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Shortly after being elected as Alberta’s premier in 2019, Jason Kenney launched what was called the Fair Deal Panel. The mandate of the panel was to gauge ways Alberta could assert itself within confederation and shield itself from federal incursions. The panel was comprised of a wide array of Albertans, from government members to academics, and it toured the province for months seeking input from citizens at public meetings.
In May 2020, the panel released a report with 25 recommendations, including forming a provincial police force, forming a provincial pension plan, and taking more control over immigration. Most of the recommendations died on the vine. The COVID-19 pandemic was just emerging and surely pushed the panel recommendations down on the government priority list. Nonetheless, the government’s inaction on the panel recommendations contributed to the member-driven coup leading to the removal of Jason Kenney as the leader of the UCP.
Patience has worn thin with Albertans when it comes to measures dealing with Ottawa, and provincial leaders put their positions in peril if they ignore the discontent.
Premier Danielle Smith is dealing with even more regional discontent as support for provincial independence has spiked due to the re-election of the federal Liberals. While province-wide support for independence remains in minority territory at perhaps 35 percent, it is strong among UCP voters at 65 percent. Smith must placate her support base while avoiding alienating the electorate as a whole. It’s a delicate balancing act.
Premier Smith’s recent announcement of forming the Alberta Next Panel sounds all too familiar to people who had invested time and hope in the Fair Deal Panel. A group of experts has been collected who will travel the province to gauge ways Alberta can assert itself within confederation and shield itself from federal incursions. While the mandate is being met with optimism by some, it is being greeted with eyerolls from some of the more cynical Albertans who feel it is a delay tactic in taking action on regional issues. Smith will have to work hard to ensure the panel doesn’t appear to be another navel-gazing exercise.
One indication Smith is taking the panel seriously is that she will be chairing the meetings personally. She is taking direct ownership of the affair and will wear the success or failure of the initiative. The timeline of the panel is relatively short and will conclude by fall this year. It looks unlikely that the panel is a foot-dragging tactic on the part of the government.
Along with scheduling public meetings, the government has set up an online survey with questions on an Alberta pension plan, provincial police force, withdrawing from joint tax collection with the CRA, immigration, constitutional changes, and federal transfers, including equalization. Regionalists have been discussing these ideas since the Alberta Agenda was released in 2001 by a group of academics, including Stephen Harper, but none of the policies seem to ever get out of the starting gate. The ideas remain popular, but people are dubious about their implementation.
The online survey questions are arousing controversy both in what they are asking and how the polling is being done.
To answer the survey questions, a participant must first watch a short video. The videos tend to make a strong case for the proposed policy initiatives, and it has a feel that the government is trying to lead the participants toward a foregone conclusion. The tactic is known as push-polling, and it can skew results. It does indicate the government is serious about pursuing the proposed policies, even if it isn’t being totally up-front in trying to seek a diverse set of views on them.
The nature of the survey questions has drawn some backlash, particularly when it comes to immigration. The video lays out pressures on infrastructure and social services due to large immigration numbers and proposes to “withhold provincial social programs to any non-citizen or non-permanent resident who does not have an Alberta-approved immigration status.” Provinces can’t stop immigrants from moving there, but initiatives such as the one proposed in the Alberta Next survey would discourage such interprovincial migration. Needless to say, immigration activists are upset with the discussion.
Premier Smith is implying that some or all the questions from the panel may appear on a ballot in a referendum in 2026. There will likely be a referendum held on full provincial independence in 2026 as well.
Will the recommendations from the Alberta Next Panel cool separatist sentiment, or is it helping lay the groundwork for separation?
The Alberta Next Panel could be a forgotten footnote as the Fair Deal Panel was, or it could mark the beginning of a movement challenging the federation.
Whatever the motivation may be in forming the panel, it must be taken seriously. The ramifications of Alberta’s actions in the next few years could impact the entire country. National unity is at stake.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
