Alberta Premier Smith wants to 'reset' federal-provincial relationship while eyeing sovereignty act
Fresh off leading Alberta's United Conservative Party to a majority victory on Monday night, Premier Danielle Smith says she wants to "reset" her relationship with the federal government, while readying to invoke the province's sovereignty act over emissions targets, if needed.
"I think that we can work collaboratively, and that's what I've asked the prime minister. I said I'd love to reset our relationship," Smith said in an interview on 麻豆影视 Channel's Power Play with Vassy Kapelos in Calgary. "I'd love to be able to work together on things that we can agree on, because I don't think the country benefits by seeing Alberta shut its economy down. And I think that the country benefits when we do well."
In her election-night speech, Smith took aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's energy policies as "harmful" and called on the federal government to "show it is willing to partner in good faith" to find ways to reduce emissions.
Congratulating Smith, Trudeau said he plans to "continue to work on growing the economy, on fighting climate change and on supporting Albertans into the future."
Asked Tuesday to respond to federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson suggesting to reporters that a re-elected UCP government wouldn't impede on federal climate change initiatives, Smith said that is true as Alberta is on-side with the "aspiration" of being carbon-neutral by 2050, but it's how the country gets there that she has concerns with.
"If you try to compress that [target] into too short a timeframe, when the technology isn't available, and there's not enough time to do it, it results in production caps. And when they've put forward ideas of a 30 per cent reduction in emissions in fertilizer鈥 when they started talking about 'just transitioning' oil and natural gas workers completely out of out of existence, and when they brought through a proposal for a net-zero power grid by 2035鈥 Those are things that we have to fight back against," Smith said.
While Wilkinson said the two jurisdictions don鈥檛 have to agree on everything, and indicated openness to trying to find areas for ways to find consensus, he thinks Albertans, like other Canadians, "believe in climate change and the importance of addressing it."
When asked what lengths Smith is prepared to go to push back, and whether that would include invoking Alberta's controversial sovereignty act, or seek a Supreme Court challenge, the newly re-elected UCP leader didn't rule out either route.
"If you have an emissions cap that is so aggressive, that results in a production cap, that does interfere with our jurisdiction. And that's what I think that their aggressive targets are. And, it may ultimately be up to the court that to have to decide this, and I think we'll win鈥 I think the court will side with us," Smith said.
The premier said that she thinks it would be a "different debate" now that there is a global energy and affordability crisis.
Asked if she has obtained a legal opinion to this effect, Smith said it was something that she was going to "work on."
As for the sovereignty act option, Smith said she's "always said" the two reasons she could foresee using it, "is if the federal government came through with an aggressive emissions cap on fertilizer, and an aggressive emissions cap on oil and gas鈥 Because I think that's a violation of the Constitution."
"I'd be prepared to fight that one out," Smith said.
This is not the first time Smith has signalled plans to take the fight to Ottawa for Alberta鈥檚 autonomy to develop its resources, voicing similar intentions in an interview on CTV's Power Play in October 2022 after winning the UCP leadership race.
Watch the full interview with Danielle Smith at the top of this article.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadians across the country mark Remembrance Day
Today Canadians will remember and honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of the country's values and principles.
Trump announces Tom Homan, former director of immigration enforcement, will serve as 'border czar'
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says that Tom Homan, his former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, will serve as "border czar" in his incoming administration.
Why brain aging can vary dramatically between people
Researchers are uncovering deeper insights into how the human brain ages and what factors may be tied to healthier cognitive aging, including exercising, avoiding tobacco, speaking a second language or even playing a musical instrument.
Bleeding and in pain, a woman endured a harrowing wait for miscarriage care due to Georgia's restrictive abortion law
Since the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 2022 Dobbs decision eliminated the federal right to abortion, miscarriage management has become trickier and in some cases, deadlier.
The union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal has overwhelmingly rejected a deal with their employers association.
Canadian veterans remember how they eased tensions as UN peacekeepers in ethnically split Cyprus
It was the first time that Canadian UN peacekeeper Michelle Angela Hamelin said she came up against the raw emotion of a people so exasperated with their country's predicament.
'I was called;' Murray Sinclair's life and legacy honoured at emotional memorial
Applause erupted over and over at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg Sunday as the son of Murray Sinclair, a former judge, senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into residential schools, spoke about his father.
Children's book by chef Jamie Oliver withdrawn after criticism from Indigenous Australians
A children's book written by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been withdrawn from sale after it was criticized for causing offense to Indigenous Australians.
A man who was critically injured in a police-involved shooting in Hamilton late Sunday afternoon has died in hospital, says the province鈥檚 police watchdog.
Local Spotlight
Should Toronto tear up its bike lanes to improve traffic flow? Critics say it's not so simple
A congestion crisis, a traffic nightmare, or unrelenting gridlock -- whatever you call it, most agree that Toronto has a congestion problem. To alleviate some of the gridlock, the Ontario government has announced it plans to remove bike lanes from three major roadways.
For the second year in a row, the 鈥楪ift-a-Family鈥 campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.
Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.
A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.
As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.
A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts 鈥 not for themselves, but for those in need.
A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.
Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.
A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.