Juno News - Smith slams Carney’s cabinet, warns of renewed anti-oil agenda

00:00:00.000 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is slamming Prime Minister Mark Carney's new Cabinet picks,

00:00:16.320 warning that they signal a continuation of Ottawa's anti-resource agenda.

00:00:21.040 Smith is also calling on the new Environment Minister to reject misleading pipeline claims

00:00:26.240 made by her predecessor, Stephen Guibault. While sharing the stage with Alberta Prosperity

00:00:30.960 Project CEO Mitch Sylvester, Smith doubled down on her pledge to reject the status quo from Ottawa.

00:00:37.600 The meeting between the two came the same day the project revealed its official referendum question.

00:00:43.280 Meanwhile, the Alberta UCP is freezing Alberta's industrial carbon tax

00:00:48.000 indefinitely amid growing uncertainty from tariff threats and investment instability.

00:00:53.280 All that and more on this week's Alberta Roundup. I'm your host, Isaac Lamoureux. Let's hop into that

00:00:58.000 first story now. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is warning that Prime Minister Mark Carney's newly

00:01:03.360 unveiled Cabinet signals a continuation of Ottawa's anti-resource agenda. She said that while she's

00:01:09.600 been trying to give Carney the benefit of the doubt, one of his first actions as Prime Minister is a step

00:01:15.200 in the wrong direction. Carney unveiled his 28th Minister Cabinet on Tuesday. Half of the ministers

00:01:21.280 served in former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's inner circle. Also, because Carney forced gender parity in

00:01:28.000 the Cabinet, it consists of 14 men and 14 women. Because it's 2015.

00:01:37.280 Smith has consistently pushed Ottawa to scrap policies including the oil and gas emissions cap,

00:01:43.040 clean electricity rules, plastic bans, Bill C-69, and other federal environmental mandates.

00:01:50.000 Following the most recent general election, Smith met with Carney and reiterated her demands,

00:01:55.040 saying that he replied by saying he would rapidly advance national building projects.

00:02:00.800 She said, quote,

00:02:02.320 Following this meeting, I gave the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt. We wanted to see whether he

00:02:07.360 would take decisive and meaningful action to repair the relationship between Alberta and Ottawa,

00:02:12.560 or if this was just more hollow rhetoric that Albertans have become accustomed to. But,

00:02:18.240 with Carney's newly appointed Cabinet, Alberta may be in for more hollow rhetoric after all. 0.54

00:02:23.440 Smith raised her concerns with newly appointed Environment Minister Julie DeBruson. Smith said,

00:02:29.440 quote,

00:02:30.160 Not only is she a self-proclaimed architect of the designation of plastics as toxic,

00:02:35.600 but she is a staunch advocate against oil sands expansion, a proponent of phasing out oil and gas,

00:02:41.280 and for the last four years, she has served as the right hand to former environment minister and

00:02:46.480 militant environmentalist Stephen Guibo. Over the last decade, Smith said that Alberta has suffered due to

00:02:53.680 the anti-development and anti-resource policies pushed by the Liberal government. She said that

00:02:59.120 Alberta is now forced to deal with another keep-it-in-the-ground environment minister. Smith said,

00:03:04.320 quote,

00:03:05.120 This is a step in the wrong direction. I will continue to do everything in my power to negotiate a fair

00:03:11.040 deal for Alberta with the new Prime Minister. Albertans will not stand for the status quo from

00:03:16.640 Ottawa. If the Prime Minister is serious about resetting the relationship between Ottawa and Alberta,

00:03:22.320 then we need meaningful action now, not more of the same. I call on the new environment minister

00:03:28.080 to support Alberta's energy industry and work towards increasing production and market access

00:03:33.360 for our resources. Conservative leader Pierre Polyèvre issued a similar warning. He said that

00:03:39.360 Canadians cannot afford more out-of-touch Liberal policies and spending that has resulted in young

00:03:44.960 Canadians having no chance to buy homes and two million people lining up at food banks. While Carney

00:03:51.280 has talked a big game about taking Canada in a new direction, Polyèvre warned that talk is cheap,

00:03:57.440 and lining his cabinet with the same ministers as former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not a good

00:04:03.280 start. Polyèvre took aim at various ministers, both new and old. Though he noted that Carney had

00:04:09.040 borrowed several of his ideas during the leadership campaign and election, Polyèvre dismissed it as water

00:04:14.800 under the bridge. In fact, he encouraged Carney to take more. Take a listen on the advice Polyèvre gave to Carney.

00:04:20.960 We also have an offer to make the Liberals. My message to Mr. Carney? Steal my ideas.

00:04:29.200 We've got great ideas. And we've been leading the charge on the debate over carbon taxes, inflation,

00:04:35.360 housing prices, crime, drugs, resource development. And I note the Liberals even lifted a few of those

00:04:42.480 ideas and put them in their platform to get reelected. We want to make sure that they were sincere about that.

00:04:47.200 And we're going to continue to put forward solid ideas to make people's lives better every day.

