Danielle Smith drops BOMBSHELL on Canada, outlines pathway to independence in 2026, pathetic CBC hit piece BACKFIRES
Episode Stats
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181.10329
Summary
Candice Malan talks about Alberta s new deal with the federal government, the Alberta Accord, and the upcoming referendum on equalization with Ottawa. She also talks about an embarrassing report from the CBC on the future of Canada.
Transcript
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Hi, I'm Candice Malcolm, and this is The Candice Malcolm Show.
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So yesterday afternoon, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith gave a absolutely stunning press conference
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that I believe will change the future of Canada no matter what happens.
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It was that powerful, the best speech that I have ever seen Premier Smith deliver, unbelievable
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content, and I think that this will make Canada a stronger country, and it will make Alberta
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stronger and more prosperous, the way that it should have been from the beginning, to
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So we're going to get to all of that, and later in the show, we're going to talk about
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help us be discovered by more and more Canadians.
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Okay, so yesterday, like I said, Premier Smith announces some changes.
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She commits to potentially even a referendum and lays out the path for a future-free Alberta.
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First, she talks about something called the Alberta Accord.
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This is a new arrangement, a new agreement with the feds, with Ottawa, that will, like
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So let's play that clip of Premier Smith talking about the Alberta Accord.
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While I will, in good faith, work with Prime Minister Mark Carney on unwinding the mountain
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of destructive legislation and policies that have ravaged our provincial and national economies
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this past decade, until I see tangible proof of real change, Alberta will be taking steps
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I will soon appoint a special negotiating team to represent our province in negotiations
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with the federal government on the following reforms requested by our province.
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We hope this will result in a binding agreement that Albertans can have confidence in.
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Okay, so the Alberta Accord includes four parts.
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The first one is that Alberta requires a guaranteed corridor and port access to tidewater off the
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Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic coasts, all three.
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And for international export of Alberta oil, gas, critical minerals and other resources
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in amounts supported by the free market rather than dictated by Ottawa.
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Next, second, it demands that the federal government must end all federal interference in the development
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of provincial resources by repealing the No New Pipelines Law Bill C-69, the oil tanker ban,
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the net zero electricity regulations, the oil and gas emissions cap, the net zero vehicle mandate
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in any federal law regulation that purports to regulate industrial carbon emissions, plastics
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or the commercial free speech of energy companies.
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Number three, that the federal government must refrain from imposing export taxes or restrictions
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on the export of Alberta resources without the consent of the government of Alberta.
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And fourth, finally, the federal government must provide to Alberta the same per capita federal
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transfers and equalization as is received by the other three largest provinces, Quebec, Ontario,
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The whole idea behind equalization, even if you're someone like me who has been a critic
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of the program for a very, very long time, it is not a fair program.
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The basic idea is that the smaller provinces should have a similar standard of life as the
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So the idea is that, sure, rich provinces like Alberta can transfer some money over to Prince
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Edward Island so that people in PEI can have similar health care and education.
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You could argue that there's some rationale behind it.
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I don't like the idea of transferring money from taxpayers to a French country.
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But the idea is not so that rich resource development provinces like Alberta can subsidize communism
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and socialism in places like Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
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So good on Danielle Smith for saying no to that.
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Okay, we've got our next clip here, which is that a Danielle Smith premier, Danielle Smith
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announced that she will chair something called the Alberta Next panel made up of judicial, economic,
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and academic leaders to explore Alberta's future in Canada.
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While these negotiations with Ottawa are ongoing, our government will appoint, and I will chair,
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This panel will be composed of some of our best and brightest judicial, academic, and economic
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minds to join with me in a series of in-person and online town halls to discuss Alberta's future
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in Canada, and specifically, what next steps we can take as a province to better protect Alberta
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from any current or future hostile policies of the federal government.
