The Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan is a provincial political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It advocates the independence of Saskatchewan, and the formation of a new country. It is not affiliated with any federal party. It supports fiscally conservative

Fiscal conservatism

Fiscal conservatism is a political term used to describe a fiscal policy that advocates avoiding deficit spending. Fiscal conservatives often consider reduction of overall government spending and national debt as well as ensuring balanced budget of paramount importance...

 and socially moderate policies.

The party was formed on July 12, 2003, and nominated 17 candidates in the November 5, 2003 provincial election. These candidates won a total of 2,735 votes, or 0.64% of the provincial total.

The party's leader

Party leader

In politics, the party leader is the most powerful official within a political party.The party leader is typically responsible for managing the party's relationship with the general public. As such, he or she will take a leading role in developing and communicating party policy, especially election...

 is Dana Arnason, the deputy leader is David Sawkiw and the party president is Frank Serfas. The party nominated eight candidates for the 2007 election

Saskatchewan general election, 2007

The 26th Saskatchewan general election was held on November 7, 2007; the writ was dropped on October 10, 2007. The election determined the composition of the 26th Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....

.

Besides the party's support for independence, the party's platform is secular

Secularism

Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...

 and libertarian

Libertarianism

Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...

 in nature, a distinguishing feature from some of the other separatist parties in Western Canada

Western Canada

Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...

. The WIP of Saskatchewan has no ties with the Separation Party of Alberta

Separation Party of Alberta

The Separation Party of Alberta is a political party that advocates the secession of Alberta from Canada. Its leader is Bruce Hutton.-History:...

 or the Western Canada Party.

The party not affiliated to the Western Canada Concept Party of British Columbia

Western Canada Concept Party of British Columbia

The Western Canada Concept Party of BC is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. It was the British Columbia branch of the Western Canada Concept, a political party that operated at the federal level, advocating the separation of the four western provinces of Canada and the...

 or the British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

-based Western Block Party

Western Block Party

The Western Block Party is a political party in Canada founded in 2005 by Doug Christie. The party became officially registered on December 29, 2005....

 and has made considerable effort to distance itself from Doug Christie

Doug Christie (lawyer)

Douglas Hewson "Doug" Christie, Jr. is a Canadian lawyer and far-right political activist based in Victoria, British Columbia.-Career:...

, the leader of those parties. Whereas Christie has been mired in controversy for defending Holocaust deniers

Holocaust denial

Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...

 and has been accused of being an anti-Semite

Anti-Semitism

Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...

, the WIP has made an explicit statement in support of the State of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

.

External links

• Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan