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In this article, Garrison Gove will inform readers of the Cascadia Movement, a movement to make the Pacific Northwest region a sovereign nation
The Cascadia Movement
The Cascadia Movement
By Garrison Gove
Oregon is no stranger to secessionist movements. The State of Jefferson attempted to combine southern Oregon and northern California into a new state, while Greater Idaho sought to annex eastern and southern Oregon as part of Idaho. But what if Oregon broke off from the U.S. to become part of an entirely new country, one that would span the entirety of the Pacific Northwest?
The Cascadia movement seeks to accomplish just that. While its potential boundaries vary, the most common definition includes the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia. Broader definitions include southeastern Alaska, northern California, and parts of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Yukon. More conservative definitions only include land west of the Cascade Range and western British Columbia.
The common definition of Cascadia includes Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, which share a combined population of 16 million people, comparable to the population of Ecuador, Zambia, Cambodia, or the Netherlands. Cascadia would be the 20th largest country in the world by area, with a total of 534,572 sq mi (1,384,588 km2), placing it roughly between Mongolia and Peru, according to the CIA World Factbook. The country’s largest city would be Seattle, followed by Vancouver, then Portland. Although a hypothetical capital city has never officially been decided, it is likely it would be one of the three largest cities.
The Doug flag, aka the Cascadia flag, designed by Portland native Alexander Baretich. Green symbolizes forests, blue the waters, and white for the snow-cappped mountains. The Douglas fir in the center represents the region''s resilience. Photo credit: CascadianFlag.com
A map of the Cascadia bioregion. Photo credit: Cascadia Bioregion.org
Cascadia is an idea rooted in bioregionalism, or the belief that society is most efficient if organized around bioregions. The Cascadia bioregion extends from Cape Mendocino in California to the Copper River in Alaska, and from the Pacific Ocean to the Yellowstone Caldera and the Continental Divide in Wyoming. Beginning in the 1980s, a series of Cascadia “Bioregional Congresses” formed the roots of the independence movement, designed to address social needs and governance at a local scale. According to the website Cascadia Underground, the first Cascadia Bioregional Congress was held in 1986 at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.
The primary reasons behind the Cascadia movement are political, economic, cultural, and economic reasons. Many activists behind the movement believe that the “eastern” governments in both the United States and Canada are out of touch with the region. Political resentment over the elections of George W. Bush and Donald Trump have also been cited as motivation for the predominantly liberal region of the U.S. to secede. The Cascadia Party of British Columbia was established in 2016 and nominated two candidates in 2017, although neither were elected. The Cascadia Bioregional Party was also established in 2021.
Above all, Cascadia largely exists as a sense of regional identity. The Cascadia Mayors Council, formed by former Seattle mayor Paul Schell, united mayors from Whistler, British Columbia to Medford, Oregon until it was disbanded in 2004. The Amtrak Cascades links Vancouver, British Columbia to Eugene, Oregon. The area from Vancouver to Portland has been described as an emerging megalopolis. While it is very unlikely Cascadia will ever become a reality, the regional identity associated with the region cannot be ignored.
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