Josh takes over the show while Corey is on vacation. The guys discuss the latest in the news including the latest on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Canada's First Ministers conference, and much, much more! This episode is sponsored by New World Precious Metals, based right here in Alberta.
00:02:07.420Yeah, it's another busy day in the news, Josh.
00:02:10.740Breaking just right now is apparently there's been a deal reached between Hamas and the Israelis
00:02:16.660to end the fighting in Gaza for a couple of months and hopefully start releasing some hostages.
00:02:25.880As early as Sunday, of course, either side could change their mind at any second, and I think a lot is going to depend on how many of the hostages right now are dead and what the Israeli reaction to that will be, especially around the children and the babies and stuff like that.
00:02:46.520So it's going to be an interesting few days, especially with Donald Trump.
00:02:52.200You know, his shadow is cast over everything now.
00:02:58.280And in Ottawa today, the Liberals rolled out their $1.3 billion plan to protect the border.
00:03:06.800And what do we have, 8,000 kilometers long?
00:12:39.220I don't think that was the walk in the snow our dear Prime Minister expected.
00:12:44.380Trudeau finally ended all speculation about his future and mercifully announced his intention
00:12:49.560to resign before Parliament returns from the proroguing granted by the Governor-General.
00:12:54.700Not that he had another choice. All three major opposition parties, the required majority of the
00:13:01.500House, had made it clear that they would vote no confidence in the government as soon as Parliament
00:13:06.320reconvened. In order to avoid a humiliating election defeat, Trudeau had to go. Internal
00:13:13.040liberal voices were growing louder, calling on the Prime Minister to swallow his pride and get the
00:13:17.780blank out of office so he did announcing his intention to resign as prime minister by march
00:13:23.86024th now our nation's political system is paralyzed for three months as the liberals select a new
00:13:30.060leader and a prime minister in the meantime canada's economy is weak our streets are ridden
00:13:34.980with crime and our taxes are rising morale is dropping across the country people are concerned
00:13:41.560about their futures and they should be canada is not healthy canada is vulnerable incoming
00:13:47.320American President Donald Trump knows this. He has deeply held frustrations about our trade
00:13:52.540relationship. And he likes Trudeau about as much as I do. Trump has threatened a blanket 25% tariff
00:13:59.240on all goods crossing the border. This is bad news for the Canadian economy, the United States
00:14:04.140being by far our largest trading partner. Industries such as auto, ag and energy will
00:14:09.720be severely impacted. Our Laurentian brothers in confederation don't seem too interested in
00:14:15.040lowering the temperature either. Is your government prepared to cut off supplies of
00:14:20.960energy, for example, to the United States? What I can tell you is everything is on the
00:14:25.380table. We attack livelihoods of people of Ontario and Canadians. We're going to use1.00
00:14:29.560every tool in our toolbox to defend Ontarians and Canadians across the border. We will go
00:14:35.440to the full extent, depending on how far this goes. We will go to the extent of cutting off
00:14:40.920their energy. Look, I don't have a doctorate in trade theory, but I don't think aggressive
00:14:46.120posturing is going to do us any favors. The president-elect is openly musing about annex
00:14:51.120in Canada, and I think this is a negotiation play. But Trump's 51st state taunts have had an impact
00:14:57.440on the psyche of our political leaders and have exploded a few talking heads because it plays on
00:15:03.640a divisive element that has existed in Canadian politics for decades. Most Western Canadians are
00:15:08.840located much closer to the U.S. border than we are to the federal government in Ottawa.
00:15:13.020This means that in many cases, cross-border integration has been a vital part in the
00:15:18.180development of our industries. So when Ottawa brings in policies to protect Canadian interests
00:15:23.620at the expense of Western Canadian provinces, such as Alberta, we have a tendency to get upset.
00:15:29.920Think of the National Energy Program or the Canadian Wheat Board, just as two prominent
00:15:34.080examples. And why has nobody suggested we cut off exports from the automotive industry? Or why not
00:15:40.280just cut off all experts from the province of Ontario? What about the abolishment of the supply
00:15:45.100management system designed to protect predominantly Quebecois farmers? Why do these Laurentians1.00
00:15:51.200constantly target Alberta as the scapegoat? This is exactly why when most Albertans hear the phrase
00:15:57.600I'm from Ottawa and I'm here to help, they start running for the exit. Now cutting off the flow of
00:16:03.380natural resources from Canada to the United States, as Premier Daniel Smith puts it,
00:16:09.500cause a national unity crisis. Here's the thing I find irritating about Eastern politicians
00:16:16.580making that argument. The reason I find it irritating is because we could have had Energy
00:16:23.540East, which would have expanded our ability to support our friends in Eastern Canada and also
00:16:29.860been an export market off the East Coast. We could have had Northern Gateway, which would have
00:16:35.860expanded and supported export markets in a more substantial way off the West Coast. And Eastern
00:16:42.940politicians advocated against those things. And so we went to work on expanding our access to the
00:16:49.500United States with additional egress, with twinning, with looping. We did that because the rest of the
00:16:56.940country wasn't interested in having that conversation. So to now make the argument
00:17:01.700that that's a point of leverage is going to be very, very irritating, not only to me,
00:17:06.980but also to my fellow Albertans. It is irritating. Not only do Laurentian
00:17:14.420politicians limit our access to export markets in other parts of the world, they also, through the
00:17:20.200principle of equalization, rob us blind every time we pay our taxes. I'm not just talking about the
00:17:26.600formal equalization program either which hit a record 26.2 billion in aggregate size in 2024
00:17:32.480with 13.6 billion going to Quebec alone due to Alberta's higher per capita income Alberta workers
00:17:39.600pay more on average in taxes and yet only receive in theory per capita federal spending through
00:17:46.160major programs about 14 percent of all federal government revenue is generated in the province
00:17:52.400of Alberta, home to only about 11.5% of the population. The federal government actually
00:17:57.560spends less than 11.5% of expenditures on programs in Alberta. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to
00:18:04.780figure out we're getting hosed here. From Alberta, Smith's approach has been much more diplomatic.
