Does the West Want Out?

In this week's On The Line, host Jen Gerson sits down with Greg Jack, Senior Vice President of Ipsos Public Affairs. The firm has just put out an in depth survey of separatist sentiment in both Alberta and Quebec. In keeping with previous surveys, about 30 per cent of Albertans said they would vote to leave Canada, but is that sentiment as strong as it first appears? Jack's team did something that pervious pollsters have yet to do -- he stress tested those results, asking people how committed they would be to separation if there were conditions attached, such as the loss of the Canadian passport. When forced to consider these downsides, support for separation fell to about half -- suggesting that a significant proportion of separatists are simply frustrated with Ottawa, but not firmly attached to the idea of an independent state.

Of course, separation is in the news of late as Alberta's separatists are moving forward with a petition that may pave the way for a provincial referendum. The Americans are also weighing in, insisting that all Albertans are keen to join the U.S. -- a claim that Jack fact checks.