The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - January 25, 2025


Is the tariff dispute 100% Trudeauā€™s faultļ¼Ÿ


Episode Stats

Length

17 minutes

Words per Minute

167.30426

Word Count

3,003

Sentence Count

155

Misogynist Sentences

4


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is 100% to blame for
00:00:17.000 any tariffs that will be placed on Canadian imports by President Donald Trump. Alberta
00:00:21.840 Environment Minister Rebecca Schultz has called on the remaining Canadian banks in a United Nations
00:00:26.700 banking alliance created by Liberal leader hopeful Mark Carney to abandon ship, and it may
00:00:32.520 already be having an effect. Alberta said its hands are tied and accused its federal and local
00:00:37.980 partners for delaying the rebuild in Jasper. Calgary City Council voted to maintain its pay
00:00:43.840 increases despite affordability concerns and widespread opposition. All of this and more
00:00:49.120 in this week's episode of the Alberta Roundup. My name's Isaac Lamoureux, your host of the show,
00:00:53.980 and it's wonderful to be here with you again. Let's hop into that first story now. Smith said
00:00:58.920 that despite President Donald Trump postponing his tariff threat until February 1st, if any tariffs
00:01:04.720 materialize, Trudeau should shoulder 100% of the blame. In fact, let's hop right into a clip of what
00:01:10.940 she said during a media roundtable. Here's what she had to say. Let's be super clear about why we find
00:01:16.760 ourselves in the situation that we're in today. It lands 100% at the feet of Justin Trudeau, who even
00:01:22.860 just a few weeks ago gave a speech where he thought it was an affront to women that Kamala Harris didn't
00:01:30.400 win. We're in a trade negotiation with a brand new administration, and we have a prime minister
00:01:37.360 who keeps on poking his finger in the eye of the current administration and has damaged that
00:01:43.460 relationship. So if there's a failure, it lands at his feet, which is why I'm counting down the days
00:01:49.580 to when he's gone, and we can have a reset. It's 47 days to go, and I hope he doesn't continue torching
00:01:54.860 the relationship in the meantime. All I can do is try to repair and build relationships that should
00:02:03.160 have been repaired and built over the last four years. That is what we do by having our office in
00:02:08.860 Washington. We have good relationships with people on both sides of the aisle because that is what
00:02:15.080 diplomacy is. You have to be able to work with both Democrats and Republicans, and you have to
00:02:21.700 refrain from expressing a preference for who you would like in the White House. And so if there's a
00:02:27.540 failure of leadership, and if there's a damage to the relationship, it's 100% at the feet of Justin
00:02:33.300 Trudeau. Smith said she's doing what she can to negotiate with the United States' administration
00:02:38.380 through her province's Washington office. Smith held the media briefing where she bathed Trudeau from
00:02:44.220 Washington, D.C., where she had been meeting with various U.S. governors, senators, and business
00:02:49.200 leaders over the last few days. She called on all premiers to do the same because there will be a new
00:02:54.560 prime minister in 47 days, and likely another new prime minister shortly thereafter. Due to the rapid
00:03:00.600 turnover of the federal government, premiers will be the only consistent voices in negotiations.
00:03:06.300 Despite being a provincial premier, Smith clarified that she was negotiating for all Canadians and not
00:03:11.760 seeking a specific carve-out for her province alone. Smith's negotiations for Canada to remain
00:03:17.180 tariff-free have focused on the mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries, and that
00:03:22.200 the United States has a $58 billion trade surplus without energy. And this was confirmed by the National
00:03:28.100 Bank of Canada's report. The day before meeting with reporters, Smith issued a press release with six
00:03:33.780 steps the country could take to avoid future tariffs being imposed. One suggestion was to restore
00:03:39.480 immigration levels to those under former prime minister Stephen Harper. Some others were to
00:03:44.120 double down on border security and hit Canada's 2% GDP NATO target. Whether the tariffs come on
00:03:50.320 February 1st or April 1st, as suggested by the executive order, Smith doubled down on her preferred
00:03:55.740 approach of collaboration over retaliation. She previously refused to support a potential export tax on
00:04:02.720 Alberta energy. Following a meeting between the country's premiers and the prime minister last
00:04:07.580 Wednesday, Alberta refrained from signing the joint statement that outlined the proposed retaliatory
00:04:12.520 measures to Trump's tariffs. Every other premier and Trudeau signed it. Trudeau recently said he supports
00:04:19.360 matching tariffs dollar for dollar with the US. Ontario Premier Doug Ford echoed Trudeau's call for dollar for
