portray constitutional rules and institutions as barriers preventing political majorities from getting what they want.

He also acknowledges that western grievances intensified under Justin Trudeau. Wesley said many Albertans objected not only to federal policies, but to the way they were developed — particularly the lack of regular multilateral engagement with premiers.

The Carney government has begun changing that approach, he said, but rebuilding trust requires more durable rules so Albertans know relations will not simply revert under a future government.

Wesley sees an opportunity for Alberta’s political parties, including Naheed Nenshi’s NDP, to develop a serious intergovernmental strategy. Alberta could use its influence to modernize Confederation, rebuild federal-provincial institutions and push reforms benefiting other provinces as well.

That would represent a different model of Alberta politics: less brinkmanship and “diplomacy by megaphone,” and more of the national leadership associated with former premier Peter Lougheed.

For Wesley, the choice is not between accepting Canada as it is and abandoning it. The harder option is also the more productive one: change the federation from within.