After roughly 50 years of voting in every election, 69 year old MLA candidate Ed Wychopen has come to the conclusion Alberta would be better off on its own.
The candidate for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake is running as a separatist independent.
He says he is upset with how politics are going in the province and the nation as a whole. He believes Alberta would be able to better govern itself without the federal government pulling the strings.
“I am upset with the way Alberta is being treated. In any relationship that goes sour it is time for a split,” Wychopen said.
He calls the relationship between Alberta and the Federal Government abusive because the “east has taken away all Alberta’s power and say.”
“It is not a situation where it is healthy, I’d say it’s an abusive relationship and an abuse of power.”
The pipeline, the distribution of Alberta’s wealth and the creation of jobs for Alberta residents are the major issues Wychopen has identified.
He says if Alberta was its own, independent country these issues would be solved in house.
“There will not be any pipelines built under federal rule,” he said.
If Alberta was its own nation, it would be allowed under the United Nation’s Program of Action the right to “enjoy secure access to the sea.” Both Canada and the United States signed this agreement.
Wychopen says it is under this agreement that Alberta would be able to build its pipeline if the province separated from the country.
“What we have to realize is, that when Alberta becomes a country, everything that goes across our roads, everything that goes across our rail and everything that goes across our air has to be allowed by us first.”
Wychopen says having one separatist elected as a Member of Legislation is worth 10 of either the UCP or NDP.
MLAs elected as NDP or UCP will always vote along the party lines, he says, but one separatist in Legislature will be able to make waves.
“One separatist would be raising questions, and people down east might starting thinking there is something to this.
“I would think one separatist voted in as an MLA would make more significant changes than the UCP or NDP.”
He says if voted in he would be an MLA against the federal government, one that was for Alberta.
He says a vote for him would be a vote for “absolute change.”
“I am not a politician, I would rather be known as a statesmen or a nation builder,” Wychopen said.