Western Alienation Persists, But Separatism Remains Fringe, New Poll Finds
January 9, 2026 – New survey research from Pollara Strategic Insights finds that support for separatism in Canada’s Western provinces remains on the fringes, with just 14% of Western Canadians saying they would vote to separate from Canada. This sentiment is highest in Saskatchewan (20%) and Alberta (19%), with residents of BC (11%) and Manitoba (8%) far less likely to support secession.
The survey also found that Western Canadians have improved perceptions of the federal government. About half now feel that the Government of Canada pays attention to the people of their province when making policy decisions – the strongest result we have seen in the past four years of tracking this sentiment.
Nevertheless, about half still feel their province is treated unfairly by the federal government – but these levels are not rising, indicating persistent frustration without momentum.
These results are based on an online survey of N=3,800 adults in Canada’s 4 western provinces. The survey was conducted from December 5 to 20, 2025, and the dataset has been weighted to reflect the gender, age, and regional distribution of residents across the four western provinces according to the most current Census figures. Pollara Strategic Insights is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC), and this research was conducted in compliance with CRIC standards.
For more select findings from this study, please see our report excerpt and data tables and today’s article in the National Post. |
