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CTV News
19 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘Pretty excited': Danielle Smith says Alberta energy ready for its closeup as G7 brings global leaders to Kananaskis Country
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith met with a number of U.S. dignitaries Saturday in advance of the arrival of global leaders attending the G7 summit in Kananaskis Country. Smith posted on social media Saturday that she met with the Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada as well as U.S. Consul General Emily Fleckner. She was accompanied to the meetings by James Rajotte, Alberta's senior representative in the U.S. 'The United States remains Alberta's largest trading partner,' she wrote, 'and we're committed to strengthening that relationship free of tariffs and full of opportunity. 'Together, we can secure long-term energy supply and build a more prosperous future for both Canadians and Americans.' 'Showcase for the G7′ On her Saturday morning radio program Your Province, Your Premier, Smith said she was 'pretty excited' about having Alberta play host to the G7 summit. "I'm pretty excited about the fact that Alberta is the showcase for the G7," she said, 'especially as we're going through having a recalibration and conversation about the role of traditional energy in the energy mix.' Smith said she was hopeful that members of the G7 would put their support into words. 'I'm really hopeful that the G7 come together and have a positive statement about the role Alberta and Canada can play in providing global energy security on reducing emissions, as well as making sure we're reducing global energy poverty,' she said. 'That would be very positive if we were able to get a statement, because every leader I've met with – because remember, I'm international and intergovernmental minister as well -- so I meet with a lot of ambassadors as they come through (Alberta). 'Every one of them is talking about how they wish they could get more supply out of energy from a reliable supplier like Canada,' she said. 'There is a business case,' she added. 'We just have to get the pipeline networks built so we can get them to market.' 'And so I think this is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Alberta to the world and share that message.' In a separate social media post, Smith welcomed global leaders to the G7 and made a pitch for Alberta energy. 'With the fourth-largest oil reserves and ninth-largest natural gas reserves on earth, we are one of the most reliable and secure energy providers in the world,' she said. 'Our geography uniquely positions us to supply Asia, Europe, and the world with the energy they need whether it's oil, propane, liquified natural gas, hydrogen, ammonia, and more.' 'Huge potential': German ambassador In an interview with CTV News, Germany's Ambassador to Canada, Mattias Luttenberg, said there was definitely interest from his side of the ocean for growth in energy exports from Canada. 'I think Germany and Canada have a huge potential for an energy partnership, and we already are working on the hydrogen sector,' Luttenberg said. 'For example, there's the H2 global window, something that we agreed upon to make it happen that Canadian hydrogen of all colors, but ideally green hydrogen, could be exported to Europe, to Germany in the first place. Matthias Luttenberg, May 23, 2025 German ambassador to Canada Mattias Luttenberg said a G7 summit is particularly helpful in 2025 because so many global leaders have never attended one before. (CTV News Calgary) 'But we also can still talk about LNG (light natural gas), for example,' he added. 'It's just a matter of how quickly the infrastructure would be in place to be able to transport so that private companies would purchase the LNG in Canada, for example. 'And therefore, of course, it needs some investments in terms of pipelines, port infrastructure, and you have it -- so that's certainly something which could figure in the discussion of leaders. 'I don't want to speculate if this comes up in in Kananaskis, but for sure, it's a topic of our day-to-day conversation with our Canadian friends and partners.' The G7 gets underway Sunday and continues through Tuesday.
CBC
07-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Alberta Speaker picked as Washington envoy: sources
Premier Danielle Smith will send Speaker Nathan Cooper to Washington as the provincial representative, at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats put the Canada-U.S. trade relationship at its most precarious state in years, CBC News has learned. Cooper has never held a cabinet post or worked in international affairs, but has been legislature Speaker since the UCP formed government in 2019. He will replace James Rajotte, the former Edmonton Conservative MP who was the D.C. envoy under former premier Jason Kenney and Smith for nearly five years before stepping aside after Trump's second inauguration. The announcement will happen as soon as Wednesday, according to government sources. Cooper and the premiers' office could not be reached for comment. Cooper takes on the Washington role at a fraught time for U.S.-Canada relations, thanks to Trump's tariffs on automobiles, steel and aluminum, as well as threats to apply them more broadly on Canadian goods and even filmmaking. The trade tensions have prompted Smith to make several trips south of the border in recent months, to meet with U.S. politicians in an attempt to discourage tariffs and promote Alberta's oil and gas exports. Rajotte, the now-former Washington envoy, accompanied the premier and her staff to Florida in January when she briefly met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago private club. Alberta is one of several provinces with an appointed official representing it in Washington to advocate on trade and other issues. The office Cooper will take on is housed within the Canadian Embassy, steps from the Capitol building. It's the most high-profile post among the province's other U.S. offices in Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis and Seattle. The surprise appointment of Alberta's legislature referee to the critical U.S. post creates a vacancy in the Speaker's chair — MLAs will select a new one in the coming days. It also creates a vacancy in the UCP-held rural seat of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. Along with Edmonton seats formerly held by New Democrat members Rachel Notley and Rod Loyola, the premier will have to call three byelections in the coming months. Cooper's resignation to become an Alberta diplomat also comes on the heels of two former United Conservative members, Scott Sinclair and Peter Guthrie, being ousted from caucus and sitting as independents. This reduces the number of UCP MLAs in the 87-seat assembly to 46, at least temporarily.
