A group of people supporting the so-called Wexit movement held a meeting in Edmonton Saturday.
Hundreds of supporters met at the Boot Scootin’ Boogie Dance DanceHall in the northwest end of the city to discuss the separation of the west.
“A meeting like this is bringing awareness to the rest of Canada: we’re sick and tired of being the welfare province,” said Patrick King, a supporter of the separation.
“We want to basically get our products to market, we want to be able to get our oil and gas industry back up and moving again.”
The Wexit Alberta Facebook page currently has about 30,000 members, while the VoteWexit.com Facebook page, which aims to encompass all of the western provinces, has 262,000.
Peter Downing, the founder of Wexit Canada and Wexit Alberta, has also released a letter directed at Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.
“We are calling on you to legislate a referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada,” the letter reads. “You or any one of your 62 MLAs can draft a bill to formulate a referendum on a clear and unequivocal question as to whether the people of Alberta wish to remain a part of Canada.”
The letter also calls for a series of what the group calls requirements, including the end of Alberta’s contract with the RCMP, prohibiting federal payroll deductions, and the withdrawing from the federal Employment Insurance program.
Global News reached out to the office of the premier on Saturday, but did not hear back in time for publication. However, Kenney has previously stated that he does not consider separation to be a realistic option.
“Landlocking ourselves through separation is not a solution to the problem of a campaign to landlock Alberta,” Kenney said on Oct. 22, the day after the federal election.
The Wexit movement has gained heavy traction in the weeks following the federal election, which saw Alberta vote in Conservative MPs for every riding in the province except for Heather McPherson, the lone NDP representative in the Edmonton Strathcona riding.
The Wexit event in Edmonton was originally planned for a smaller venue but was moved to the dance hall after there was an increased interest.