History of Western Canadian separatism

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

1. 1.

   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.

   • Maverick Party (Wikipedia) link, Founding and regional scope section. Source record
2. 2.

   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.

   • Maverick Party (Wikipedia) link, September 2020 rebranding section. Source record
3. 3.

   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.

   • Maverick Party out (federal election) (CBC News) link, Electoral performance section. Source record
   • Maverick Party (Wikipedia) link, Deregistration section. Source record