Preston Manning rejects the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state, calling it unfeasible and a bad idea.

“The conclusion that the 51st state proposal is a foolish, unfeasible, distractive non-starter ought to be summarily dismissed by thinking people on both sides of the border,” wrote Manning in his second column in as many weeks. 

The former Reform Party leader previously penned a column, noting a fourth Liberal term would undermine national unity.

“Large numbers of Westerners simply will not stand for another four years of Liberal government, no matter who leads it,” Manning said.

Go Ad Free

Amid trade wars, a tense Canada-U.S. relationship, and talks of statehood, secession has emerged as a topic in the upcoming federal election, especially in Western Canada.

“The support for Western secession is therefore growing, unabated and even fuelled by Liberal promises to reverse many of their previous positions,” Manning said in his previous commentary published by the Globe and Mail.

Both Saskatchewan and Alberta have passed legislation to increase autonomy and reject federal influence into provincial matters. Neither feel respected by the rest of Canada.

Those feelings intensified when Prime Minister Mark Carney refused to abandon the Impact Assessment Act and the oil and gas production cap.

Should the Liberals win, support for independence rises to 33% in Saskatchewan, while support for joining the U.S. climbs to 23%, according to a new survey from pollster Angus Reid.

Three in 10 Albertans also want to leave the federation under similar circumstances, with 27% on board to join the United States. A recent Leger poll for Rebel News found that 25% of Albertans would rather ditch Canada for its trade ally.

Data collected by Angus Reid explains that while Canadians may threaten separatism as a bargaining chip, few actually want to leave Canada, either to join the United States or to form their own nation.

“Its provinces possess significantly greater jurisdictional status than American states—ownership of their natural resources and jurisdiction over health service, education, and local government—prerogatives they are unwilling to cede even to Canada’s federal government let alone to that of the United States,” reads the Epoch Times column.

Manning adds that hundreds of thousands of Canadians also cannot articulate what it means to be Canadian, other than to say, “Not American.”

There is a “complete lack of any public appetite for constitutional discussions,” Manning said, adding there were “zero” prospects of a constitutional convention enabling either Canada or its provinces to join the U.S. as a 51st state.

Manning notes that unlike the 1980s, there is currently no party to redirect populist energy.

He founded and led the Reform Party, which became the Canadian Alliance, then merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to form today's Conservative Party.