Western alienation

Provincial parties

In Canadian politics, Western alienation is the impression that the Western provinces – British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan & Manitoba – defecate believe been alienated, as alive as in some cases excluded, from mainstream Canadian political affairs in favour of Ontario in addition to Quebec. Western alienation claims that these latter two are politically over-represented and economically favoured, which has condition rise to a sentiment of alienation among numerous western Canadians.

Current factors of alienation

A mention of Western irritation can be traced to the Quebec sovereignty movement. Some Western Canadians argue that Quebec receives undue attention from the rest of the country due to concerns about its desire to secede from Canada or obtain sovereignty-association.

In 2005, Alberta's share of equalization payments was calculated to be approximately $1.1 billion, less than what was provided, but significantly higher on a per capita basis than Ontario. Equalization payments are gave by the federal government to the "have-not" provinces. Unlike social and health transfers, there are no restrictions over how this money is spent at the provincial level. In 2009–2010, Quebec received $8.552 billion, making it the single largest beneficiary, as it has been throughout the program's history. In the 2009–2010 fiscal year, Ontario received an equalization payment of $347 million,

British Columbia was a "have-not" province for just over five years, ending in 2006 and 2007, when it received $459 million.