00:04:53.920 Because our purpose is to bring home the promise of Canada that everyone who works hard gets a great

00:04:59.120 life, that anyone from anywhere can do anything, where you get a nice affordable home on a safe street.

00:05:05.600 Every day and in every day, every way, we will fight for our people and our country to put people

00:05:10.400 back in charge of their lives with bigger paychecks, abundant affordable energy, home ownership, low taxes,

00:05:16.880 safe streets, and a strong military in the country that we know and love, Canada. Thank you.

00:05:22.560 For our next story, Alberta Premier Daniel Smith is demanding that the new Liberal Environment Minister

00:05:28.400 disavow misleading comments made by her colleague and predecessor, Canadian Culture Minister Stephen

00:05:34.720 Guibo. Smith has frequently clashed with Guibo in the past, who formerly held the role of Environment Minister.

00:05:40.800 Smith previously labeled him as an ideologue, irritating, a national embarrassment, awful,

00:05:47.360 dangerous, and more. Now, Smith is accusing Guibo of misleading Canadians once again.

00:05:54.400 She said, quote, Canada's new Canadian Identity Minister Stephen Guibo just deceived Canadians,

00:06:01.360 saying we don't need more pipelines because the TMX pipeline is only 40% full and peak oil will be in two years.

00:06:09.120 Yes, Guibo claimed that oil demand would peak in 2028, 29, worldwide, and in Canada. He also said

00:06:16.640 there are no investors for oil and gas or support for an east-west pipeline. He added that pipelines

00:06:22.560 are built by companies, not the government. However, despite these claims, the Trans Mountain

00:06:28.480 expansion was initially set to be built by private investors. After facing regulatory hurdles,

00:06:34.240 court challenges, and political opposition from the Trudeau government, the private investors backed out,

00:06:40.960 and the federal government purchased the project for $4.5 billion. However, the project ultimately

00:06:47.760 cost taxpayers $30.9 billion to fund. Smith said, quote, the facts are that TMX, which just opened and

00:06:55.920 would have been built entirely with private dollars if Ottawa hadn't made it impossible for the original

00:07:01.280 proponent to build it, is already close to capacity. She added that demand for bitumen is projected to

00:07:08.160 grow for decades and it will be required to replace conventional US oil fields. Despite her recent

00:07:14.720 criticisms, which we just talked about, of the new environment minister, Smith also issued a request to

00:07:20.240 her. She said, quote, this is just another example of how misleading and destructive this former environment

00:07:26.800 minister was to Alberta's and Canada's economy and the investment climate. We asked for the new

00:07:33.120 environment minister, Julie DeBruson, to disavow his comments and commit to working with Alberta to

00:07:38.880 build new pipelines to access new markets. Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer blasted

00:07:45.120 Gebo, too. He said that Gebo lied about Trans Mountain's operating capacity and neglected to mention the

00:07:51.520 billions of dollars lost in energy investment in Canada. Scheer said, quote, the Liberals attacked

00:07:58.240 Canada's oil and gas industry for 10 years. Canadians don't want more of the same. For our next story,

00:08:04.480 we'll cover some remarks made by Smith while she was sharing the stage with Alberta Prosperity Project's

00:08:09.680 CEO Mitch Sylvester. Smith said that Albertans aren't asking for special treatment, just freedom. She said,

00:08:17.360 quote, I will not permit the status quo to continue. We are proud Canadians, but our loyalty must not be

00:08:24.080 mistaken for submission. Alberta will stand strong and free. We will be the leaders we were born to be.

00:08:30.880 We will work with the new federal government where possible, but never at the cost of our own

00:08:35.600 prosperity or principles. This is Alberta's moment to stand up, speak out, and build a future that reflects

00:08:41.920 the courage, ambition, and strength of our people. While Smith hasn't endorsed a referendum, Sylvester's

00:08:48.720 Alberta Prosperity Project surpassed 240,000 signatures on Monday, well above the 177,000 that

00:08:56.000 will be required once the UCP's newest legislation is passed. The meeting between Smith and Sylvester

00:09:02.640 occurred on the same day the Alberta Prosperity Project revealed its separation referendum question.

00:09:08.560 Smith said she disagreed with those opposed to a referendum question, arguing that the democratic

00:09:14.240 process should be respected if the legal threshold is met. However, Smith reiterated her preference for

00:09:20.880 Alberta to remain in Canada, saying she still sees a path forward for a strong and sovereign Alberta within

00:09:27.520 Confederation. Smith said, quote, the federal policies have blocked pipelines, capped our industries,

00:09:34.640 driven away hundreds of billions of dollars of investment, and these decisions have cost us jobs and

00:09:39.920 opportunity and the future that we owe to our children and grandchildren. Ottawa's overreach from

00:09:45.600 carbon taxes to net zero mandates has not only hurt Alberta, but it's weakened Canada's place of the world.

00:09:52.000 Smith said Ottawa's attacks on Alberta go back further than the last decade of liberal rule, citing Pierre Elliott Trudeau's policies.