00:04:26.840 dollar tariffs. I'm curious to ask, what do you think of Smith opposing the approach of Trudeau and other
00:04:32.740 premiers? Is she the only one in the right or is she out to lunch? Smith explained that Canada's economy is
00:04:39.700 one-tenth the size of the US's and that Canada is much more reliant on its southern partner than vice
00:04:45.840 versa. She said, quote, trying to go tit for tat in a tariff war without addressing the underlying issues
00:04:52.220 is not going to go well for Canada. Despite Smith's reluctance, an Ipsos poll from the same day as her press
00:04:58.700 conference highlighted that 82% of Canadians support a retaliatory tariff. However, Smith said that she
00:05:05.620 doesn't govern based on opinion polls. Smith said, quote, this is a relationship that's lasted more
00:05:11.440 than a hundred years. We have, from time to time, skirmishes, but you don't torch an a hundred-year
00:05:17.180 relationship over a temporary problem. She added, you identify the issues that are causing the irritation
00:05:22.980 and then you work through them one at a time. Instead of fighting, Smith wants to double down
00:05:28.160 on oil production and pipeline capacity. She wants to get as many projects on the go during this four-year
00:05:34.140 administration before a potential change in government and change in energy stewardship leads
00:05:38.620 to abandoning projects, much like what happened with Keystone XL. So moving on to our next story here,
00:05:44.540 I wrote an exclusive this week on how Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schultz was calling on the four
00:05:49.480 remaining Canadian banks in a United Nations banking alliance created by Liberal leader hopeful Mark
00:05:54.620 Carney to abandon ship. And her call is already having an effect. So I wrote the exclusive on Monday
00:06:01.160 and one of the four remaining banks, Scotiabank, withdrew from the alliance on the very same day.
00:06:07.100 Schultz said, quote, the alliance is a bit of a scam. It's designed to give Liberals like Carney a
00:06:12.640 platform to virtue signal about the environment, but it's also designed to attack industries who are
00:06:17.480 actually lowering emissions. She told Truenorth that it was only a matter of time until the alliance used its
00:06:23.500 leverage to restrict financing to other industries it doesn't like, such as mining, forestry, and more.
00:06:29.180 She added that any such attacks would result in a higher cost of living for Albertans and Canadians as they
00:06:34.580 would result in a worse economy, less money, and fewer jobs. On top of all the negatives, Schultz said that
00:06:40.720 international agreements like the alliance do nothing to actually reduce global emissions.
00:06:45.880 Schultz said, quote, it's time to bring back common sense and put the prosperity of our people
00:06:51.380 ahead of ideological liberal policies. Before Scotiabank withdrew on Monday, four Canadian banks
00:06:57.360 withdrew from the alliance on January 17th. The four banks that withdrew were CIBC, TD, National Bank of
00:07:03.520 Canada, and BMO. The departures followed various banks in the United States leaving, to name a few,
00:07:09.280 JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and much more.
00:07:15.880 Every bank in the alliance has signed the commitment statement. The commitment forces
00:07:20.180 banks to transition greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 or earlier. Banks must also set
00:07:26.560 2030 targets within 18 months of joining the alliance, along with the 2050 target and interim
00:07:32.320 goals to be met every five years. The net zero banking alliance is part of the Glasgow Financial
00:07:38.020 Alliance, which Carney assembled in 2021. Working as the UN's special envoy on climate action and
00:07:43.880 finance, he previously called on banks to join the alliance before COP26 in 2021. Schultz told
00:07:50.140 True North that she hopes all Canadians put pressure on the remaining banks in the alliance to abandon
00:07:55.000 the, quote, ideological and out-of-touch policies. She said, quote, it's time for Ottawa to abandon their
00:08:01.480 ideological and partisan pet projects and start putting Canadian families and workers first once
00:08:07.220 again. Schultz also took aim at Carney in her statement to True North. She said, quote,
00:08:12.480 he's a multi-millionaire liberal elite and Justin Trudeau's top economic advisor. He likes to claim
00:08:18.080 he's a political outsider. He's no such thing. He's as big of an insider as it gets. Schultz said that
00:08:24.360 Carney's environmental activism is no different than that of the liberal NDP government. She added that
00:08:29.280 he's supported policies throughout his career that harm Alberta's main industries and increase the cost of
00:08:34.260 living for every Canadian. Like the carbon tax, the proposed oil and gas cap, the energy transition,
00:08:39.560 and even Greta Thunberg's shut-it-down movement, which he allegedly considers himself a part of.
