The three prairie provinces have almost 20% of the seats in the HoC, and rural ridings in those provinces have disproportionately more MPs than in urban ridings

The three prairie provinces have almost 20% of the seats in the HoC, and rural ridings in those provinces have disproportionately more MPs than in urban ridings. Western farming communities are not an insignificant voting bloc on the federal stage. It's not in the DNA of any Canadian federal party, all of which tend towards "big tent" habits, to simply write off any area of the country. Even the Conservatives consistently made serious efforts to court Quebec voters over the past decade despite their leaders' backgrounds in the Quebec-hostile Reform Party.