A Confederation Or Western Independence ?

Elmer Knutson (1914–2001) was a prairie businessman turned activist whose name became closely associated with the surge of Western Canadian political discontent in the late 20th century. A vocal champion of Western sovereignty, he argued that the provinces possessed a latent constitutional independence dating back to the 1931 Statute of Westminster.

Knutson helped channel regional frustration into organized action by founding the Western Canada Federation (West-Fed), a non-partisan group created to challenge federal authority. His advocacy contributed to transforming “Western alienation” from a sentiment into a visible political force.