Smith fights U.S. tariffs, blasts Carney and Nenshi
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Summary
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith delivered a nearly 10-minute speech in the Alberta legislature defending her government's stance in the face of tariff threats from the United States. Her speech alluded to her upcoming meeting with Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro, which we've previously discussed on the show. Separate from that, Smith blasted Mark Carney for flip-flopping on his stance on the oil and gas emissions cap, after a new report showed that Alberta would get the short end of the stick if that continues. An Alberta NDP MLA will run for Carney's Liberal Party despite years of blasting the party with some very strong language and now broken promises, a conservative Calgary candidate previously donated to the Liberals and Liberal MP George Johal s riding association, who wouldn't say whether his pre-election ads were funded with taxpayer money. All that and more on the Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux ( )!
Transcript
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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith delivered a nearly 10-minute address in the Alberta
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legislature about how her government has stood up for Albertans in the face of tariff threats
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from the United States. Throughout the address, she took aim at Liberal Party of Canada leader
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Mark Carney and Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nanshi, along with the Liberal NDP leadership
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nationwide over the last decade. Her speech alluded to her defense of her upcoming meeting
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with Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro, which we've previously discussed on the show. She also
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released a statement independent of that further defending the upcoming fireside chat. Separate
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from that, Smith blasted Carney for flip-flopping on his stance on the oil and gas emissions cap
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after a new report released showed that Alberta would get the short end of the stick if that
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continues. An Alberta NDP MLA will run for Carney's Liberal Party despite years of blasting the party
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with some very strong language and now broken promises. A conservative Calgary candidate previously
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donated to the Liberals and Liberal MP George Johal's riding association. Speaking of Johal,
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he wouldn't say whether his pre-election ads were funded with taxpayer money. And coming back to
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Carney and sports, which we haven't discussed in some time, Oilers fans developed a new term,
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the Carney curse, after the team had some bad luck following Carney skating with the Oilers ahead of
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a recent game. All that and more on the Alberta Roundup today with me, your host, Isaac Lamoureux.
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Now let's hop into that first story. So Alberta Premier Danielle Smith delivered an almost 10-minute
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statement in the Alberta legislature, taking aim at Carney and Nanshi, while defending her position
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and record of standing up to the tariff threats with a head-on approach to protect Albertans and
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all Canadians. While I encourage you to watch the entirety of the 10-minute speech posted by Smith
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to X because it was very powerful, I'll do my best to break it down for you in a succinct manner and
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feature the clips that stood out most to me. Smith began by saying that the country was more or less
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united aside from the Alberta NDP on trying to convince the US not to impose tariffs against
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Canada over the last four months prior to the recent election call. She said that every premier
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was encouraged by one another and even by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to visit the US,
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get on US media, speak with every American official and influencer possible to try and subside the tariff
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threats. She said that was the entire position behind the Team Canada approach. But then she said
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everything changed when Mark Carney became Prime Minister. She equated talking to media personalities
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in the US now as, quote, treason, adding that talking to high-profile Republicans with influence over the
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President as apparently now disloyal behavior. Smith said, quote, it is a high crime to try and convince US
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officials to refrain from imposing tariffs until after our country has an elected leader with a strong mandate.
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Shame on all who dare to speak with the enemy, they say. These are the Team Carney and Nancy NDP
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talking points. Smith said the following on the talking points. Take a listen.
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Their endgame is quite obvious. Frighten and divide Canadians. Try and make Canadians forget the utter
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incompetence of liberal and NDP policies that have been inflicted on this country over the last 10 years.
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Associate conservatives with President Trump. And if they play their cards just right and sprinkle
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in just enough anti-Alberta rhetoric, presto, Canada might elect another liberal majority government.
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She added that they aren't entirely wrong because the country is vulnerable, which Smith attributed to
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the liberals and NDP waging war on the country's natural resources over the last decade.
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On top of waging war in the energy sector, Smith said that liberal and NDP leaders have weakened the
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country's security and military in the name of their, quote, green extremist religion and its cult leaders
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named Gibbo, Suzuki, Gore and Thunberg. Take a listen to the following quote.
