The Western Block Party (WBP) was a federal political party in Canada, founded in 2005 by

Doug Christie Douglas Dale Christie (born May 9, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at , Christie played the shooting guar ...

. The party was registered on December 29, 2005, and deregistered on January 31, 2014.

Platform

The aim of the party was to promote the independence of

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

(

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, and

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

) from the rest of Canada.

History

The party's founding convention was held on November 20, 2005, in

Sidney, British Columbia Sidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia. It is one of the thirteen Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,583. Sidney ...

. Christie was unanimously confirmed as leader. A constitution was adopted and a full slate of officers were elected. Western independence movements typically attract support from westerners who believe that western Canada does not get a fair deal within the federal Canadian confederation. The Western Block Party's claims attracted members of differing economic views opposed to what they viewed as a corrupt federal government. The party fielded four candidates in the 2006 federal election, including its leader, Doug Christie, who ran in the riding of

Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca is a former federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, which was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015 Demographics Geography It initially consisted of: * the Esq ...

in British Columbia; none were elected. In the 2008 election, the party unsuccessfully ran one candidate, Patricia O'Brien, in

Saanich—Gulf Islands Saanich—Gulf Islands is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. It is named for its geographical location across the Gulf I ...

. In both these elections the party's total vote count was second fewest of all parties. The party ran four candidates in the 2011 federal election, improving its standing only to third fewest due to a new party taking the second fewest standing. Christie was also the leader of the Western Canada Concept Party of British Columbia, a political party that promotes separation at the provincial political level in

. Christie was a lawyer in Canada who is well known for representing

Ernst Zündel Ernst Christof Friedrich Zündel (; 24 April 1939 – 5 August 2017) was a German neo-Nazi publisher and pamphleteer of Holocaust denial literature.

, among others. The

Western Canada Concept The Western Canada Concept was a Western Canadian federal political party founded in 1981 to promote the separation of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, and the Yukon and Northwest Territories (which included ...

(WCC) and WBP are not affiliated with the Separation Party of Alberta (SPA) or the Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan (WIPS). Officials in these parties have distanced themselves from Christie. The WIPS is currently attempting to establish a separate federal party, which would be called the Western Canada Party. Christie died on March 11, 2013; Paul St. Laurent was subsequently appointed interim leader."A Message from Interim Leader, Paul St. Laurent"
/ref> The party was deregistered by Elections Canada in January 2014 for failing to declare at least 250 members.

Election results

In the 2006 election, the party ran four candidates and received 1,094 votes, which was 0.0074% of the total votes cast, or 0.46% of the votes in those four electoral districts. The four candidates, their total votes, and percentages were: * Robert Peter Kratchmer (Vegreville—Wainwright) 433 (0.8%) * Douglas Christie (Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca) 270 (0.5%) * Patricia O'Brien (Saanich—Gulf Islands) 183 (0.3%) * Bruce Burnett (Victoria) 208 (0.3%) The party ran a sole candidate, Patricia O'Brien, in 2008 and four candidates in 2011 including far right anti-immigration activist Paul Fromm, an Ontario resident, who ran in

Calgary Southeast Calgary Southeast was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015. The district was in the southeast part of the city of Calgary. It was bounded by the city limits to ...

References

External links

The Western Block party website

Western Block Party - Canadian Political Parties and Political Interest Groups
- Web Archive created by the University of Toronto Libraries {{Canadian federal political parties Federal political parties in Canada Defunct secessionist organizations in Canada Conservative parties in Canada Politics of Western Canada Organizations based in Victoria, British Columbia Political parties established in 2005 2005 establishments in Canada 2014 disestablishments in Canada Far-right politics in Canada Defunct far-right political parties in Canada

Platform

History

Election results

See also

References

External links