OPINION: When Did I Become A Western Separatist?

Tensions were high. I was glued to my television to see if we would be deployed. All of my gear was at the Regiment in my locker, packed and ready to rock. My bug out bag was available and stowed by my condo door. If a notice to move order came, all I had to do was grab it, drive to the Regiment, get orders, and draw my weapon. A month earlier, leave was canceled, everyone was told to stay within a 30-minute drive of the base. The date was October 30th, 1995, Quebec was voting on a separation referendum.

I was a loyal soldier, direct, professional, demanding of myself, and I took soldiering very seriously. Some called me hardcore. I was a Canadian patriot in 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade based in Edmonton, Alberta. As a Combat Engineer, we are at the pointy end of the sword, shoulder to shoulder with the infantry, and I could not believe these French SOB’s were about to break up our country. A country I swore allegiance too. A land I swore to protect with my life. A country I had a deep passion for and was proud to be a part of.

Where did things change?

Why did I transition from a hardcore loyal Canadian soldier to an Alberta Separatist?

I did my first video on the Alberta To The Point Social Media platform in December 2018. At the time, I was still a loyal Canadian who believed that by telling the truth about pipelines, oil, and gas, I could make a difference. We educated some people and swayed a few opinions about the five oil-producing provinces and one territory in Canada.

I will be honest and tell you that I did not know what equalization was at the time. Before December 2018, like many Western Canadians, I was too busy working 12- 16-hour days to have the time even to watch the news, let alone talk about politics. There is a perception in eastern Canada that Western Oil workers are all rich and piss their money away. I will admit I have drunk my fair share, but I earned every dime working 12- 16 hour days for 21 days on only 4 off. Day, night, holidays, birthdays, and anniversary’s, it doesn’t matter. The oilfield is a 24/7 operation. We work in minus 40C, snow, sleet, rain, and mud. We work dam hard for our money and earn it every day.

It angered me when I started to educate myself on how the equalization program worked. How tilted it was from the west to the east. But what angered me most was when I realized that Steven Harper wrote the current equalization formula. The same Harper who signed the firewall letter. The same Harper from Calgary, Alberta the epicentre of Canada’s oil and gas industry. Harper, aided by Kenney, O’Toole, and Mackay, gave us the equalization program. Mulroney, another conservative, gave us the hated GST. Trudeau gifted us the Carbon Tax and the anti-oil movement. When push came to shove, Steven Harper’s minority government had to pander to the golden triangle of Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa to get a majority government, which he did in 2011. Harper thought he could manage the east-west divide. He did for many years. Alberta Oil and Gas was doing very well under a Harper government.

Eastern Canadians wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Trudeau campaigned on an anti-western, anti-oil platform and won. His first day in office, he canceled two pipelines. One east and one west. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a conservative or a liberal government. The west will never get the opportunity we pay for.

With long time Conservative MP, Mr. Jay Hill taking over at WEXIT Westerners have an alternative. Mr. Hills, 17 years of experience as an MP under Preston Manning and Steven Harper, gives the federally registered political party Wexit instant creditability, providing an alternative to frustrated western conservatives who do not like either of the four candidates in the CPC leadership race. “I have been watching with great dismay the developments on the federal government scene, and I’m very concerned about the direction the country is going in,” said Hill. “I came to realize that it will not matter to Western Canada who wins the Conservative leadership race and who forms the next government … because in the end, governments have to cater to the golden triangle of Toronto-Montreal-Ottawa, and the West will never get a fair deal,” added Hill. Albertans, Westerners, Metis, and First Nations are free people, it is our choice to democratically do as we please within the rule of law, and the rule of law states that we have the option to form our own country. First Nations and Metis are losing billions of dollars in oil and gas land royalty’s due to eastern government policies.

Canada continues to import billions of dollars of blood oil while the west partnered with First Nations and Metis produces oil with the highest environmental standards, the highest human rights standards, and labor standards in the world. We tried the west wants in approach and failed. Now the west wants out.

People will say let’s work together and get rid of Trudeau, and then everything will be ok. No matter who wins the CPC leadership race, they have to cater to the vote-rich regions of the golden triangle, Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal, to win the government. The west will never vote liberal, and we are stuck voting for whoever the closest thing to a conservative is. The only difference between Harper and Trudeau is that Harper was smart enough to keep Albertans working. In contrast, Trudeau has pursued a systematic shut down of the five oil-producing provinces and one territory.

Canada is pushing us out, and the only way to preserve old stock Canadian values is to form a new country based upon the geographical region of western Canada. Jason Kenney is looking down the barrel of a leadership review but continues to force his federalism beliefs on Albertans. There is nothing in the constitution, bill of human rights, or charter that says we have to provide unilateral loyalty without question to Kenney’s federalism.

Western Canadians of all ethnic origins are free people, and it is our right to choose and our choice only. Consecutive governments in Canada have allowed this tragedy to occur by pandering to minority groups, special interest groups, and environmental influences. This type of governance, with the sole purpose of regional voting, has destroyed work ethic, discouraged innovation, and handcuffed the talent of our citizens by creating a tilted east-west playing field, robbing us of global opportunities.

This is not the same Canada that I swore with my life to protect. Canada is dying a slow death. My name is Ambrose Ralph, I am a Western Patriot, and my vote will be going to Wexit.