The BC Refederation Party (abbreviatedBC Refed) was a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada advocating for a direct democracy and reforms to Canadian federalism. It was formed shortly after the 2000 federal election as the Western Independence Party of British Columbia with an explicit western separatist platform; it later renamed itself the Western Refederation Party of British Columbia before adopting its final name.
After the name change, the party slightly changed its focus; it hoped to force changes to the way that British Columbia is governed within Canada. BC Refederation believed in the collective wisdom of the people of BC and believed that nothing initiated by the citizens should be restricted including being allowed a provincial referendum on political independence from Canada for British Columbia if desired by the public.
The BC Refederation Party argued that there are three constitutional flaws in Canada. The first, that there exists no confederation document approved democratically. The second, that there exists no democratically achieved constitutional documents federally or provincially and the third, that there is no constitutional basis for the federal government's rights to collect income tax.
2005 election
As the Western Refederation Party of British Columbia, RefedBC nominated four candidates in the 2005 provincial election, who won a total of 653 votes (0.039% of the popular vote across the province):
The goals of the BC Refederation Party were contained in a three-step plan.
Enact direct democracy to immediately empower the citizens of BC to control politicians and the political process.
Create a citizen designed and ratified written constitution that will entrench the rights of citizens and clearly define the rights of citizens over government.
Regain areas of former provincial control from the federal government. This combined with the application of direct democracy principles will amount to a re-federation. This does not mean separation.
