Smith wants to negotiate 'Alberta Accord' guaranteeing pipelines, more federal cash
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OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith thrown down the gauntlet to newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney in a livestreamed address Monday, inviting him to the table to negotiate a new deal between Ottawa and Alberta.
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'We hope this will result in a binding agreement that Albertans can have confidence in. Call it an 'Alberta Accord,'' said Smith, seated in front of a backdrop of Albertan and Canadian flags.
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Smith said she would soon appoint a special team to represent Alberta in these negotiations.
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She set down multiple demands the province intends to make, including guaranteed access to tidewater for its energy exports on all three coasts, the elimination of federal net-zero policies, and the same per-capita federal transfers and equalization payments as Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
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'We have no issue with Alberta continuing to subsidize smaller provinces … but there is no excuse for such large and powerful economies … to be subsidizing one another,' said Smith.
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'That was never the intent of equalization and it needs to end.'
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Smith said it was imperative for Carney to act quickly to 'eliminate the doubts a growing number of Albertans feel' about the province's future in Canada.
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The premier held a special meeting with her caucus Friday to discuss how the government should respond to the return of another Liberal government to power, with very little representation in Alberta.
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One member of Smith's caucus, Jason Stephan, told reporters at the province's legislature shortly before the premier's address he wants to see a referendum on Alberta separation.
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Smith didn't go so far, but did touch on separation in her Monday address, calling it 'the elephant in the room.'
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'They're … our friends and neighbours who've just had enough of having their livelihoods and prosperity attacked by a hostile federal government.'
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Smith said if there were a successful, citizen-led push for a referendum question on separation, which hit the requisite threshold of signatures, she'll include that question on the 2026 provincial referendum ballot.
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