Premier Danielle Smith says Albertans' desire to leave Canada has never been higher
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the public desire in her province to quit Canada has never been higher.
Smith says a recent byelection that saw a separatist candidate garner almost 18 per cent of the vote shows Albertans are deeply frustrated and angry with Ottawa.
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UCP emerges victorious in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection
Smith says she takes that frustration seriously and hopes Prime Minister Mark Carney does as well.
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The premier says quelling separatist desire is in Carney's hands and could be done if he scraps laws that she has said stifle energy production in Alberta.
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Smith made the comments today at an unrelated news conference in Calgary alongside federal Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Freeland says Parliament recently passed legislation to speed up projects of national interest and says Albertans should take that as a sign Canada is focused on economic development.
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CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Premier Smith says Albertans' desire for leaving Canada has never been higher
Social Sharing Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the public desire in her province to quit Canada has never been higher. Speaking Thursday to reporters in Calgary, Smith said Albertans feel deeply frustrated and angry with Ottawa. She cited a separatist candidate who garnered almost 18 per cent of the vote in a byelection in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding earlier this week. "I've never seen such a high level of separatist sentiment," she said. Smith said the byelection result was record-breaking in terms of separatist support, but a 1982 byelection in the same Alberta riding saw a separatist candidate win with more than 40 per cent of the vote. She said the fact that her United Conservative Party candidate won Monday's byelection means the public wants her to work with Prime Minister Mark Carney's government. Asked what her government could do to quell separatist desire, Smith said it was Ottawa's responsibility — as it was following that 1982 byelection. "A couple of years later, after (then-prime minister) Brian Mulroney got rid of the National Energy Program, the sentiment evaporated," she said. "This is really in Ottawa's hands." The present-day equivalent to that program — which introduced price controls and hiked the federal share of tax revenue from oil production — is several laws that Smith said stifle energy production and investment in Alberta. In recent months, she has called for Carney to abolish several federal policies and programs, including a proposed emissions cap, net-zero electricity grid regulations and the West Coast tanker ban. "If Ottawa wants to work with me to cause that [separatist] sentiment to subside, then we need to materially address the nine bad laws that have created that negative investment climate," she said. "If they make the changes that we're requesting, then I suspect they can take the air out of that movement." Speaking alongside Smith was federal Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland. Asked what she thought of Smith's assessment, Freeland said she hopes Albertans will see recently passed legislation to speed up the approval process of major projects as a sign that Canada has reached a "turning point." "I think we are on a really good path recognizing we need to be united," Freeland said. "We need to find ways to build Canada. "With that approach of positive intent — a shared recognition of the challenges Canada is facing, Alberta is facing — I really think that we are at the beginning of a new chapter where we're going to get a lot more done a lot faster." Smith said Ottawa's legislation, which passed in the Senate Thursday, gave her hope that change was happening. Earlier this week, Smith announced a 15-member panel that would tour the province this summer to gather ideas on how Alberta can fight federal overreach. It's an endeavour that former premier Jason Kenney did in 2019. Smith has said her panel is using Kenney's as a jumping-off point. Smith's panel will discuss creating a provincial pension plan, police force and tax collection agency. The panel is also polling Albertans on creating its own immigration permit system that would cut off non-approved immigrants from accessing provincially funded services like health care and education.
Edmonton Journal
2 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Bell: Smith, Freeland on collision course; Freeland says Team Carney loves Alberta
Article content Talks between the Carney government and the Alberta government have started to go over these bad laws. As you know, Smith also wants a bitumen pipeline to the west coast chosen as one of the nation-building projects the Carney government would fast-track under what is called Bill C-5. 'We need to materially address the nine bad laws that have created the negative investment climate,' says Smith. 'This is really in Ottawa's hands. If they make the changes we are requesting I suspect we can take the air out of that movement.' The separatist movement. Freeland responds to Smith, who has upped her pressure on the Carney government in recent days. The Carney government insider says Bill C-5 is 'a turning point for our country.' Now, Canada can 'build baby build,' to quote her boss Carney. 'I'm not going to tell you today, Rick, that everything is totally solved.' Good thing. It isn't. 'I can only think we are at the beginning of a new chapter where we are going to get a lot more done, a lot faster. 'There's a lot of positive intent and I'm confident we're going to do a lot of great things together.' Does Freeland know Albertans we need a lot more than that love talk? 'I know Albertans need more than protestations of love,' she says. No kidding.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Treaty 8 First Nations call for 2% resource revenues from projects on their land
Treaty 8 First Nations chiefs in Alberta are calling for a two-per-cent share of royalties from projects that develop resources from their land. The chiefs met with Premier Danielle Smith in Calgary on Thursday to raise various concerns, including revenue sharing. Trevor Mercredi, grand Chief of the Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta, said the meeting was urgently needed due to speed with which legislation is moving that could lead to major projects affecting Treaty 8 communities. "There has to be some sort of a relationship developed between Alberta and the nations, so we can move forward with some of these projects in a good way for our people," said Mercredi. "We're not looking for a handout, we're not looking for the province to come take care of our people, we don't need the province to take care of our people. We need our own people to serve and take care of our people" The meeting came on the same day that Bill C-5, Prime Minister Mark Carney's 'nation-building' projects bill, was passed by the Senate unamended. The legislation allows the prime minister's cabinet to streamline approvals for some projects that have the potential to boost the Canadian economy. But the bill has received criticism from some, including Mercredi, for the possibility it could lead to insufficient consultation with Indigenous peoples. Mercredi said resource revenue sharing is how his community can better support itself through funding education and health services, especially due to how profitable drawing resources from within Treaty 8 land, in northern Alberta, has been for the province. "You hear Premier Smith and all of the others talk about the millions and billions and trillions coming out of Alberta. That's from our backyards," Mercredi said. "Every day, we have industry and the province coming into our nations with hat in hand, looking for projects. It's not the other way around." Smith said the provincial government is looking for ways to ensure all First Nations in Alberta receive revenue from natural resources within the province. But instead of royalties, Smith said she believes this should be accomplished through equity. She pointed to the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation as an example. It's set up to facilitate investment by Indigenous groups in natural resource, agriculture, telecommunication and transportation projects. "Those are the kinds of things that will deliver the long-term revenue streams that I think that they're looking for," Smith said. "We share the aspiration, we just have a different way of supporting it." A seat at the table on emergency management Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta rejected Alberta's attempts to "assert jurisdiction through legislation like the Sovereignty Act," according to a statement the organization issued Thursday. It called for a formal recognition of Treaty 8 governance as a government-to-Nation partner. Thursday's meeting also saw First Nations chiefs raise emergency management as an issue to the province, Mercredi said. He specifically pointed to a need to reinforce fire-suppression services, as Alberta contends with destructive wildfire seasons each summer. More broadly, Mercredi said the group wants more input with the province about responding to crises, to find long-term solutions to problems First Nations groups in Alberta face each year. "It's a new world we live in. Alberta's on fire, and Alberta's been on fire for the last five or six years," he said. "Our people are really traumatized, our people are being removed, our nations are always looking at the smoke, the lightning. It's very concerning and Alberta has to pick up on their services when it comes to fire." He added that he believes Smith was receptive to the issues his group raised Thursday, but for too long, First Nations groups haven't had a sufficient seat at the table in these negotiations. Smith will meet with the group again in August in Treaty 8 territory.
