‘Divisive, Destructive’: SK and AB Push Back on Ottawa’s Threat to Withhold Funds if Net-Zero Goals Not Heeded

(Left) United Conservative Party Leader Danielle Smith in Calgary, Alta., on May 29, 2023. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press); (Right) Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe speaks during the leaders' debate at the Provincial Archives in Regina on Oct. 14, 2020. Michael Bell/The Canadian Press

The premiers of Saskatchewan and Alberta say Ottawa is happy to take from their provinces through equalization payments but wants to penalize them for not meeting impossible net-zero electricity targets.

“Saskatchewan and Alberta are driving the Canadian economy,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said on social media on Aug.9. He said the two provinces “receive nothing from equalization while other provinces get billions.”