00:08:45.700 Schultz said, quote, Canadians may not know who he is yet, but we know his work. Mark Carney is just
00:08:51.720 another out-of-touch liberal elite disconnected from the everyday concerns of Albertans. The three
00:08:57.160 remaining banks in the alliance are Coast Capital, RBC, and Vancity. Vancity told True North that it remains
00:09:03.040 committed to delivering on emissions reduction and achieving net zero, which it believes the alliance is an important
00:09:08.160 part of. Getting into our next story here, the Alberta government said it can't move towards rebuilding
00:09:13.240 Jasper unless the federal government, the municipality, and Parks Canada hold up their end of the bargain. The
00:09:19.360 province said it can't proceed with its $112 million plan to provide 250 modular homes due to delays and obstacles
00:09:27.060 from Parks Canada and the municipality of Jasper. Alberta's Minister of Seniors, Community, and Social
00:09:32.400 Services, Jason Nixon, said that the province was on track to deliver 250 homes, but that Alberta
00:09:38.380 cannot proceed without land. He said, quote, it's been radio silence from Ottawa since Premier Daniel
00:09:44.120 Smith sent a letter to the Prime Minister nearly a month ago.
00:09:47.300 Smith echoed the concerns in her own post to X. She said, quote,
00:10:08.920 This is unacceptable. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his federal government are in disarray and they are leaving
00:10:14.160 the poor people of Jasper behind. Nixon said the province allocated $112 million to build 250 single
00:10:20.760 family homes by early 2025 contingent on Parks Canada and the municipality of Jasper providing
00:10:26.500 the land. However, Nixon said, quote, they have not followed through on their promise. He added that the
00:10:31.840 municipality and Parks Canada have also asked the province to build outside of the national park and
00:10:37.460 tear down $100 million worth of housing once the town is rebuilt, which he deemed unreasonable demands.
00:10:43.000 Nixon said, quote, at this point in time, the province's hands are tied. This is outside of
00:10:48.500 the province's jurisdiction and we cannot build housing without the cooperation of the park,
00:10:53.160 the federal government, and the municipality. Parks Canada said in a recent interim housing update that
00:10:57.720 it has made over four hectares of land available for interim housing, equivalent to four CFL fields.
00:11:03.540 The organization said it is in the process of securing high-density interim housing solutions consisting of
00:11:08.780 work camp-style accommodation of 120 single units. Additionally, Parks Canada said it had initiated the
00:11:15.120 procurement process for 50 duplex units totaling 100 units. The agency also said it purchased four
00:11:21.320 pre-built housing units that are ready to be delivered to Jasper. The municipality of Jasper's
00:11:26.280 director of recovery, Michael Fark, said that the government of Alberta's offer is appreciated but
00:11:30.800 unrealistic. He said, quote, with the government of Alberta's requirement for permanent single detached
00:11:35.760 units, using all of the serviceable 4.25 hectares of available land would only yield approximately 60
00:11:41.880 single detached units, far below the 250 units of housing support announced. The Jasper rebuild has
00:11:47.920 five phases. According to Parks Canada, it is currently in phase two, design your build, with construction
00:11:53.540 scheduled for phase four and occupancy planned for phase five. The Jasper wildfires caused nearly $1 billion
00:11:59.880 in damage and destroyed a third of the town, resulting in 360 square kilometers of burned or partially
00:12:05.920 burned area and 358 destroyed structures. Nixon said, quote, our hearts break for those who lost
00:12:12.520 their homes and are now receiving the incredibly disappointing news that their return to Jasper
00:12:16.720 may be further delayed. We continue to call upon the federal government to meet their obligations
00:12:21.760 in their national park. Parks Canada told True North that it remains flexible to work with all levels of
00:12:27.200 government to resolve housing needs resulting from the wildfires. So our next story is on our favorite
00:12:32.020 city to cover on the show, which is, of course, Calgary. Calgary City Council rejected a motion to
00:12:37.020 freeze salaries at 2024 levels after various councillors and the mayor presented the proposal the week
00:12:42.800 before. The motion proposed freezing salaries at 2024 levels, which would have actually resulted in a
00:12:47.900 slight pay decrease for the mayor and councillors, since their recent raise would be rolled back. The motion
00:12:53.120 resulted in a 7-7 vote, and ties always result in motions being defeated, but this motion needed
00:12:58.600 actually a two-thirds majority to pass because the previous raises were approved on the average
00:13:03.760 weekly earnings formula. The start of 2025 saw the mayor and councillors receive a 3.07% pay increase,
00:13:11.060 bringing the total raises to 9.49% since 2022. Councillors are paid about $124,000 annually,
