Maverick Party, which pushed for Wexit and western autonomy, will not run in federal election

Andrew Kurjata · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 5:40 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

A Western Canada-based governmental enactment that looked to the Bloc Québécois for inspiration volition not beryllium moving immoderate candidates successful this year's national election.

On March 3, Elections Canada announced that the Maverick Party had been deregistered aft failing to supply its yearly fiscal transactions instrumentality and auditor's report.

Originally known arsenic Wexit Canada (a portmanteau of "Western" and "Exit"), the enactment advocated for accrued sovereignty for Canada's 3 territories and the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. While that was envisioned arsenic increased power and autonomy wrong Canada, afloat separation from Canada was besides portion of the movement.

In a statement, enactment leader Colin Krieger acknowledged the deregistration, penning that the enactment had been dealing with "a sizeable magnitude of bureaucracy and reddish tape," which included trouble uncovering registered auditors.

Krieger besides said the governmental scenery successful Canada had changed since its founding, and that helium didn't spot a mode for the party's connection to get retired during the upcoming campaign.

A challenging predetermination for smaller parties

Janet Brown of Janet Brown Opinion Research successful Calgary said that, dissimilar the 2021 campaign, the 2025 predetermination is shaping up to beryllium a conflict betwixt the Liberals and Conservatives implicit a cardinal question of who is amended positioned to support Canada against the threats posed to the state by U.S. President Donald Trump.

That, she said, near small country for smaller parties focused connected much niche issues.

WATCH | Key ridings to ticker successful British Columbia: 

"In 2021, we were inactive precise overmuch successful the mediate of the pandemic," she said. "The issues that radical were acrophobic astir were rather analyzable and diverse," including vaccines and nationalist effect to COVID-19.

As a result, she said, determination were immoderate vocal groups who felt the Conservatives weren't "right-wing enough," and looked to little mainstream parties to parkland their vote.

Among those groups was Wexit, a question that began organizing astatine a grassroots level pursuing the re-election of the Liberals nether Justin Trudeau successful 2019.

By 2020, it was registered with Elections Canada and taken implicit by interim person Jay Hill, a erstwhile bluish British Columbia MP who had entered authorities arsenic a subordinate of the populist Reform Party successful the 1980s and 90s and went connected to beryllium a authorities House person nether Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. 

Hill said that successful retirement, helium had become disillusioned with some the Conservative Party and the electoral strategy arsenic a whole and that helium had go a "reluctant separatist" arsenic a result.

A propulsion for occidental autonomy

"I came to the realization that our strategy of authorities conscionable does not enactment for the West, volition ne'er enactment for the West," helium told The Canadian Press successful a 2021 interview.

He spoke approvingly of the Bloc Québécois strategy arsenic a exemplary for the Mavericks.

"Their strategy successful Parliament is precise simple. They instrumentality a look astatine a portion of authorities oregon a motion, and they find it is bully for Quebec. If it is, they ballot for it, and if it isn't, they won't," Hill said astatine the time.

In the end, 29 candidates ran nether the banner successful the 2021 national campaign, astir successful Alberta. None were elected, with idiosyncratic candidates capturing astir 1 to 4 per cent of the vote.

Brown said since 2021, parties similar Maverick and the People's Party person seen adjacent little enactment arsenic the 2025 run issues person travel into view.

"It's a wholly antithetic landscape. It's astir Trump. It's astir tariffs. There's much of a temper successful Canada to propulsion together," she said. "As a result, conservatives are successful a temper wherever they person to propulsion unneurotic and ballot Conservative. Progressives are of a temper wherever they person to travel unneurotic and ballot Liberal."

In his statement, Krieger said that portion galore of the Maverick Party's supporters person coalesced astir the Conservatives, helium inactive believes determination volition beryllium a request for the question successful the future.

"If, arsenic we fishy volition happen, Poilievre fails Western Canada and starts to cater to eastbound voters arsenic a means of staying successful power, past the Maverick connection volition request to beryllium heard again," helium wrote.