Varcoe: ATCO head says separation talk 'impacting investments now,' as Canada aims to be energy superpower
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The debate around separation has increased in volume following last month's federal election. The provincial government recently introduced legislation to reduce the number of signatures required to trigger a provincial referendum on citizen-led initiatives — this could potentially include a question around Alberta separating from Confederation.
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Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney, who is also on the board of ATCO and Postmedia, said Wednesday that separation talk is 'kryptonite for investor confidence,' noting he was asked about the issue by investors at a Wall Street conference this week.
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If the concept is presented to voters, Kenney believes Albertans will overwhelmingly reject it, but he also worries it could affect investment into the province, pointing to the flight of capital from Quebec during the 1970s.
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'People who are toying with this idea need to understand that if this action gets to a ballot, it will cause enduring, grand damage for Alberta and very significant loss of investor confidence, at least in the short to medium term,' said Kenney.
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Similarly, University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe said last week that investors dislike uncertainty, and the run-up to the Quebec sovereignty referendum in 1980 led some companies to relocate.
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'Calgary is the home of the second-largest number of headquarters in Canada, and many of these firms have operations nationally and internationally,' said Tombe.
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'A separate Alberta would be a business and economic risk for these entities in the same way that it was for many firms who left Quebec . . . but — and this is a big but — we are nowhere near this being anything but a very fringe conversation.'
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Meanwhile, the broader issue of Canada building infrastructure is a pressing priority for the federal government and the provinces, along with industry.
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After the federal cabinet was sworn in Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government will take steps to build critical infrastructure and make Canada a 'superpower' in conventional and clean energy.
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He also garnered attention with comments made to CTV on Tuesday that he'd be open to more oil and gas exports, new pipelines and possibly making changes to Ottawa's Impact Assessment Act and the oilpatch emissions cap.
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During the election campaign, Carney indicated he would keep both policies in place, despite demands from the Alberta government to turf the cap and overhaul the Impact Assessment Act.
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Southern, who has known Carney since he was the governor of the Bank of Canada, said the new prime minister understands economics and the importance of having pragmatic growth that delivers a sustainable future and long-term prosperity.
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