Juno News - Smith and Quebec team up to fight feds

00:00:00.000 Alberta Premier Daniel Smith wrote a letter to Quebec Premier François Legault

00:00:15.840 proposing that the two provinces team up in the battle against federal overreach.

00:00:20.940 Quebec has since replied, saying it's happy to create an autonomy alliance

00:00:24.720 to further loosen the tight grasp that the Feds have over the two provinces. 0.97

00:00:29.000 Right after meeting with Smith, Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro stood up for Alberta and Canada

00:00:34.820 by voicing his opposition to tariffs on Canadian goods.

00:00:38.480 Smith has also continued to highlight Liberal Party of Canada leader Mark Carney's contradictions,

00:00:44.520 reminding Canadians that he told her one thing in person about Bill C-69,

00:00:48.980 but said another when they weren't together, adding that neither she nor the province would tolerate this.

00:00:55.000 Ending on a good note though, Smith celebrated the recently announced tariffs

00:00:59.220 and that the United States have seemingly respected Kuzma

00:01:02.720 by not putting a tariff on the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada.

00:01:08.520 All that and more on the Alberta Roundup today with your host, me, Isaac Lamoureux.

00:01:13.100 Let's hop in to that first story now.

00:01:15.460 Smith's letter to Quebec, which was obtained by True North,

00:01:18.160 followed her reading of Quebec's report of the Advisory Committee on Quebec's constitutional issues

00:01:23.380 within the Canadian Federation.

00:01:25.360 Smith had sent the letter to Legault on March 21st.

00:01:28.620 The original report listed 42 recommendations related to Quebec's constitutional power and freedom,

00:01:35.060 the province's relation to the country, and other niche issues.

00:01:38.920 In a post to X, Smith said, quote,

00:01:41.220 Alberta and Quebec should work together more often to keep Ottawa in their lane

00:01:45.540 and to protect the constitutionally protected jurisdictions of our provinces.

00:01:50.080 In her letter, Smith highlighted 12 of the recommendations specifically

00:01:54.060 and discussed how the two provinces could accomplish them collaboratively.

00:01:58.200 She said in the English version of her letter, which was also provided in French, quote,

00:02:02.740 It is evident that Alberta and Quebec have significant common interests

00:02:06.380 with respect to countering overreach by the federal government

00:02:09.140 into matters of exclusive provincial jurisdiction.

00:02:12.300 The first recommendation Smith highlighted was the report's call

00:02:15.400 to provide Quebec with a framework law on defending and enhancing its constitutional freedom.

00:02:20.660 She said Alberta had acted similarly by implementing the Alberta Sovereignty

00:02:24.800 within the United Canada Act, and that she was willing to share information with Legault

00:02:29.060 so that he could implement similar legislation in Quebec.

00:02:31.840 Another recommendation Smith aligned with was adopting a constitutional amendment

00:02:36.800 to enshrine provincial laws concerning property and private law.

00:02:40.440 This change would ensure that provincial laws and civil rights

00:02:43.300 overrule federal laws that intrude on provincial jurisdiction.

00:02:47.060 It could be used to fight the Liberals' gun buyback program.

00:02:50.760 Despite the federal government throwing over $600 million at the program thus far,

00:02:55.800 a single gun has yet to be collected.

00:02:58.700 Smith wrote in her letter, quote,

00:03:00.200 I see an opportunity before us, as the democratically elected leaders of Alberta and Quebec,

00:03:05.340 to chart a path forward to a new era in Canadian federalism.

00:03:09.000 I propose an initial conversation between ourselves,

00:03:11.680 followed by a jointly authored letter to our provincial and territorial counterparts,

00:03:16.400 proposing discussions on these and other items to enhance provincial autonomy within the Federation.

00:03:21.600 The letter, of course, comes as the referendum movement gains momentum in Alberta.

00:03:26.560 Alberta could hold a referendum at its next series of municipal elections,

00:03:29.860 which are set to take place in October 2025.

00:03:32.900 Former Premier Jason Kenney conducted a referendum on Alberta equalization,

00:03:37.380 similarly by including a constitutional referendum question on the municipal election ballot.

00:03:42.820 Quebec's government has responded, saying it is very happy with Smith's proposal to create an autonomy alliance.

00:03:48.200 The Montreal Gazette revealed that Simon Jolin Barrette, the province's minister responsible for Canadian relations,

00:03:54.860 said the province is open to meeting with Smith to talk about her proposal more.

00:03:59.040 Jolin Barrette said that Smith's letter proves that Quebec's government's nationalist approach to seek more power in the Federation is working,

00:04:07.060 and that the provincial government will run on this platform again in the 2026 election.

00:04:11.200 He told the Gazette, quote,

00:04:13.240 I find it very positive that within Canada there are Federation partners that agree with more autonomy

00:04:19.240 and a framework to limit the federal right to spend in areas of provincial jurisdiction.

00:04:24.280 It's very interesting because historically, Quebec and Alberta worked together,

00:04:28.040 and we will continue to work together on autonomy of the different provinces.

