Alberta’s Smith Says She’ll Challenge Carney on Federal Policies at Edmonton Meeting

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks during a press conference during a meeting of premiers in Toronto on Dec. 16, 2024. Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she will press Prime Minister Mark Carney on federal policies she argues are hurting Alberta when the two meet in Edmonton this week.

Carney and Smith are expected to meet on Sept. 10 as the prime minister gathers with his caucus in Edmonton.

During her weekend radio call-in show, Smith said she was looking for “real movement” on federal policies that she says have hurt Alberta’s economy and the oil and gas industry.

The premier recently called for changes to three pieces of legislation before Parliament resumes on Sept. 15.

She said she wants the cap on emissions in the oil and gas sector removed, an end to the Impact Assessment Act (which she termed the “No New Pipelines Law”), and removal of the oil tanker ban on B.C.’s coast.

“Parliament could do three things today that would immediately turn our economy around, create hundreds of thousands of jobs and generate trillions in wealth for Canadians without spending a single tax dollar,” Smith said in a Sept. 4 post on X.

She said the “national economic self-sabotage has to stop,” adding that Canadians deserve leaders in Ottawa with the “courage” to unleash “our full potential.”

Smith has said that Carney must either repeal or “dramatically revise” those policies to kickstart the economy.

She said she will repeat to Carney what she told him the first time they met, that she wants “real action” from him before the end of the year.

During their meeting in March, Smith provided Carney with a “specific list of demands.” She said that Albertans will “no longer tolerate” the way they’ve been treated by federal Liberals over the past decade.

Smith had warned Carney of an “unprecedented national unity crisis” if he did not respond to her requests within six months.

Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney legally challenged the Impact Assessment Act, leading to a Supreme Court ruling in 2023 that said the act was partly unconstitutional. The federal government has since revised the act, but Alberta is maintaining its challenge, saying it infringes on provincial legislation.

The emissions cap on oil and gas regulates the exploration and production side of the industry. It phases in limits between 2026 and 2030, ultimately reducing emissions to less than 112 megatonnes per year—which is a 38 percent drop from 2019 levels. Industry producers can purchase credits for higher emissions.

Alberta says the cap represents a de facto limit on production and infringes on provincial jurisdiction. Ottawa maintains that the cap limits emissions, not production.

Carney says the Building Canada Act portion of the One Canadian Economy Act, passed in June after the Supreme Court struck down parts of the Impact Assessment Act, allows Ottawa to bypass some regulations and environmental assessments that could delay projects of national importance.

The prime minister has said the bill is necessary for the country’s economic future.

The Canadian Press contributed to this article.