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After the work of the panel is finished, it is likely we will place some of the more popular
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ideas discussed with the panel to a provincial referendum so that all Albertans can vote on
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So the idea is that they are going to come up with best ideas for the future of Alberta
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and have a referendum in 2026 about whether the Albertans, people of the province of Alberta,
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She specifically said that the idea of this referendum was not to have a vote for separation.
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However, if there is a citizen's initiative and a petition that meets the threshold of the
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citizen's initiative act, that she will respect the democratic will of the people, and there
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will include a referendum for separation on that ballot.
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To be clear from the outset, our government will not be putting a vote on separation from
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However, if there is a successful citizen-led referendum petition that is able to gather
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the requisite number of signatures requesting such a question to be put on a referendum, our
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government will respect the democratic process and include that question on the 2026 provincial
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That is the line drawn in the sand by Premier Danielle Smith on the future in Canada.
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I'll just read one more thing that she wrote on X.
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Wow, pretty incredible stuff happening out of Alberta.
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And to talk about it and help us understand the context from someone in Alberta, pleased
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Corey is a senior columnist and host with the Western Standard.
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He co-founded the Alberta Independence Party all the way back in 2000, and he was a founding
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Remember that Danielle Smith went on to become the leader of the Wildrose Party.
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OK, Corey, so just tell us, what did you think of Premier Smith's address yesterday?
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And what do you think about these new changes to create either a stronger Alberta or perhaps
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I mean, it's the most aggressive defense of Albertan rights that we've seen from a Premier,
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I think Albertans are going to be a bit leery, though.
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We had the Alberta agenda 25 years ago that Stephen Harper brought in.
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I mean, the difference with Smith this time, though, is she's definitely inserted a big
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But she's going to reestablish it with this Alberta Accord and then add some teeth to it,
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potentially, with giving the ability to hold an independence referendum or enshrining the
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conclusions, at least of the other things aside for independence, in a referendum to show Albertans
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really, really do support these means for provincial autonomy through a referenda.
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And it's going to make it difficult for the government to ignore.
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She must know that the prime minister is not going to see to those.
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They're not going to get rid of their legislation that blocks resource development in the West.
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They're not going to take on Quebec and allow a utility corridor with a pipeline to go through it.
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So I guess it kind of puts the ball in Carney's court.
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OK, so, Corey, I totally agree that there are irreconcilable differences, it seems,
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between the federal liberal government and the United Conservative government in Alberta.
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I'm wondering, though, like the timeline of a referendum or at least a vote that could include
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I mean, I'm just wondering on the ground in Calgary and in Alberta, it seems to me that
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the moment the election was settled, people wanted to talk about independence.
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They want to talk about separation immediately.
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And it seems like there is a bigger appetite than ever.
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So can you sort of just describe what the sentiment is like in Alberta right now?
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Yeah, the sentiment's red hot in Alberta and Albertans are frustrated.
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I mean, 10 years of abuse from a liberal government, and then it appears if you just chop the head
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off and replace it with somebody else, that Central Canada was more than happy to give
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But at the same time, as support for independence, if you're talking 30%, 40%, which is pretty
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strong, a record high when you're getting a third or more of Albertans who are ready to
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go, people should be sitting up and paying attention.
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And if we held a referendum next week, we would lose.
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There's no organization for campaigning or making the case.
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So I think 2026, perhaps we're getting a little more realistic.
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I mean, I know that some of the rage will cool down.
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I mean, if the liberals carry on as they had in the last 10 years, the rage is only going
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And it allows Albertans more time to clarify than what they want to do and really make that
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strong decision if and when an independence referendum comes.
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It is not going to be Premier Smith who invokes a referendum on independence.
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And she made the legislation more realistic so that the bar could be achieved if Albertans
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So there's probably a pretty good likelihood we're going to see that referendum in 2026.
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And I do believe Albertans need that much time, though, to really chew on that issue on
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Well, it's interesting that you say that, yes, the bar was lowered to trigger a referendum,
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Like, they still need to have a clear majority, whatever that means.
