Western alienation is the perception of westerners that Central Canada is treated more favourably by the
federal government. Not a new development, sentiments of regional
subordination surfaced soon after the federal government began
settling the West in the 1870s and have accompanied the
development of Canada as a nation.
A National Policy The original plan for "nation-building" was
first introduced by the Conservative government of John A. Macdonald in
1879. Aimed at widening the base of the economy and infusing
confidence into Canada's development, Macdonald's National Policy
was largely a measure of protection for Canadian manufactures (at
the time, overwhelmingly located in Ontario and Quebec), with a protective tariff
and beneficial lowered custom duties.
The scope of the National Policy soon broadened and with the aim of
linking Canada both geographically and economically it came to
include two additional parts: the completion of a transcontinental
railway and the settlement of the
prairies. If the West could be populated with
settlers, American expansion into the territory could be avoided
and there would be an increased market for the manufactured goods
coming out of the East. Also, natural resources from the West
would provide raw materials for this eastern production as well as
exports to world markets. The railway would
bring settlers to the land and move raw materials and manufactured
goods back and forth across the country.
Prior to World War II, the
National Policy was the most
contentious issue provoking Western regional discontent. Many
Westerners viewed the benefits of the tariff as more advantageous
to eastern industry than it was to western producers. They
believed that they were compensating eastern manufactures by paying
higher prices for imports. It was felt the policy protected
manufacturers from foreign competition while farmers where left to
fend for themselves on the world market. Also, until the Crow Rate
was signed between the Canadian Pacific Railway and the federal
government in 1897 to subsidize prairie grain shipments, Westerners
paid much higher costs to ship their raw materials east than it
cost manufacturers to send goods west. This was partially because there was a more developed and competitive
transportation network in the East.
Agricultural Discontent
During the difficult years of the Great Depression, Westerners harshly
criticized the federal government for not
doing enough to assist farmers. Generally, however, it was
protection from the boom and bust cycles of the manufacturing and
financial sectors of Central Canada that Westerners most wanted
from their government. Not achieving much of the security they
desired, western
Canadians began the tradition of forming political
protest parties. The United Farmers of Alberta entered the
political arena to try to better the plight of Alberta farmers and
the Cooperative Commonwealth
Federation, the Progressive Party,
the Social Credit
Party and the New Democrats were all born out
of the West's development and frustration.
![natural resources](javascript:DynaPop('Federal Control of Natural Resources, 1905 ','images/glenbow/alienation5_det.jpg','
Cartoon From Calgary Eye Opener. When the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were formed, westerners were angry that Ottawa retained control of the Natural resources. Prime Minister, Wilfrid Laurier is featured in the centre. The accordian player is singing a song that goes "Albertans - Ever - Ever - Ever Shall Be Slaves." ',2,2))
)
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