Per the catalogue's instruction to avoid double-counting provincial branches, this bundle covers the pan-Western Canadian Wexit/Maverick Party movement (2020-2025), which proposed independence or constitutional change for the broader Western Canadian region — British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut — as a single organisation distinct from the Alberta-specific Alberta Prosperity Project, covered separately in this research batch. It documents the party's 10 January 2020 founding as Wexit Canada by Peter Downing, its September 2020 rebranding as the Maverick Party, its modest electoral performance, and its 28 February 2025 deregistration by Elections Canada.
Wexit Canada was founded on 10 January 2020 by Peter Downing, following the 2019 federal election, advocating either constitutional change or independence for a broader Western Canadian region encompassing British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.[1] In September 2020, the party rebranded as the Maverick Party, a change favoured by two-thirds of those polled.[2] The party received just over 1% of the vote in Alberta and Saskatchewan and an insignificant share in British Columbia and Manitoba in the federal election it contested, and was deregistered by Elections Canada on 28 February 2025 after failing to file required financial reports.[3]
Status verified as of
The proposed Western Canadian region remains constituted as separate Canadian provinces and territories. The Maverick Party, the principal pan-Western Canadian separatist political vehicle, was deregistered by Elections Canada in February 2025 after modest electoral performance, and no successor pan-regional organisation is documented in the sources reviewed; province-specific movements, such as the Alberta Prosperity Project, are covered as a separate case.[3]
History
From Wexit Canada's 2020 founding to the Maverick Party's 2025 deregistration.
58 words · 1 min read
· Organisation founded
A pan-Western Canadian party formed seeking either constitutional change or independence for the broader region.
Significance here: The founding organisation of the pan-Western Canadian, multi-province separatist movement.
· Other
Elections Canada deregistered the party after it failed to meet financial reporting requirements.
Significance here: The conclusive end of the pan-Western Canadian party's formal political registration.
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
Claim: Wexit Canada was founded on 10 January 2020 by Peter Downing in the aftermath of the 2019 Canadian federal election, which returned Justin Trudeau as prime minister; the party advocated for either constitutional changes benefiting Western Canada or the creation of an independent Western Canadian nation, defined as encompassing British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, distinct from any single-province independence movement such as Alberta-specific organisations.
Claim: In September 2020, Wexit Canada rebranded as the Maverick Party, a change motivated by the Wexit name's association with prior controversies and confusion with similarly named political entities; polling of party members and the general public found two-thirds favoured the name change.
Claim: In the federal election it contested, the Maverick Party received just over 1% of the vote in each of Alberta and Saskatchewan, with an insignificant vote share in British Columbia and Manitoba; the party was deregistered by Elections Canada on 28 February 2025 after failing to file its required annual financial transactions return and auditor's report.