Alberta Premier Danielle Smith challenged Mark Carney to strike a better deal for her oil-rich province, saying she would not allow the “status quo” to prevail in its relationship with the federal government.
While congratulating the Liberal prime minister on his election victory, Smith said a large number of Albertans are deeply frustrated that a government that “overtly attacked” her province’s economy has been returned to power.
“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,” she said in a statement.
“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.”
Alberta has been in conflict with Canada’s Liberal government since Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, was elected in 2015 and began rolling out environmental policies, including an emissions cap, new pipeline regulations and a ban on tankers off the northern British Columbia coast. Smith says those measures encroach on the province’s jurisdiction and hamper oil and gas development.
The growing hostility has prompted some Albertans to call for greater autonomy from the federal government, and even fueled a small but simmering secession movement.
The Alberta government will hold a caucus meeting on Friday to discuss the province’s future within a united Canada, Smith said.
‘Pivotal Moment’
Carney said in his victory speech early Tuesday that he intends to govern for all Canadians. He has pledged to turn the country into a “superpower” in both clean and conventional energy, and said it needs to produce more oil while reducing the associated emissions.
“My optimistic view is a Carney win is status quo for a sector that’s dealt with significant challenges over the past 10 years,” Eric Nuttall, senior portfolio manager at Ninepoint Partners in Toronto, said on BNN Bloomberg Television.
He said Carney’s apparent reluctance to repeal the environmental assessment law known as Bill C-69 means “no oil pipelines.”
“So for our Canadian energy sector, at least in the oil sector, they’ll be required to remain as disciplined in returning that free cash flow back to shareholders in the form of share buybacks because there will be nothing left to do with it.”
Lisa Baiton, chief executive officer of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said she was encouraged by the tone set by the two leading parties throughout the election campaign on the importance of oil and gas to the country’s economy.
“Canada stands at a pivotal moment in its history — caught in a trade war with our closest trading partner and facing direct challenges to our sovereignty from the president of the United States,” she said in a statement.
“Developing our world-class oil and natural gas resources to their full potential by growing our exports to international markets will strengthen our energy security and economic sovereignty.”