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Canadians are poorer than Americans, overly dependent on the Americans and vulnerable to many nations,
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including the Americans. Canada has indeed been sold out big time and it's been sold out by the
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utter incompetent, self-righteous and extreme policies of liberal and NDP leadership across
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this country, including the NENCHI NDP right here in Alberta. From C-69 to oil and gas production
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caps to tanker bans to a dozen other examples, the liberals and their allies have attacked the
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Alberta and Saskatchewan economies mercilessly. She then took aim directly at NENCHI for making angry
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tweets at Trump, becoming TikTok rage farmers to stir up fear and loathing, and throwing hands in the
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air while accomplishing nothing. Conversely, she said her and her government have spent hundreds of
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hours talking with, lobbying, educating and persuading anyone who would listen in the United
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States about the economic devastation that the tariffs would wreck. Smith said she'd lost count
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of the nights sleeping in hotel beds and in airports doing everything humanly possible to stand up for
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Albertan and Canadian workers. She applauded other conservative premiers in Canada who have acted
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similarly, naming Scott Moe, Tim Houston and Doug Ford. She said there have been some promising results,
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notably that while steel and aluminum are being tariffed, remaining Canadian goods stand tariff-free
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instead of the threatened 25%. Smith said the following of what would have happened if NENCHI were in power.
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And what has the NENCHI NDP done to contribute to this effort? Not a single thing other than raging
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against this government for every effort we have taken to protect Albertans. Needless to say,
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there is not a doubt in my mind that had the NENCHI NDP been in charge during this period,
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we would likely have long ago been hit with across the board 25% tariffs and lost thousands of Alberta
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jobs already. Because the NDP have no idea what diplomacy is, as they don't know how to talk
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constructively or effectively with anyone they disagree with. And glad we never need to find out.
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However, Smith said the war isn't over. There is another deadline looming on April 2nd,
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and Smith is off to the United States again, this time to speak to Ben Shapiro and try and make a
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difference. The last clip we'll have you listen to for this story is longer, but it's Smith's
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conclusion and a powerful one at that. Take a listen. And what does Team Carney want me to do?
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They want me to abandon my post, remain in Alberta and do absolutely nothing to defend our province.
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They want me to cower in the face of Eastern media pundits and politicians who favor political
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grandstanding to effective diplomacy. I'm fiercely criticized for going into the lion's den to change
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the hearts and minds of the very Americans that we need on Canada's side to avoid a trade war with
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the most powerful economy on earth. They want this lady and Alberta to just sit down and shut up.
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Well, here is my response to that. I will not be silent. Alberta will not be silent. We will not
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be pushed around and called traitors for merely having the courage to actually do something about
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our nations and provinces predicament other than merely indulging in self-righteous tantrums. And I,
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for one, will never be silenced by the party in Ottawa that has sold out our beloved province for the
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last 10 years with the help of their NDP collaborators. I have and I always will put Albertans first. And until
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this danger to Alberta and our economy is passed, they're going to have to have to roll me off off in a
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stretcher before I will stop fighting for our province and our people. So they can call me, I'm a caucus,
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whatever name in the dictionary they want. As long as Albertans know that we are fighting for them
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and their families, we could care less with the members opposite or liberal politicians in Ottawa
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have to say about us. Because Albertans expect their premier and government to always put Albertans first
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and lead them through this storm with fearless determination. As Winston Churchill once said,
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fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision. We on this side of the house have made the decision
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to act with courage so that Alberta may remain forever strong and free.
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Wow, Smith is not backing down. We discussed the upcoming Shapiro appearance on a previous episode of
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the Alberta Roundup, but here Smith is defending it further. She issued a separate news release
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explaining the importance of the upcoming chat with the Daily Wire founder. She said the show has a
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monthly reach of 220 million people. Smith said, quote, I am committed to acting in the best interest of
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Alberta and all Albertans. This includes continuing to engage with the influential Americans in the US
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to make it clear that the continuation of destructive tariffs on Canadian goods and energy
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will cost hundreds of thousands of American and Canadian jobs and benefit no one. This is an
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important opportunity to gain support in the US and add voices to the conversation that will help
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amplify Alberta's and Canada's calls to work together on solutions and to rebuild our important trade
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relationship. Her itinerary is featured in the release and she said the expenses will be posted for
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the public to see. Sticking with Smith for our next story, she called out Carney for his inconsistent
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messaging surrounding his position on an oil and gas emissions cap. Smith said that Carney came to
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Edmonton and said he opposed an oil and gas production cap last Thursday, but then said the
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exact opposite, expressing support for it in Ottawa the next day. She said, quote, the more things change,
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the more they stay the same. The Liberals clearly have not learned their lesson and have no plan to make our
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country into the independent economic powerhouse it could be. Carney's new environment minister,
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Terry de Guide, apparently told the media that the Liberals' emission cap is here to stay.