00:04:32.220 Now, coming back with an update on our lead story last week,

00:04:35.060 which was, of course, Smith defending her trip to meet with Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro in Florida,

00:04:40.940 her trip was fruitful as Shapiro came out immediately after their meeting fighting for Canada.

00:04:46.600 Here's what Shapiro had to say.

00:04:48.320 Right now, Americans are giving President Trump the benefit of the doubt, as they should.

00:04:52.060 He's doing a lot of great things, which we'll get to in a moment, particularly with regard to Doge.

00:04:55.760 However, this is having an impact on President Trump's approval ratings, particularly on the economy.

00:05:00.560 And as I've said before, the way that people's relationship with politicians works in terms of public approval rating

00:05:05.580 is sort of like a marriage.

00:05:08.320 If the marriage is good, it's people doing little things for each other.

00:05:11.580 It's people with a shared sense of values that carries out over time.

00:05:15.340 If things go bad, typically there are a bunch of things that are small

00:05:18.480 and they eat away at the back of your mind that are bad.

00:05:21.840 And then suddenly the bottom goes out.

00:05:24.700 And right now, if the bottom goes out on the economy,

00:05:27.380 it will take the rest of President Trump's agenda with it.

00:05:30.740 CNN's Harry Enten was analyzing the polls with regards to the economy,

00:05:33.320 and they are not where they should be for President Trump.

00:05:36.140 They want him prioritizing inflation.

00:05:39.120 They don't want him prioritizing tariffs.

00:05:41.860 Yet that is exactly what he is doing.

00:05:44.620 So on this particular issue, Donald Trump is simply put not with the American public.

00:05:50.200 They oppose the tariffs, and yet they believe Donald Trump is going ahead with them.

00:05:53.760 And that is a big reason why we've seen Donald Trump's overall approval rating

00:05:57.340 take a pretty big dip over the last two months and change.

00:06:01.560 Okay, so again, President Trump is still riding pretty high,

00:06:04.500 but all of that is predicated on no serious economic downturn.

00:06:08.040 And there's no reason for this.

00:06:09.000 Smith celebrated the result of her work in her own post to X.

00:06:12.340 She said,

00:06:13.160 She highlighted that common ground that was found,

00:06:37.280 that being that the tariff war is bad for both countries.

00:06:40.780 Smith claimed that Shapiro's Daily Wire has a monthly reach of 220 million followers.

00:06:47.000 Journalist David Staples said this is the second largest audience of anyone in Trump's base.

00:06:52.940 In a separate Facebook post, Shapiro said,

00:06:55.720 Even while Canada dodged much of the tariffs on April 2nd,

00:07:08.020 the market still took a serious hit.

00:07:10.460 Alberta NDP leader Nahid Nenshi complained about Smith meeting with Shapiro before she went,

00:07:15.900 calling him an extremist.

00:07:17.720 Then, going back to our lead story last week,

00:07:20.140 Smith grouped Nenshi and Mark Carney as enemies of Alberta,

00:07:23.580 warning that they were trying to divide Canadians

00:07:25.900 and were too focused on virtue signaling instead of diplomacy.

00:07:29.520 She said,

00:07:30.740 Their endgame is quite obvious.

00:07:32.580 Frighten and divide Canadians.

00:07:34.540 Try and make Canadians forget the utter incompetence of liberal and NDP policies

00:07:38.820 inflicted upon this country over the last 10 years.

00:07:42.160 Associate conservatives with President Trump.

00:07:45.060 Despite saying that Team Carney wanted her to abandon her post

00:07:48.280 and let legacy media punnets and left-wing politicians push her around, 1.00

00:07:52.140 Smith said she would not be silent.

00:07:55.460 She said,

00:07:56.460 We will not be pushed around and called traitors

00:07:58.960 for merely having the courage to actually do something about our nation's

00:08:02.800 and our province's predicament

00:08:04.360 other than merely indulging in self-righteous tantrums. 0.71

00:08:07.740 And I, for one, will never be silenced by the party in Ottawa

00:08:10.780 that has sold out our beloved province for the last 10 years

00:08:14.340 with the help of their NDP collaborators.

00:08:17.380 Smith added,

00:08:18.120 Taking it back to another aspect we covered last week,

00:08:31.080 Smith highlighted one of the many contradictions that Mark Carney has made.

00:08:35.120 She said that he told her in person that Bill C-69 was bad for energy projects

00:08:40.080 and needed to be dealt with.

00:08:41.700 Perhaps him dealing with it was somehow misinterpreted, though,

00:08:45.240 as Carney has now come out in support of the No More Pipelines Act.

00:08:49.220 He said his government would not repeal the bill.

00:08:52.920 Smith said,

00:08:53.700 Hopefully this election results in a new prime minister

00:09:00.060 that can be trusted to get rid of these terrible policies.

00:09:04.060 In Smith's first meeting with Carney,

00:09:05.660 she laid out various demands to,

00:09:07.880 avoid an unprecedented national unity crisis.

00:09:11.700 One of the demands, of course, was to kill Bill C-69.

00:09:15.000 Many of the other demands echoed those of the 14 energy behemoths

00:09:19.060 in the letter they recently wrote to Carney,

00:09:21.260 urging him to declare a,

00:09:22.840 Canadian energy crisis.

