Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has issued a blunt warning to Prime Minister Mark Carney: repeal federal anti-energy policies or risk leaving $14 trillion worth of natural resources in the ground.
Her remarks sharply contrasted Carney’s upbeat account of their Sunday meeting ahead of the First Ministers’ summit on Monday.
“While there appears to be a desire to move forward with new projects, including a west coast bitumen pipeline, a clear commitment is needed to act on barriers that have held back private investment, such as the production cap, the tanker ban, C-69, and the net zero power regulations,” she said.
Smith made various demands of Carney following the Speech from the Throne.
The demands included working with Alberta to build a pipeline to the B.C. coast, repealing the emissions cap, Bill C-69, the tanker ban, and the net-zero electricity regulations. The needle appears to be unmoved after Smith’s meeting with Carney on Sunday.
Smith also warned that Albertans needed to see action within weeks, not months (she had previously given Carney a timeline of six months).
The shortened timeline came shortly after a Leger poll highlighted that 41 per cent of Albertan respondents would vote to separate in a referendum, with only 44 per cent pledging to vote no.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre similarly criticized the priorities laid out by Carney in the throne speech, saying that it was full of “slogans” but lacked any tangible solutions.
Conversely, Carney had nothing but positive words to say following his and Smith’s meeting.
“Premier Danielle Smith and I had a constructive meeting today discussing what matters most: building one united Canadian economy — including getting big things built and major infrastructure projects off the ground, in Alberta and across Canada,” he said on Sunday.
Carney met with all of the country’s premiers in Saskatoon on Monday. He said that the meeting would focus on breaking down trade barriers and building projects faster.
Poilievre said that Carney needs to announce repealing the industrial carbon tax, the energy cap, Bill C-69, and the tanker ban following the meeting.
“Otherwise, this will be just another Liberal PR stunt like the last ten years,” said Poilievre. “Time to get the federal government out of the way to release trillions in riches from our ground and break our dependence on the U.S.”