Alberta Premier Danielle Smith described the energy deal with Ottawa as a ‘clear win’ to her home crowd of UCP supporters.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told delegates at her party’s convention Friday that she hoped the energy accord she signed with Ottawa made them more confident that Canada is working properly.
A chorus of boos greeted the comment about the deal, which Ms. Smith signed alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney with fanfare on Thursday. It’s being touted by both leaders as a reset of the relationship between the governments and the start of Canada’s transformation into an energy superpower, with Alberta at the forefront.
It was Ms. Smith’s first day selling the new agreement with Ottawa after threatening a “national unity crisis” earlier in the year if Mr. Carney did not meet her demands to repeal or adjust nine federal laws she said were inhibiting the energy sector. Many of those laws – including a potential exemption from the West Coast tanker ban – were tweaked or nixed for Alberta in the agreement.
Prime Minister Mark Carney with Ms. Smith after signing the energy accord in Calgary on Thursday.Todd Korol/Reuters
The announcement has rankled B.C. Premier David Eby, who said he was left out of negotiations on a deal that could result in a proposed pipeline to his province’s north coast. Coastal First Nations have objected to any potential pipeline crossing Northern B.C.
Ms. Smith described the deal as a “clear win” to her home crowd of UCP supporters, but it was seldom mentioned in her first appearance at the party’s annual general meeting in Edmonton.
It was first mentioned 35 minutes into her sit-down session taking questions from the audience, when one member expressed concerns about the industrial carbon price that’s included in the agreement. Ms. Smith defended the plan.
Robyn Urback: If nothing else, Danielle Smith is a disruptor
“I talked about the nine bad laws, and we got seven out of the nine,” she said.
The UCP convention has become a flagship event for party faithful: More than 4,000 people purchased tickets ahead of the meeting that will see half the party’s provincial board elected, including the president’s seat. Friday’s event began with a sermon that included a moment of silence for U.S. political commentator Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September.
Party membership will vote this weekend on a raft of non-binding policy proposals such as reintroducing coal-fired electricity and ending public funding for third-trimester abortions.
The debate around Alberta independence is not to be formally discussed. However, prominent separatist supporter Jeff Rath received a standing ovation from the packed crowd when he asked how many of them support independence.
Ms. Smith, who countered by saying she supports a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, was roundly booed by delegates still standing from the ovation.
Analysis: Welcome to Canada’s energy-first future
“I know there are a lot of reasons why people are skeptical, but I can tell you none of that would have been possible under the Trudeau Liberals. We still have lots of fights that we’re going to be able to have with Ottawa,” said Ms. Smith.
Ms. Smith’s Q&A session with her party president otherwise focused on the outcome of her Alberta Next panel series, which was announced in June to take residents’ feedback on how the province can change its relationship with Ottawa.
The 10-stop cross-province tour drew parallels with the Fair Deal panel struck in 2019 by former premier Jason Kenney. Both intended to find ways Alberta could take ownership over its affairs from Ottawa.
“It’s not so much the West wants in, as the West wants Ottawa out of its hair,” Ms. Smith had said when she first announced the panel.
Among other suggestions on the table were implementing a provincial police force, exiting the Canada Pension Plan for an Alberta-run plan, and withdrawing from the joint tax collection agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency in favour of filing income taxes with the province.
Opinion: Ottawa risks billions in investments for a pipeline to nowhere
On Friday, Ms. Smith said the panel saw agreement among Albertans on taking more control over immigration, suggesting her government could take action on its policy for newcomers.
“I think there’s a very strong consensus about going down the Quebec pathway and taking more control over our own immigration system,” she said.
Though she didn’t say how her government may act on that sentiment, the panel had floated options during the summer tour, including withholding provincial social programs to non-citizens and non-permanent residents who don’t have an “Alberta-approved” immigration status.
Other policy options, such as moving forward with an Alberta Pension Plan, were warmly received in town halls but received mixed results in the online survey, Ms. Smith said. Her government led a consultation process on the idea two years ago but has not revisited it since.
“It is very hard to see whether or not there’s a clear journey one way or the other on that,” she told the crowd on Friday of the pension plan proposal.
The panel has been criticized for tilting the deck in favour of the province’s preferred options by asking leading questions. One question, for example, asked: “Do you agree that the current federal transfer and equalization system is unfair to Alberta?”
Straw polls for the government’s proposals received unanimous endorsement at almost every event, despite occasional pushback at the mic from individual attendees. Results from the online survey have not been published.