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Maybe you can shed some light for the viewers about the Clarity Act and how, interestingly,
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Quebec separatism and that movement in the 90s and a Supreme Court hearing case, I think it was
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in 1998, actually led the path that could potentially lead to Alberta separating.
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Quebec came within 1% of separating in a referendum in 1995.
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But part of the issues with that was it was a very odd question.
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I think everybody knew it was a yes or no question, but it was phrased very awkwardly
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So they got a court ruling on how these would be held for the sake of clarity.
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And it has to be a clear question about whether one's in or out.
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And if a province, though, it also ruled and that votes with a majority on a clear question,
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the rest of the country is obligated to begin negotiating the independence of that province
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It sets about the rules as well as to what would have to occur in order for a province
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to consider independence, which isn't necessarily easy.
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They can't deny that a province has the right to do such a thing.
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They certainly didn't have the courage to tell Quebec they don't have the right to do
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Alberta has that same right as to Saskatchewan or British Columbia.
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So following the rules of the Clarity Act, a province can conceivably vote to go.
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Corey Morgan from Western Standard, we really appreciate your time and your insights today.
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So while Premier Smith is doing incredibly important and powerful things in Alberta,
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Canada's state broadcaster is doing what they do.
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And yesterday they put out a ridiculous, pathetic, attempted hit job against Premier
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The idea is that they, I guess, put in an access to information or freedom of information
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request and found out that Premier Smith's trip to Mar-a-Lago earlier this year to visit
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And they try to drum this up into a huge controversy like how dare she waste this money and put on
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And this is this is fake news to a T. This is why the CBC has no credibility.
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This is one of the worst reports that I have seen.
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Just total fake news, trying to create a scandal where there is none, trying to just pick on
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one politician because they don't like her, because she's just too conservative for the
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So let's play this clip and I will walk you through just how terrible it is in case it
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wasn't obvious enough to you for just watching it.
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But I'll point out the extra obnoxious, ridiculous parts of it.
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Well, as Canada's prime minister prepares for his meeting with Donald Trump, we're learning
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more today about a meeting in early January between Alberta's premier, Daniel Smith and
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We know it took place at Trump's residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
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And as Julia Wong tells us, some critics are raising questions about whether taxpayers received
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Before we go to this reporter, you can just see the way she sets it up.
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We are learning this information and some people are wondering if taxpayers get good
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$10,000 for a diplomatic meeting that actually had huge consequences on Alberta and taxpayers,
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But just the entire setup of this, again, just shows you how ridiculous the CBC is.
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It's like they're cosplaying journalism, but it's really just anti-conservative activism
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And it's just so, it's so transparently obvious.
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Premier Danielle Smith has called her meeting at Mar-a-Lago with then-president-elect Donald
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Now, more details are emerging about the trip itself.
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The visit in early January took place before Trump became president and came as a trade war
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Smith has said she emphasized the mutual importance of the U.S.-Canada energy relationship
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Documents obtained by CBC News through a Freedom of Information request outlined Smith made
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the trip to Trump's Florida golf club with two government staffers and Alberta's senior
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And records show the roughly 48-hour visit cost taxpayers more than $10,000.
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What I asked the president was, do you want to buy more oil and gas from Canada?
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Concerns have been raised about the cost and value of the trip.
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Concerns have been raised about the cost and the value, really?
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Is there like a huge uprising of concerned citizens saying, like, how dare she spend,
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I'm sorry, $10,000, $10,000, and she brought two staff, OK, two staffers and the premier.
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They went all the way to Florida, had a whole bunch of meetings.
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I interviewed Premier Smith and I asked her about this.
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I asked her about a report that was in the Calgary Sun that when President Trump walked
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into the room at Mar-a-Lago, he has these big kind of state ballrooms, ballroom dinners,
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full of dignitaries and full of people who just want to meet the president.
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And when he saw Premier Smith, he beelined to her, went right up to her and started talking
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And she confirmed that that was true and that they did have a constructive meeting.
