A veteran politician who once served as House leader in Stephen Harper’s Conservative government was named the interim leader of a political party seeking for Western Canada to secede from the rest of the country.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Wexit Canada posted on its Facebook page that Peter Downing had resigned as leader and that Jay Hill would take over in the interim.
READ MORE: Wexit political party can now run candidates in Canadian federal elections
Watch below: Some Global News videos about Wexit.
Wexit Canada is not yet a registered political party but Elections Canada lists it as an “eligible political party” on its website, meaning the party has met the legal requirements to be registered except for running a candidate in a general election or by-election.
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READ MORE: New Alberta separation group meets in Calgary: ‘It’s time to take control’
Hill was first elected federally as a Reform Party MP in 1993 during “the West wants in” days and later sat in the House of Commons as a Conservative MP.
He told Global News on Tuesday night that he hopes to convince a majority of people in Western Canada, from Manitoba to British Columbia, that the west will never get fair treatment from the rest of Canada.
“Over the last decade, since I left federal politics, I have watched with great dismay the state of our country — of Canada — and most recently, over the last five years or so since Justin Trudeau took the reins as our leader, I have been absolutely appalled at the scandal after scandal that has rocked his government,” Hill said. “And yet the people of Central Canada have re-elected this person.
“I see billions of dollars leaving the country, I see massive unemployment in the west and an uncaring attitude from Central Canada and so I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no longer a home for westerners in Canada.”
At a Wexit Alberta meeting in Calgary last summer, he said people should take the Western separatist movement seriously.
“I believe the polls that about 25 per cent of Albertans are supportive of separating as of the moment, but I also agree that it could double easily that number if Justin Trudeau was re-elected on Oct. 21,” Hill told Global News at the time.
Watch below: (From August 2019) Western separation was discussed at a meeting in Calgary on Saturday organized by the founder of Wexit Alberta. Jay Hill, a veteran politician, was one of the people at the event. Carolyn Kury de Castillo reports.
Wexit’s platform includes plans to hold referendums on separating the Western provinces from the rest of Canada as well as to fight the carbon tax, Bill C-48 and Bill C-69 — which critics accuse of hampering Canada’s energy sector — and barriers to free trade.
READ MORE: Alberta premier refutes separation threats: ‘Either you love your country or you don’t’
Watch below: Some Global News videos about Western alienation.
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Alberta MPs issue Buffalo Declaration to call on Ottawa to address western alienation -
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Liberal cabinet to talk Western priorities in Winnipeg retreat -
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Alberta ‘needs action’ from federal government to stem western alienation: Toews -
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How is Alberta viewed outside the province? Looking at Western alienation from different angles -
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Western alienation: the divide between Alberta, Saskatchewan and the rest of Canada -
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Calgary professor discusses past and present factors behind Western alienation -
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Global News’ Western alienation special: a preview with Gord Steinke -
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How does equalization play a role in Western alienation? -
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Western alienation: weathering the storm in southern Alberta -
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Alberta’s Kenney to discuss ‘western alienation’ with Freeland in Ottawa -
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Western alienation: why things are different this time -
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Moe says separation will ‘never’ be in best interest of province
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