Wexit organizers anticipate more than 700 people will attend their Red Deer rally on Saturday night.
Wexit Canada Leader Peter Downing said it’s been a scramble to find venues large enough for the rallies.
“We’ve already got 700 people who signed up to attend,” Downing said of the meeting, to be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Prairie Pavilion at Westerner Park. Admission is free and people can sign up at wexitevents.com.
He advised people to arrive early to make sure they get a seat. About 1,700 people attended a recent Calgary meeting.
“It’s an embarrassment of riches,” said Downing.
The western separatist movement has experienced a tremendous rise in popularity since the election of the federal Liberal minority government in October.
Downing said Wexit is grateful for its support in the Red Deer area, which is a balance of urban and rural Albertans. Concerns about rural crime and agriculture need to be heard, he said.
“Rural Alberta is not being left behind.”
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He said Wexit takes credit for Premier Jason Kenney’s new panel looking at initiatives such as having Alberta withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan and creating its own police force and revenue collection agency.
Those firewall efforts have arisen from Wexit pressure, he said.
“That’s definitely a victory we have claimed.”
Downing said everything Kenney is doing is good, but it doesn’t solve the horrendous regulations and taxation targeting Western Canada, especially Alberta, and the need for pipelines.
“(Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland) can say she’s listening hard until the cows come home. It doesn’t mean anything until we see action.”
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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