Tasha Kheiriddin: Carney has no choice but to listen to Danielle Smith
Opinion by Tasha Kheiriddin
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Monday May 5, 2025. Gavin Young/Postmedia
On the eve of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s critical trip to Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stole the spotlight and turned it firmly on herself. In a twenty-minute “address to Albertans,” she aired grievances against the federal Liberal government, from carbon taxes to Justin Trudeau’s infamous “no more pipelines bill,” C-69. Smith also presented a list of demands, from resource corridor development to greater provincial control over energy and immigration. And she pledged to hold a referendum on Alberta independence should “enough” citizens demand one — while insisting multiple times that she doesn’t support secession herself
The timing was no accident. Smith wanted to be a topic of conversation in the White House. Perhaps she’s angling for another interview on Fox News. Or perhaps she is trying to stay in power, pacifying the same angry base that ousted her predecessor, Jason Kenney, in 2022 after he won only 51.4 per cent in a leadership review.
Whatever the reason, Smith is seizing the moment to make Alberta’s case, to the detriment of Canada’s. If Carney has trouble at home, it will be harder for him to stand strong abroad. And it’s hard to see how that helps Alberta — unless Smith has another agenda in mind. And for that, she has a model: Quebec.
Albertans often point to the success of Quebec in dominating the national conversation — and extracting concessions from Ottawa — by threatening separation. But Quebec’s grievance is cultural, not economic — rooted in preserving a French-speaking enclave in an English continent. Alberta’s complaint by contrast, is financial. The province sees itself as the country’s cash cow, milked for equalization payments and dismissed by Laurentian elites for decades — and on this, Smith is not wrong.
Related video: Graham Thomson joins CBC to unpack the strategy behind Danielle Smith’s sovereignty talk (cbc.ca)Alberta was created as a province in 1905, but the federal government retained Crown lands until the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement and directly controlled its resources until 1930. The province has a particularly bitter history with Liberal governments: Pierre Elliott Trudeau enacted the National Energy Policy in the 1980’s, while son Justin brought in carbon taxes, emissions caps, and the aforementioned Bill C-69 in the 2010’s.
So what could satisfy Alberta? Smith has a list: an LNG corridor, approval of new oil pipelines, and repeal or serious amendment of C-69, also known as the Impact Assessment Act. Carney has already said he would amend — but not repeal — the law, and during the campaign , he promised to cut wait times for the approval of major resource projects from five years to two. He also pledged to create trade and energy corridors for transport, energy, critical minerals and digital connectivity.
But will that be enough in the current climate? Protesters who took to the legislature on the weekend are disappointed in the election result – and don’t trust Liberals to have their back. Polls show that 15 per cent of the province would vote to join the US, while 29 per cent would vote for independence.
Smith may indeed be playing with fire. While Trump denies interest in a military invasion of Canada, Trump’s interest in making us the “51 st State” is not idle conversation. He has mused about annexing the west first: could he twist history to make it Canada’s “Donbas”? Americans played a key role in Alberta’s early development: by 1916, nearly 19 per cent of its population hailed from the US, though it has been diluted by waves of immigration since then.
Carney must tread carefully — and act quickly. A referendum in 2026, as Smith threatens to hold, would weaken Canada’s position during crucial negotiations with the United States. To stave this off, Carney will have to shed some of his green mantle and expedite resource development projects that benefit the west — projects that will also benefit the rest of the country through job creation and economic activity. A fair deal for Alberta is now essential for Canada, in more ways than one.
Postmedia News IS A CONSERVATIVE NEWS PAPER
Tasha Kheiriddin is Postmedia’s national politics columnist.
Parti Québécois leader stands with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her ‘strong hand’
LES SEPERATISTE; BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Story by Antoine Trépanier
Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon during question period Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at the legislature in Quebec City.
OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has an ally in Quebec and his name is Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the Parti Québécois leader.
A day after Smith threatened the federal government of including a referendum question on separation in 2026 if her province didn’t have the Accord, she thinks it deserves with Ottawa, St-Pierre Plamondon said Smith made a “striking gesture” for the “autonomy and defence of her own province.”
“It doesn’t matter what referendum they hold, because obviously it’s under construction. But I totally agree with provinces that stand up, that are loyal to their own Parliament, that are capable of showing a strong hand. And that’s the key word, strong hand,” said St-Pierre Plamondon, who is often called PSPP in Quebec.
In a in a livestreamed address Monday , Premier Smith called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to negotiate a new deal between Ottawa and Alberta guaranteeing more pipelines and changes to equalization.
“We hope this will result in a binding agreement that Albertans can have confidence in. Call it an ‘Alberta accord’,” said Smith who then called Alberta’s separation “the elephant in the room.”
“The vast majority of (separatists) are not fringe voices… They are loyal Albertans,” she said. “They’re … our friends and neighbours who’ve just had enough of having their livelihoods and prosperity attacked by a hostile federal government.”
Related video: Alta. premier says she'll work with Carney 'in good faith' to repair relations (Global News) Duration 1:53At a press conference at Quebec’s National Assembly, St-Pierre Plamondon said it was a “good thing” if other provinces are able to “stand up to the federal government”.
He added that “other provinces are showing” that Canada has issues that affect all provinces in terms of “abuse of power”.
St-Pierre Plamondon then went on the offensive against the province’s journalists for not covering the rebound in support of Quebec secession .
A recent Postmedia-Leger poll revealed that support for Quebec independence, which had fallen below 30 per cent in recent month, sits back at nearly 40 per cent.
Even though Canada is engaged in a tariff war with its closest ally, support for Quebec independence has reached 36 per cent according to new data.
“The most recent and most precise information is the independence of Quebec at 40 per cent, it is the increase in independence in Alberta,” he said.
Léger also polled Canadians from all provinces about their opinion about their province’s independence. The result was that 29 per cent of Albertans supported Alberta sovereignty while an overwhelming majority of the 2,309 respondents (71 per cent) were opposed.
National Post
atrepanier@postmedia.com
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