{"id":660482,"date":"2026-05-10T16:14:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T16:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/660482\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T16:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T16:14:16","slug":"smith-hopes-pipeline-will-lead-to-more-ottawa-accommodations-for-alberta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/660482\/","title":{"rendered":"Smith hopes pipeline will lead to more Ottawa \u2018accommodations\u2019 for Alberta"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith<\/a> says finalizing an energy agreement with the federal government that includes a new West Coast oil pipeline<\/a> could not only tamp down the separatist movement in her province, but also lead to more \u201caccommodations\u201d from Ottawa on other issues.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In an interview with David Akin that aired Sunday on The West Block, Smith said energy has been a major point of contention between the provincial and federal governments and gave Prime Minister Mark Carney \u201cgreat credit\u201d for pursuing a solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that we\u2019ll be able to announce that we\u2019ve come to an agreement very soon, and that will start paving the way to show Albertans that Canada can work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I think we have to do. We can\u2019t just tell them, we have actually show them.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Smith made clear that \u201cthis isn\u2019t the only issue\u201d Alberta wants resolved.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

The premier pointed to an upcoming referendum set for October<\/a> that will ask Albertans to weigh in on immigration policy and other matters of federal jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

She also noted that Mitch Sylvestre, the leader of the Alberta independence petition delivered to Elections Alberta last week, \u201cis a gun shop owner\u201d opposed to the federal firearms ban and buyback program for outlawed models that critics say include certain sports shooting rifles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to find a way to accommodate that Alberta sees the world a little bit differently,\u201d the premier said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I hope that the prime minister does that, because that will go a long way towards showing what cooperative federalism looks like in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if getting a new pipeline approved will end the separatist urge in Alberta, Smith replied that \u201ca lot gets solved when people have a well-paying job\u201d and see services improved by increased government revenues from energy exports.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no question that\u2019s a huge chunk \u2014 I think that (separatist urge) certainly comes down,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that what this does is, by starting with the hardest part first, I hope we can find other ways that we can find some accommodations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3:30
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSmith defends national unity as Alberta independence support declines\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The overarching goal of pursuing these issues, Smith said, is to demonstrate that \u201cthere\u2019s a different way for us to have more decentralized decision-making, to have different priorities in different regions,\u201d while working together on \u201cthe big things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

That approach would also help address separatist sentiment in Quebec, she added, and even solve the \u201cOttawa problem\u201d faced by other provinces.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Get<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGet daily National news<\/p>\n

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Quebecers are just as frustrated with the attitude that has come out of Ottawa in the last 10 years (under former prime minister Justin Trudeau),\u201d she said. \u201cBut there is a noticeable change. I don\u2019t know if they feel the same way in their relationship with the prime minister, but I have seen that the prime minister has made a genuine effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to heal this divide that we have. That\u2019s what I\u2019m working towards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tNew pipeline won’t be purchased by government, Smith says\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Smith said after meeting with Carney in Ottawa last week<\/a> that she\u2019s hopeful a final agreement from last year\u2019s memorandum of understanding on energy is reached in the \u201cnext number of days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

She told Akin that her government was \u201con track\u201d to get a pipeline application submitted to the federal Major Projects Office in June.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore on Politics
\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n

That application will include a number of proposed routes from the Alberta oilsands to the West Coast, she added \u2014 not all of which would be to northern British Columbia, an idea that has been opposed by the B.C. government and First Nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have five ports that we\u2019re looking at,\u201d she said, including twinning the Trans Mountain Pipeline route to Metro Vancouver.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the best port. We want ones that are going to have the most buy-in from the local community and not have issues of congestion, navigation, and those kinds of difficulties as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:39
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u2018I hope we can get to the finish line\u2019: Smith nudges Carney for progress on Canada-Alberta MOU\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The main goal for Smith, she said, is to restore private sector confidence that a pipeline and other energy infrastructure can be built.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

Asked if de-risking such a project could mean the province or Ottawa purchasing the new pipeline, similar to how the previous Liberal government bought TMX from Kinder Morgan, Smith said \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the approach would more likely include the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation, where the province underwrites loan guarantees for First Nations that take equity stakes in major projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re prepared to put that on the table,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Smith also said the model used by\u00a0LNG Canada, which is jointly owned by domestic and foreign energy companies that benefit from its exports, could be replicated for the new pipeline venture.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t have a country where the only major projects that get built is if they\u2019re nationalized or if the government pays for them,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to get the private sector to have confidence again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Smith said she\u2019s \u201cgrateful\u201d for U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s recent approvals of pipeline permits<\/a> that will expand export capacity from Alberta to the U.S., she said that\u2019s not the only priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always felt like the very best opportunity that we have is to continue to shore up that relationship,\u201d she said, adding she has been advocating for stronger Canada-U.S. energy ties \u201cfor some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think that from a unity point of view, opening new markets point of view, our best route is the one to the West Coast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says finalizing an energy agreement with the federal government that includes a new West…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[25158,49,48,53105,20739,2973,714],"class_list":["post-660482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-alberta-separatism","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-danielle-smith","tag-ottawa","tag-pipeline","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}