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Smith said, quote, this has been the same story for the last 10 years. Liberals come to Alberta,
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smile for the cameras, tell everyone how much they're going to work with Alberta and support the energy
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sector. Then they leave, go home and proceed to do everything in their power to roadblock and scare away
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investment from the energy sector. We'll remember Carney previously came under fire for similar
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contradictory remarks, where he told English and French-speaking audiences conflicting stories about
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the future of pipelines in Canada. The day after Carney called the election for April 28th, another report,
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this time from the Conference Board of Canada, highlighted the economic devastation that a federal
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emissions cap would have on the country. This report showed that while all Canadians will be poorer due to
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the cap, Albertans will be affected disproportionately. By 2050, the report highlights that Alberta's GDP will
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shrink by 11%, employment will decrease by 4.1%, and the average Albertan will have 3,300 less
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indispensable income. By 2030, the report suggests that Alberta will experience a deep recession due to
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the plan. Nationally, real GDP will fall by 3.8% due to the emissions cap by 2050. Canadian oil and
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gas production would drop by 37% by 2050. Nationwide, employment is expected to fall by 2.6%, and consumer
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prices are expected to increase by 2.5%. If the economic damage isn't bad enough, the report concluded that the
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emissions cap won't even result in Canada meeting its emissions target. Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca
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These findings should send a message to whoever ends up being the next federal government. Our province
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remains firmly committed to protecting the environment and creating a future for our children,
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but that can't be achieved by trampling on Canadians' livelihoods. She added, quote,
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Ottawa has offered nothing but penalties and vague rhetoric. Instead of meaningful incentives to
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reduce emissions, we get carbon taxes, production caps, and layers and layers of costly regulations,
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all burdening families and workers who are already struggling. The emissions reduction plan includes
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the carbon tax, emissions cap, electricity regulations, and more. The Parliamentary Budget
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Officer similarly recently published a report showing that the federal emissions cap would lead to a
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$20.5 billion decrease in Canada's GDP by 2032 and the loss of 54,400 jobs. Alberta has already
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rejected the Liberals' electricity regulations and threatened a court fight. Canada's top energy
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executives recently called on the federal government to declare a, quote, Canadian energy crisis and
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cancel most of the measures contained in the plan. Smith said it was time for Carney to offer clarity to
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Canadians on whether he supported the production cap before they head to the polls, not after. Now
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hopping into an election story not involving the Premier, former Alberta NDP MLA Rod Loyola announced
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he will be running a federal liberal candidacy right after he resigned from his seat in the provincial
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legislature. He has a long history of slamming the federal Liberals and insisting he would never
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work with the party. He wrote in a post to X, uh, Twitter at the time, on March 25th, 2015, quote,
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You won't catch me working with the Liberal Party of Canada. They talk like NDPers, but they act like cons.
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Loyola resigned his provincial seat in the Edmonton Ellerslie riding on Tuesday. He announced his
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candidacy for the federal Liberal nomination in Edmonton Gateway the following day and was confirmed
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as a candidate shortly after. In 2014, Loyola also criticized then-Liberal leader Justin Trudeau,
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writing in a post to X that Trudeau, quote, only cares about his Liberal Party, not the hardworking
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Canadians that built this country. With an evident change of heart, Loyola said he was excited to be
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a part of Carney's team. He called Carney the first, quote, Edmontonian Prime Minister. Carney was born in
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Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. He moved to Edmonton at age six and his father ran as a Liberal
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candidate for Edmonton South shortly after, in the 1980 federal election. The Liberal leader has taken flack
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online for resigning outside of Canada over the past decade and being unclear about whether he had a
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Canadian residence. Carney has been an Irish citizen since birth and a citizen of the United Kingdom since
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2018 when he was the former governor of the Bank of England. Loyola also previously shared a quote from
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Anne McGrath in 2013, the former president of the Alberta NDP, who said, quote,
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we must win is who we are. We must not win as a Liberal Party. Alberta's Environment Minister,
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Rebecca Schultz, blasted Loyola for his change of heart. She said, quote, there is zero difference
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between the NDP and the Liberal Party of Canada now. Maybe a different color, but same ideological
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activists, same broken promises. Popular poll aggregator 338 Canada currently has Edmonton Gateway
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as a toss-up between the Liberals and Conservatives, giving the Conservatives a slight edge. The Conservative
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candidate in the district is Tim Uppel, who currently sits as an MP for Edmonton Millwoods.
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Edmonton Gateway is a new federal riding. The 2022 Canadian Federal Electoral Redistribution
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saw it created out of parts of Edmonton Millwoods, Edmonton Riverbend, and Edmonton Wetaskiwin.
