Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to begin resetting Alberta’s strained relationship with Ottawa following his federal election victory on April 28, saying her province will “no longer tolerate” policies she says threaten Alberta’s economy.
The Liberals held on to power for a fourth consecutive term, winning 169 seats–three short of a majority–according to preliminary results. Smith said most Albertans are “deeply frustrated” by the Liberals forming government for a fourth term, arguing Ottawa has “overtly attacked our provincial economy almost unabated for the past 10 years.”
“As Premier, I invite the Prime Minister to immediately commence working with our government to reset the relationship between Ottawa and Alberta with meaningful action rather than hollow rhetoric,” Smith said in an April 29 statement.
“I will not permit the status quo to continue. Albertans are proud Canadians that want this nation to be strong, prosperous, and united, but we will no longer tolerate having our industries threatened and our resources landlocked by Ottawa.”
Before the federal election, Premier Smith provided a list of demands she said the next prime minister must address within six months to avoid an “unprecedented national unity crisis.” Those demands included the removal of some of Ottawa’s climate policies, including the Impact Assessment Act, the 2019 ban on oil tankers off the B.C. coast, and the proposed cap on oil and gas emissions.
She later said that if those conditions are not met, she would consider setting up a panel to consult Albertans on the province’s next steps.
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In her April 29 statement, Smith said she will lead and facilitate discussions among Albertans on the “province’s future” as well as options to shield Alberta against “future hostile acts from Ottawa.”
She said she would do so “with the sincere hope of securing a prosperous future for our province within a united Canada that respects our province’s constitutional rights, facilitates rather than blocks the development and export of our abundant resources, and treats us as a valued and respected partner within confederation.”
The Alberta government will hold a caucus meeting on May 2, after which she said she will have more to say.
Smith-Carney Clashes
Smith clashed with Carney on various occasions during the election campaign, with the premier questioning the prime minister’s stance on energy projects and his commitment to making Canada more self-reliant in the face of U.S. tariffs.
“It would appear [Carney] is now just fine with Canada continuing to be 100% reliant on the United States to purchase all of our oil and gas, and to purchase all of the fuel used by Ontario and Quebec from the U.S. through Line 5,” Smith said in an April 14 social media post. “This is absurd, irrational and anti-Canadian in every respect.”
She was responding to comments Carney made during an April 13 interview with Radio-Canada’s TV show “Tout le monde en parle,” where the Liberal leader signalled pipelines may not be a priority for his government.
“We have to choose a few projects, a few big projects, not necessarily pipelines, but maybe pipelines, we’ll see,” Carney said in French on the program.
Smith added Carney’s stance was the “exact opposite” of what he had promised on March 20 during a campaign stop in Edmonton, where he said he would be meeting with Canada’s first ministers the next day with a focus on “getting things done.”
“It’s about getting pipelines built across this country so that we can displace imports of foreign oil,” Carney said. “It’s about building out the energy infrastructure more broadly here in Alberta.”
Smith also took issue with what she described as mixed messages from Carney on the proposed oil and gas emissions cap, which she said would act as a de facto cap on production.
“So [Carney] comes to Edmonton and says he opposes an oil and gas production cap; then heads back to Ottawa and promises an oil and gas production cap costing Albertans and Canadians tens of thousands of jobs,” Smith said in a March 23 social media post. “The more things change the more they stay the same.”
Smith was referring to another comment Carney made during his March 20 press conference in Edmonton, where he said he preferred working with provinces to cut emissions instead of using “preset caps or preset restrictions.” The next day, he said that while he would keep the cap in place, he would focus on federal investments in green technology.
“There is a role for an emissions cap–and again, emissions cap, not a production cap, just to be clear because some twist it–but what’s required in order to get those emissions down of the production that we can see growing … is investment,” Carney said on March 21.
In another clash between the premier and the prime minister, Carney joked earlier this month that sending Smith to represent Canada in cross-border diplomacy on U.S. media outlet Fox News would be a “bad idea.” Smith has made several appearances on American news networks to promote tariff-free trade between Canada and the United States.
“We’re sending (Ontario Premier) Doug Ford on to Fox News to show them that we’re not messing around up here,” Carney said during a campaign stop in Victoria on April 6.
“And we’re going to send Danielle next, we’re … well, no, maybe we won’t send Danielle,” the Liberal leader said. “No, maybe we won’t. We won’t send Danielle. We’re going to keep her. No, it was a bad idea.”
Smith responded to the jab, saying she had seen similar attitudes from Carney’s predecessor.
“I’ve noticed this with progressive men and how much they talk about how much they support women until they meet a strong conservative woman,” Smith said in Edmonton on April 7, responding to questions at an unrelated news conference.
“The attitude is ‘sit down and shut up.’ Well, I don’t shut up. I make sure that Albertans know exactly how I feel about issues, and I am going to continue advocating on behalf of my province whether he likes it or not,” she said.
Carney said the next day the comment was a “lighthearted” one.
“I have a lot of respect for the premier,” Carney said at an April 8 press conference, adding that he has already worked with Smith and other premiers to reduce internal trade barriers and develop energy corridors.
“My government will spare no effort to make sure that the people of Alberta, the people of Canada, realize those opportunities.”
Noé Chartier and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
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