00:09:59.760 She said, quote, Pierre wanted to steal Alberta's wealth while Justin wanted to destroy it.

00:10:06.160 She also pointed to media hysteria over US President Donald Trump as an example of hypocrisy.

00:10:12.400 Smith said, quote, the media said Trump was an existential threat to Canada's economy, but Albertans feel the exact same way about Ottawa.

00:10:20.800 As for Carney, Smith said there are two versions, one who worked as Bank of Canada governor under Stephen Harper,

00:10:27.760 and another who became a green extremist following his departure. However, she said Canadians may be

00:10:33.840 finally rejecting the green agenda in favour of economic development. She said Carney has six months

00:10:40.400 to prove he's serious about changing direction. Smith said her government is also exploring the Alberta

00:10:45.760 Bill of Rights as a way to shield law-abiding gun owners from Ottawa's firearm policies. She has put

00:10:51.440 the issue to her Department of Justice to explore further and find out just how much she can do to 1.00

00:10:56.640 shield Albertans from federal overreach. The Alberta Prosperity Project has officially unveiled the

00:11:02.160 question it plans to put to voters if a citizen-initiated referendum on Alberta's independence proceeds.

00:11:08.080 Constitutional lawyer and APP General Counsel Jeffrey Rath revealed the proposed referendum question on Monday.

00:11:14.080 It is, do you agree that the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a

00:11:20.320 province of Canada? The APP says it has already gathered over 240,000 pre-registration signatures.

00:11:27.520 While the legal threshold is technically still 600,000, the UCP's new legislation, Bill 54, would lower

00:11:34.080 that number to 177,000 once passed through legislation. The group is continuing to push forward with that

00:11:39.920 600,000 number in mind despite the fact that this will likely be lowered to 177,000 very shortly.

00:11:45.840 In the meantime, APP has launched an educational campaign to promote its roadmap to sovereignty.

00:11:50.480 The group proposes the creation of an Alberta pension plan, a provincial police force, and full

00:11:55.600 provincial control over resource development, immigration, tax collection, and employment insurance.

00:12:02.320 The project's website reads, quote,

00:12:04.240 Once the project surpasses the required signature threshold, it plans to present the petition to

00:12:16.960 Elections Alberta for approval and begin canvassing the signatures within the timeline, which is 90 days

00:12:23.040 but will be extended to 120 days upon Bill 54's passage. For the last story today, we'll cover how

00:12:29.520 Alberta is fighting back against the federal government's hidden tax. The Alberta government

00:12:34.880 is freezing its industrial carbon tax at $95 per tonne of emissions, citing rising tariffs from the

00:12:40.480 ongoing economic war with the United States and growing uncertainty for investors. Premier Daniel

00:12:46.000 Smith and Environment Minister Rebecca Schultz announced the decision Monday, halting a planned increase to

00:12:51.920 $110 per tonne in 2026 and a further rise to $170 per tonne by 2030 under Alberta's Technology Innovation and

00:13:01.680 Emissions Reduction Regulation. Smith said industry leaders told her that further increases to the

00:13:07.440 carbon tax would be devastating to Alberta's competitiveness. She said, quote, if industry told

00:13:13.120 us that any increase past $100 per tonne would be harmful, you can imagine what $170 per tonne would do.

00:13:20.320 That would be devastating to Alberta's economy. Alberta remains committed to reducing emissions

00:13:25.840 through the development and implementation of new technologies, not on realistically high taxes,

00:13:31.200 while responsibly powering the world for decades to come. In fact, since 2007, Alberta has reduced

00:13:37.520 emissions from oil sands operations by over 22% while increasing oil production by 90%. And overall,

00:13:44.560 emissions across the province are down 7.2%. Schultz said Alberta is being unfairly penalized under Ottawa's

00:13:52.320 climate framework, despite the entire country only contributing 1.5% to global emissions.

00:13:59.360 Schultz said, quote, this is our jurisdiction, not Ottawa's. And if the federal government wants to work

00:14:05.120 together to keep our economy strong, respect the constitution, and do the right thing for the

00:14:10.400 environment, they can follow the path forward that has been outlined by the premier over the last

00:14:16.000 couple of weeks. Schultz also cited a recent estimate that showed Canada at one point was paying 34% of

00:14:23.600 the world's carbon taxes. The freeze is expected to support key sectors including oil and gas, agriculture,

00:14:30.320 petrochemicals, forestry, mining, and more. Smith and Schultz said the freeze was necessary to protect

00:14:36.880 tens of thousands of Alberta jobs and to prevent further economic instability caused by Ottawa's

00:14:43.360 climate mandates and the ongoing U.S. tariff war. That wraps up this week's show. My name's Isaac

00:14:49.280 Lamoureux, your host of the Alberta Roundup. Have a great weekend, thank you, and God bless.

Juno News - May 17, 2025

Smith slams Carney’s cabinet, warns of renewed anti-oil agenda

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