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Sticking with stories on individual candidates, this time with an exclusive, Elections Canada
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records reveal that Calgary Skyview Conservative candidate Amanpreet Singh Gill previously made donations
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to the Federal Liberal Party and Liberal MP George Chahal's Riding Association. According to filings
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from Elections Canada, Gill made multiple donations to the Liberal Party of Canada and one donation to
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the Calgary Skyview Federal Liberal Association in 2022. The documents show a $500 donation by Gill
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to Chahal's Riding Association on July 8, 2022. Chahal was elected as the Liberal MP for Calgary Skyview
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in 2021 but is now running as a candidate in the neighbouring Calgary McKnight Riding. The other
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donations were made to the Liberal Party of Canada. Despite his monetary support to the Liberals,
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Gill ran for the Alberta's United Conservative Party in the 2023 provincial election and is now
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seeking federal office under the Conservative Party of Canada banner for the upcoming federal
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election on April 28. Gill's donation to the Calgary Skyview Federal Liberal Association
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came after incumbent Chahal was caught violating election advertising laws in 2021. He was caught
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on video removing an opponent's flyer from a residence's home, replacing it with his own,
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and fined $500 for violating election advertising laws. Similarly, Chahal recently faced public scrutiny
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for not revealing if taxpayer funds were spent on pre-election ads. Popular poll aggregator 338 Canada
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currently has Calgary Skyview as a toss-up between the Liberals and Conservatives. Now, sticking with
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George Chahal, he recently faced accusations that he was using public funds to sidestep political
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advertising rules prior to a federal election after signs emblazoned with his face and the House of
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Commons logo popped up in Calgary. Chahal's signs, which displayed Logans like Canada is not for sale
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alongside the House of Commons logo, have prompted concerns about whether current election laws are too
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easily skirted. The signs also refer to his official title as Member of Parliament, Calgary Skyview.
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Some online have suggested that taxpayers might be footing the bill.
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Federal laws exist that prohibit the unauthorized use of official symbols, including parliamentary shields,
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crests, and royal coats of arms. While Elections Canada does not regulate the use of parliamentary
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resources outside of election periods, MPs are expected to avoid using taxpayer-funded resources
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for partisan purposes. Once the writ is issued, the Canada Elections Act prohibits using public funds
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for campaign advertising. And remember, these signs popped up about a week before the election was
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called. Rules on how MPs may spend parliamentary budgets outside of election periods are governed by
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the House of Commons Board of Internal Economy, which prohibits using resources for activities unrelated
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to a member's parliamentary functions. For our last story today, we'll be diving back into sports,
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which we haven't talked about in a while. And you might think with the MLB season just starting,
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it would be on that, which is why I'm wearing my Blue Jays jersey. But no, today we're talking about hockey
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and what some Oilers fans are now calling the Carney curse. Firstly, the Edmonton Oilers decided to post a
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video of Mark Carney skating on the ice with the team at practice. The post was not taken well,
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as most of the top comments were blasting the team for letting politics enter the game they loved.
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In fact, many of the top comments contain language too explicit to show here.
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One of the top commenters who received over 1,000 likes on his reply wrote, quote,
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As an Oilers fan, I am disappointed and disgusted with the Oilers for allowing this.
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Top commentators on X also shared other images and videos of Carney participating with added commentary.
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We all know if this guy had his way, he would force them to change their team name. He hates
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Oil and Gas. Carney was wearing goalie skates despite skating around as a forward. He played
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for Harvard University as a third string goaltender. A popular hockey commentator and former Edmonton
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Oiler Ryan Whitney created a new term after Carney's display. He said, quote,
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The Carney curse is real for Edmonton. What the hell just happened? Guy is on the ice with the Oil this
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morning and now everyone is injured. Of course, Leon Dreisaitl was injured before Carney's trip to
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Edmonton. However, the Edmonton Oilers played the Winnipeg Jets the night Carney laced up his skates.
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And during the game, the Oilers' best player and arguably the best player in the world,
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Connor McDavid, and starting goaltender Stuart Skinner, were both injured and had to leave the
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game. The Oilers ended up losing to the Winnipeg Jets in overtime.
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While this game happened last Thursday, McDavid and Dreisaitl remain injured. Stuart Skinner returned
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but was injured again and had to leave the game this Wednesday. Despite Carney lacing up and trying
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to appease Edmontonians, he named his 23-minister cabinet last week. Of the 23 ministers sworn in
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by Governor General Mary Simon, only one is west of Winnipeg. Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson,
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who represents the BC riding of North Vancouver. Not a single minister was elected in an Alberta
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riding. That wraps up this week's show. My name's Isaac Lamoureux, your host of the Alberta Roundup.
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Have a great weekend, thank you, and God bless.