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Think about, folks, just think about how much money the Ontario government, the federal
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government, every other government is spending on lobbyists, is spending on, like, literally
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just pouring out American-made alcohol that they had already purchased, right?
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Like, think about all the wastefulness that has gone into this insane elbows-up movement,
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And then compare that to $10,000 for an incredibly constructive meeting that actually led to
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Because remember, when Donald Trump announced the tariffs, it was 25% tariffs on Canada and
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That 15% savings in the tariff came directly because of Premier Smith and her meeting and
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All right, let's play the rest of this ridiculous report.
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Asked the Premier's office how long Smith had with Trump and why so many people were involved
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They said Premier Smith and two of her advisors.
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But we're supposed to believe a three-man team going to visit the President of the United
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And then they go to a political science professor here that's supposed to, what, somehow explain
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We're talking about a large sum of money, $10,000.
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To be spent for perhaps more people being involved.
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I looked it up, folks, because I like crunching numbers.
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The government of Alberta in 2025 is projected to spend, it anticipates spending, $79 billion,
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Just the government of Alberta plans to spend $80 billion, $10,000 as a percentage of $80 billion
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That's four zeros, 0.000012% of all federal, of all, sorry, provincial spending.
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By any extent of the imagination, it is nothing.
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And I would guess that universally Albertans would say that this was good value for money.
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$10,000 for a meeting one-on-one with President Trump that directly resulted in a reduced tariff by 15% that will save Alberta's economy untold billions.
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So the whole idea behind this segment is propaganda and lies and the fact that they found a political science professor to pretend that this is a real thing.
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Federally funded, federally funded, federally funded, finding a bunch of liberals who are all funded by the carny liberal government to pretend that anybody cares about this ridiculous story.
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Again, just shows you how unnecessary the CBC is, how political it is, how partisan it is, and how just absolutely reprehensible it is that this thing continues to get funding.
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To be spent for perhaps more people being involved than were necessary for what might have been a very brief exchange and had very little impact.
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So this political science professor has no idea what she's talking about or she's pretending that the thing that happened after this didn't actually happen, which, again, is just pathetic and shameful.
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...of scarce taxpayer dollars that comes into question in cases like this.
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The premier's office pointed to comments she's previously made, where she said her strategy was to meet with people who can influence the U.S. president.
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Okay, so just again, reason number 1005, why the CBC just should not be funded anymore.
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They are trying to create a scandal out of nothing.
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How much did it cost when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went down to Mar-a-Lago?
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How about Doug Ford when he went down to Washington to meet with Howard Lutnik or other administration officials?
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Because when you're a liberal, you can get away with anything.
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If you're a conservative, they are going to all of a sudden become sleuths and try to safeguard every last penny that the taxpayer is on the hook for, right?
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When it comes to $1.5 billion for the CBC, no interest, no interest at all in whether the money is well spent or providing a service for Canadians.
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But if the Premier of Alberta spends $10,000 to secure the top meeting with the top official, the most important person in the world, and especially when it comes to dealing with the tariffs that he himself is imposing, yeah, I'm going to say $10,000 for a meeting with President Trump by the Premier that literally changed the course of the tariffs for Alberta.
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I'm going to say that that is good use of the money, better than all the lobbyists by the federal government and the Ontario government, better than any of the other things that they are trying to do.
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And again, this is why it brings me no joy to have to cover the CBC.
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It actually pains me to have to watch their reporting because it's so cringe and so bad.
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But folks, I just need you to know what they're reporting, what they're telling Canadians.
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You know, those poor Canadians who don't know that there is an alternative, who are sitting at home and they watch the CBC because they think that's the only option, and they're fed this propaganda and they're fed this absolute nonsense.
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It's honestly no – you can't really blame them for the way that they view the world and the reason that they keep voting Liberals.
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It is because they're sucked into this propaganda vortex.
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And it is so shameful for a free country like Canada to have this kind of programming, which, again, is why the CBC has to go.
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All right, folks, that's all the time we have for today.
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We'll be back again tomorrow with all the news.
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