00:09:25.260 These other demands included scrapping the planned emissions cap,

00:09:28.520 repealing the carbon levy on major industrial emitters,

00:09:31.420 and lifting regulatory barriers that have slowed the sector.

00:09:34.400 While the consumer portion of the carbon tax

00:09:36.540 was lowered to $0 on April 1st,

00:09:39.200 the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act remains on the books

00:09:42.280 and can only be removed by a majority vote in Parliament.

00:09:46.040 The industrial levy remains as well.

00:09:48.480 Nonetheless, Smith posted a picture of her

00:09:50.780 holding up an Axe the Tax sign on X,

00:09:53.560 celebrating Conservative leader Pierre Prolliefre's government

00:09:56.400 for their years of pressure and work on dealing with the carbon tax.

00:10:00.200 She said Albertans can expect to save $215 in fuel

00:10:04.420 and $480 in home heating annually.

00:10:07.900 She said her government will be watching retailers

00:10:10.180 and holding them accountable to make sure

00:10:12.440 that Albertans get the tax break they deserve.

00:10:15.140 The much-anticipated Liberation Day,

00:10:17.720 announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on April 2nd,

00:10:21.060 saw Canada avoid much of the worst tariffs

00:10:23.640 as the country was excluded from a list of countries

00:10:27.040 who had reciprocal tariffs placed against them.

00:10:29.980 However, Trump announced a sweeping 25% tariff

00:10:32.960 on all automobile imports, including those from Canada.

00:10:37.200 Trump said, quote,

00:10:38.380 For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged,

00:10:41.820 raped, and plundered by nations near and far,

00:10:44.840 both friend and foe alike.

00:10:46.900 American steelworkers, autoworkers, farmers,

00:10:49.500 and skilled craftsmen, they really suffered gravely.

00:10:53.000 They watched in anguish as foreign leaders

00:10:55.120 have stolen our jobs, foreign cheaters have ransacked

00:10:57.820 our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart 1.00

00:11:00.440 our once-beautiful American dream.

00:11:02.880 Canada is also still subject to a 25% tariff

00:11:06.020 on steel and aluminum.

00:11:07.240 However, a carve-out for all goods

00:11:09.320 previously negotiated under Kuzma was granted.

00:11:12.980 Smith said that the Kuzma carve-out is exactly

00:11:15.500 what she's been asking the U.S. administration for

00:11:17.800 during her months of negotiating.

00:11:20.120 She added this means that most goods will have no tariffs,

00:11:23.100 such as energy, minerals, agricultural products,

00:11:26.860 uranium, seafood, and more.

00:11:29.140 Smith said, quote,

00:11:30.560 I again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts

00:11:33.860 to focus on diplomacy and persuasion

00:11:36.360 while avoiding unnecessary escalation.

00:11:39.240 Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective

00:11:41.920 to this point.

00:11:43.340 She added, quote,

00:11:44.740 As it appears the worst of this tariff dispute

00:11:46.740 is behind us, though there is still work to be done,

00:11:49.180 It is my sincere hope that we, as Canadians,

00:11:52.140 can abandon the disastrous policies

00:11:54.360 that have made Canada vulnerable to

00:11:56.200 and overly dependent on the United States.

00:11:58.960 Fast-track national resource corridors,

00:12:01.240 get out of the way of provincial resource development,

00:12:03.740 and turn our country into an independent

00:12:05.560 economic juggernaut and energy superpower.

00:12:08.900 The reciprocal tariffs announced by Trump

00:12:10.900 applied to 50 other countries.

00:12:13.480 Trump said any company not wanting to pay the tariffs

00:12:16.160 would have to move its manufacturing to America.

00:12:18.340 He noted several companies,

00:12:20.040 including Meta, Apple, and General Motors,

00:12:22.500 which have already begun investing

00:12:23.960 up to $500 billion each in moving production to the U.S.

00:12:29.000 He also said any nation hit with reciprocal tariffs

00:12:31.860 wishing to remove them

00:12:32.980 will have to remove their own tariffs,

00:12:34.680 drop their trade restrictions,

00:12:36.120 and not manipulate their currencies.

00:12:38.580 Trump said, quote,

00:12:39.920 I think you're going to remember today.

00:12:41.620 It's going to be a free nation that we're dealing with.

00:12:43.980 We're going to have a very free and beautiful nation.

00:12:46.200 It's going to be Liberation Day in America.

00:12:48.700 And it's going to be a day that hopefully 0.99

00:12:50.160 you're going to look back in years to come

00:12:52.100 and you're going to say,

00:12:53.660 you know, he was right.

00:12:54.920 This has turned out to be one of the most important days

00:12:57.440 in the history of our country.

00:12:59.420 That wraps up this week's show.

00:13:01.300 My name's Isaac Lamoureux,

00:13:02.480 your host of the Alberta Roundup.

00:13:03.880 Have a great weekend.

00:13:04.700 Thank you and God bless.

Juno News - April 06, 2025

Smith and Quebec team up to fight feds

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