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Alberta governments have a history of painting the federal government as a malevolent force. An early and legitimate beef was the lack of control and ownership of natural resources which wasn’t rectified until 1930. Readers are familiar with the rise of the Social Credit movement and its five year fight over banking with the Dominion government. The most recent fight since today’s skirmishes was the battle over provincial government power over the setting of resource pricing, commonly known as the National Energy Program, It is a canon of Alberta political science that successful premiers fight Ottawa.
For an excellent note on western alienation/separatism read Professor Jared Wesley’s recent essay from his Decoding Politics.
On 14 March, Premier Danielle Smith issued a statement which called for a federal election. In her statement she continued her war of words with her new nemesis, the newly minted Liberal Prime Minister, Mark Carney. This fusillade came hours after the new federal government had been sworn in.
In her legendary and pedantic “I am concerned” voice she lays out her government’s complaints about federal Liberal policies in bullet form. These are aimed directly at the new enemy on the block, Mark Carney.
“The Prime Minister also has not yet condemned harmful policies such as:
The proposed emissions cap which continues to threaten our energy sector.
Bill C-69 which still hampers critical infrastructure projects.
Failed bail policies which continue to put our communities at risk, undermining the safety and security that Albertans deserve.
Gun bans that target law-abiding hunters and sport shooters.
Open border policies which are allowing over two million people per year to enter Canada.
The plastics ban which puts billions of dollars of investment and thousands of jobs at risk.
Bill C-59 which bans businesses from communicating about their environmental goals.
The electric vehicle mandate which calls for 100 percent of new vehicles sold to be electric by 2035.
The Sustainable Jobs Act, which aims to transition energy workers to a net zero economy as they work to shut down the energy sector.
Spoiler alert: look for these features in the Conservative Party of Canada’s upcoming election platform.
These are core complaints of the energy industry and Take Back Alberta (TBA) activists, the only constituency that Smith seems to listen to. The latter group has leverage through the royalty revenues the crack cocaine of successive governments and which allows the energy industry unparalleled access to government policymakers.The TBA activists also remain an active influence in the government’s policies which are grounded in fundamentalist principles of freedom including gun ownership. parental rights, tough-on-crime dog whistles, and an assault on gay and trans’ rights.
There seems to be a naive quality to Ms. Smith’s missives against the federal government. It’s as if she actually believes these aggressive statements and threats will generate a positive response from Ottawa. And personal insults against federal ministers will also yield supportive policies. Yes, to some extent the attacks have muzzled the former federal environment minister in delivering back-bending policy compromises and long delays in accomplishing the declared government policies to achieve Canada’s Paris Accord goals. It’s as if Smith believes that climate change is made up and simply an excuse for federal frustration of the industry’s goals of doubling oil and bitumen production.
Election fever
In her call for a federal election she doubtless has the support of most Canadians, including Dr. Carney who understands the nature of the existential crisis facing Canada from within Canada (e.g. Alberta government “diplomacy”) and stateside. Carney, having worked within two Westminster systems at the highest level, probably realizes all too well the country needs a reset via an election. Smith meanwhile wishes to see a housecleaning at the federal level which she can only envisage as a Poilievre housecleaning. The only house-cleaning by Carney to mollify Smith was the removal of Stephen Guilbeault from the environment portfolio. However, there was also a pushback message there with Guilbeault getting responsibility for national parks.
Probably most irritating for Smith than the specific issues listed is the prospect that a Poilievre Conservative government may no longer be a sure thing. Given the shift in public opinion from NDP and Conservative supporters to the Carney-Liberal brand, Smith will be active behind the scenes and publicly to help her conservative brethren. Smith as a former talk show host and politician is a capable communicator and undoubtedly will be a thorn in the Liberals’ upcoming campaign. She is expected to work behind the scenes to make the province solidly blue which means a focus on the Edmonton area where the NDP hold two seats (Blake Desjarlais, Heather McPherson) and the Liberals with Randy Boissonault.
The upcoming federal election will have undoubtedly many surprises, many of which will be initiated stateside.
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