The declaration derives its name from the early 1900s, when Sir Frederick Haultain, the first premier of the Northwest Territories, proposed for a new Canadian province that comprised what is now Alberta and Saskatchewan.
It also wanted the federal government to promote Alberta's energy sector, and create a plan to protect the integrity and essential services provided by Canadian infrastructure, like rail, pipelines, and highways.
In an editorial, the Toronto Sun said, "whatever you think of the particulars in the declaration, it’s important to listen to these concerns," and that "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made the West feel more alienated than ever.
"[8] The Lethbridge Herald echoed the sentiments writing, "Albertans have had enough, and the so-called “Wexit” movement and now the Buffalo Declaration are of symptoms of that frustration," going on to say that Western Alienation is "at a high level now, and if the federal government wants to ensure co-operation from Alberta in keeping Canada strong and healthy, it would be wise to listen to the concerns.
"[11] Criticism Murray Mandryk, a columnist for the Regina Leader-Post, said "rather than solutions or vision, [the declaration is] an outpouring of clumsy grievances borrowed from others — what conservatives once called 'whining,'" and was "another knife plunge into the heart of nation founded on reasoned compromise.
"[12] Colby Cosh mocked the declaration in the National Post writing, "the main task is to train the Buffalo audience in an unfamiliar and unnatural argot of victimhood, one in which injustices are always 'systemic' and change must always be 'structural' and you get a failing grade if you go a hundred words without mentioning undifferentiated 'power.'
[14] Former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley condemned the declaration saying in a statement, "at the end of the day, as a born and raised Albertan, I love this province.