Written by Stephen Legault, Senior Manager, Alberta Energy Transition and Keith Brooks, Program Director
Premier Danielle Smith is goading Albertans into a game of nationalist chicken by setting us on a collision course with separation from Canada. Why? So oil and gas companies can make a few extra billion dollars at the sunset of the petroleum age.
The Premier’s list of demands of the new Federal government shows how single minded she is: guaranteeing Alberta full “unfettered” access to oil and gas corridors to the north, east, and west, repealing Bill C-69 (the Impact Assessment Act), eliminating the not-yet-in-place oil and gas emissions cap, and scrapping the clean electricity regulations.
These demands are a carbon copy of those made by Alberta’s oil and gas industry during the recent federal election.
Who will benefit from the Premier’s ransom note to the new Prime Minister? Not every day, ordinary Albertans. The removal of common-sense regulations, designed partly to improve Canada’s competitiveness in a world rapidly moving away from fossil fuels, will hurt Albertans trying to earn a living in the new energy economy.
To hear the Premier tell it, Ottawa has shackled the oil and gas industry. But, according to the Alberta Treasury Branch (ATB), 2024 was the best year on record for crude oil production. Alberta’s economy grew by 2.5% in the same period. The province’s economic dashboard trumpets our per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) as the best in the country. These are not the signs of a provincial economy suffering under the yoke of an oppressive federal overlord.
The Premier says there is no access for Alberta oil to tidewater, but the federal government just ponied up $34 billion at last count to complete the Transmountain Expansion, which still isn’t running at capacity. Half the tankers being filled with this crude are going to Asia, which was the stated purpose of this multi-billion-dollar boondoggle.
And yet, with these lies and gaslighting, the Premier is willing to risk the future of Canada so the oil and gas industry can continue to make exorbitant profits for a few more years off resources that belong to all Albertans.
This is all about politics for Premier Smith. She knows her fortunes as Premier are tethered to keeping her base angry and resentful of the federal government.
Smith also knows the federal government can’t meet her demands, in particular the ridiculous notion that Prime Minister Carney could force Quebec, the NWT, or British Columbia to allow another pipeline across their jurisdictions. No companies have stepped forward to champion a new pipeline. Enbridge, for example, has said categorically that they aren’t interested in reopening the Northern Gateway project.
Most importantly, nobody is stepping forward to say they would buy what comes out of the far end. The Premier is, ironically, tilting at windmills.
China’s oil consumption has plateaued, and the rest of Southeast Asia is actively installing renewable energy sources. The US will soon be our only viable market, but President Trump has said he doesn’t want or need our oil. He wants the USA to be energy independent.
The cat is out of the bag for the oil and gas industry in Alberta. For decades, they have talked about expanding to become diversified energy giants, not just oil and gas producers. But today, they have all abandoned their investments in renewable energy. Many of those same companies initially supported industrial carbon pricing but have now dumped that commitment. They claim to care about Albertans but keep killing jobs – thirty-four thousand since 2019 – in favour of automation.
Rather than seizing the enormous financial potential for wind, solar, and geothermal power, Premier Smith is instead threatening to break up the country because someone dared to challenge the Alberta government’s commitment to be stuck firmly in yesterday’s energy system, regardless of how it impacts Albertans, the country and the world.