00:13:18.680 and the mayor makes just over $220,000 a year, more than Premier Danielle Smith, who makes about
00:13:24.760 $185,000 annually. City councillor Sonia Sharpe introduced the motion and had some strong words
00:13:30.940 following its defeat. Sharpe said she believes councillors should have a set wage throughout
00:13:35.280 their four-year term. She said, quote, when you run for council, you should know what you'll be paid,
00:13:40.940 and if you're only running for the prospect of a raise every year, you're running for the wrong reasons.
00:13:45.480 One of the councillors who voted against the motion, thereby supporting the wage increase,
00:13:49.540 Jennifer Wines, defended her vote. She said, quote, our wages go up and down with Albertans' wages,
00:13:55.680 as directed by citizens. Calgary's economy is doing well, and wages are improving. But even Gondek
00:14:00.940 said elected officials should not take pay raises while Calgarians are struggling. She said, quote,
00:14:06.100 Calgarians are struggling with higher grocery bills, increasing utility rates, and inflation. If we're
00:14:11.080 asking city administration to find efficiencies and Calgarians to stretch their budgets,
00:14:15.200 we must hold ourselves to the same standard. Canadian Taxpayers Federation Alberta director
00:14:20.640 Chris Sims told True North that the council should not only freeze pay raises, but also refocus on the
00:14:26.300 municipal government's core purposes, to keep the streets and infrastructure safe, clean, and in good
00:14:31.300 repair. She said, quote, being a city councillor was never supposed to be a full-time dream career for
00:14:37.320 politicians who want to save the world. It was supposed to be a part-time role for people like small
00:14:42.000 business owners, retired teachers, and former cops. So a stipend for their public service was just
00:14:47.620 fine. Sharp took a similar stance in her rebuke of the vote. She said, quote, if you don't want to
00:14:53.260 run because you don't get a raise every year, then you know what? Maybe it's not the job for you. Maybe
00:14:57.780 you're running for the wrong reasons. I know that this job requires a lot of work, but it's really the
00:15:02.160 impact that we have on Calgarians, and they see that. So that wraps up our stories for the week.
00:15:06.440 Let's hop into the comment roundup. The first comment comes from at Louise Hislop,
00:15:10.800 V-O-8-L-H, who said, quote, I'm so disappointed with my premier Scott Moe. He should be standing
00:15:17.800 shoulder to shoulder with Alberta and Smith. Stay strong, Alberta. True Canadians stand with you.
00:15:24.080 Yeah, I found this interesting to add because of the rift we've seen recently forming between Smith
00:15:29.440 and the other premiers and Trudeau, notably when she refused to sign the joint statement regarding the
00:15:35.060 Trump tariffs that I previously discussed in this show. I'm curious to ask whether you think more
00:15:39.580 premiers will join her side, as there seems to be some suggestions that they soon might, or will
00:15:44.460 they continue down the path of trying to be combative with the US? The next comment comes
00:15:49.500 from at DianeVC4361, who said, quote, Just another Trudeau. Public beware. This was among a clear theme of
00:15:57.880 comments against Carney, and I could have chosen any of the hundreds. You all clearly had a great
00:16:02.520 disliking of Carney and are skeptical of what he might do in power. Let's remember, the person who
00:16:08.700 wins the liberal leadership election will immediately become the prime minister without
00:16:13.400 an election from the Canadian people. Another person at RickVervoot9536 said, quote,
00:16:19.540 Thank you, Mark, for keeping us safe from the truth. Yeah, Rick, that one made me chuckle,
00:16:25.640 so I thought I'd throw it in. This was, of course, in relation to the fact that Carney banned
00:16:29.420 independent media, including TrueNorth and myself, from his campaign launch. I'm curious,
00:16:33.840 though, do you think Carney will definitely win, or does Freeland have a chance, or perhaps even
00:16:38.020 someone else? The last comment today comes from at DennisGriffith2670, who said, quote,
00:16:43.660 As a Manitobian, Manitobian? I stand with Alberta and Smith, and wish Wobb would have the same backbone
00:16:50.760 as Smith. As for Carney refusing independent media, it just shows he's another WEF slash Trudeau dictator.
00:16:56.980 Yeah, Canu has constantly pulled at the top of premiers nationwide, and I'm curious to ask
00:17:02.140 what impact you think the whole tariff dilemma, and how premiers are handling it, notably Smith,
00:17:07.700 might have, on the public reception of premiers across the country. Let me know.
00:17:12.440 That wraps up our comment roundup in this week's show. My name's Isaac Lamoureux,
00:17:16.620 your host of the Alberta Roundup. Have a great weekend. Thank you and God bless. May Alberta prosper,
00:17:21.960 strong and free.
00:17:26.980 Thank you and God bless.