Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan


The Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan is a registered provincial political party in Saskatchewan, Canada. It advocates for the independence of Saskatchewan and libertarian ideals. The party is led by Neil Fenske and is not affiliated with any federal party.

History

The WIP of Saskatchewan was formed on July 12, 2003, and nominated 17 candidates for the November 5, 2003 provincial election. These candidates won a total of 2,735 votes, or 0.64% of the provincial total.
The former party president was Frank Serfas, and the former deputy leader was David Sawkiw. The party nominated eight candidates for the 2007 election, two in the 2011 election, and four in the 2016 election.
The party is not affiliated with the Western Canada Concept Party of British Columbia or the British Columbia-based Western Block Party, and has made considerable effort to distance itself from Doug Christie, the leader of those parties. Whereas Christie has been mired in controversy for defending Holocaust deniers and has been accused of being an anti-Semite, the WIP of Saskatchewan has made an explicit statement in support of the State of Israel. The WIP of Saskatchewan also has no ties with the Separation Party of Alberta, the Western Canada Party, or the Alberta Independence Party.

Ideology

The WIP of Saskatchewan's platform is libertarian and secular in nature, a distinguishing feature from some of the other separatist parties in Western Canada. It supports fiscally conservative and socially moderate policies. Though the party was originally established with a pro-independence stance, in recent years it has focused less on separatism and has instead advocated for strengthened political power at the federal level for Saskatchewan, to combat the perceived notion of Western alienation.