00:18:10.700She understands the importance of cross-border integration and the vital role it plays in
00:18:15.480maintaining a healthy relationship with the United States. For months, she has been seeking U.S.
00:18:20.600allies, and even had a quick chinwag with the president-elect in Mar-a-Lago over the weekend.
00:18:26.020On Monday, she will be attending Trump's inauguration in Washington. What does this all
00:18:30.560mean? The worst possible outcome in all of this is a scenario in which Smith's diplomacy actually
00:18:36.620does prove to be a more effective approach, and Alberta's energy exports are exempted.
00:18:42.040In that case, in retaliation, as we indicated earlier, Ottawa could slap restrictions on our
00:18:49.440side of the border, limiting the flow of energy products south, all while being prorogued and
00:18:54.860being led by a lame duck prime minister who, in all fairness, did get the out of office.
00:19:02.260I think it's more likely that no tariffs are or that the tariffs are applied and no exceptions
00:19:07.700are applied. And in that sense, the tariffs hit all industries evenly. Regardless, the absolute
00:19:13.820lack of diplomatic tact from our eastern brethren puts Alberta in a tough spot and it proves once1.00
00:19:20.200again that we cannot allow Ottawa to act as our spokesman in international affairs. It is vital
00:19:26.300that our provincial government defend our interests on the international stage. Our federal government
00:19:30.820is in shambles, our economy is a joke, and in the void our political leaders are escalating rhetoric
00:19:37.580in a trade war that I for one don't want. With that we turn to United Conservative Party MLA
00:19:43.720representing Red Deer South Jason Stephan. Jason thanks for joining us how are you doing today?
00:19:48.200Hey thank you so much Josh it's great associating with you on many great things
00:19:54.200and it's great to be here on the Western Standard with you.
00:19:57.320Well yeah no we're always happy to have you. I guess first question I wanted to ask you is
00:20:02.280what extent we know that there is a lot of cross-border integration between Canada and
00:20:07.560united states uh what extent uh or what impact do you think these tariffs are going to have
00:20:13.720on alberta's economy and do you think that the approach of the premier is the right one
00:20:18.600in being more diplomatic in the face of uh of some of our eastern partners in confederation being
00:20:24.840in my opinion at least overly aggressive yeah i think it's important for albertans and canadians
00:20:30.920to to know that in terms of the type of exports from canada to the u.s uh oil and natural energy
00:20:41.640products uh you know dwarf really everything else in comparison i have uh just an estimate
00:20:49.960of canadian exports to the us for 2023 and crude oil accounts for over 130 billion
00:20:59.560in export value to the U.S. and Canadian dollars. And the next commodity or product
00:21:08.200is medium petrol cars at $22 billion. And if you take all of the manufacturing in terms of cars
00:21:17.980and machinery, crude oil in and of itself exceeds the aggregate value of all those other commodities
00:21:29.520uh and we have even talked about uh things like propane natural gas just crude oil by itself
00:21:36.720uh dwarfs everything else it's quite uh it's quite significant so of course these
00:21:42.480tariffs would really cause a lot of pain disproportionately to alberta but of course
00:21:48.240when alberta doesn't win canada doesn't win because as you mentioned and as we know really
00:21:54.960Alberta disproportionately funds everything else in Canada. Just on your second question,
00:22:02.540the Premier has been doing a wonderful job. I mean, I think it starts from a basic position that
00:22:09.080the Premier, myself, many Albertans appreciate and value the United States.
00:22:14.640They are a great country. And because the United States, we enjoy in Alberta and in Canada,
00:22:21.180increase prosperity. So I appreciate the Premier's efforts to focus on seeking a win-win
00:22:29.240result, focusing on how trade between the two nations has contributed to mutual prosperity
00:22:36.660and benefit and goodwill for the countries. And so seeking a win-win relationship is the
00:22:44.400right approach here. And so I really appreciate the leadership of the Premier on this and
00:22:51.020certainly there's a big contrast between unfortunately some of the other leaders in the
00:22:57.020country. My next question is about the economy and about the dollar. Canada's economy over the last
00:23:03.320few years by almost every indicator that I've seen is lagging the United States which has led to a
00:23:08.960divergence in the currency a weaker Canadian dollar. I was just wondering if you could comment
00:23:12.880on that and give us some feedback on why our relationship with the United States is so
00:23:18.020important in maintaining economic stability within the country of canada yeah i mean the us dollar
00:23:25.540is sort of the safe harbor currency uh throughout the world and so of course they have that
00:23:34.020competitive advantage in their exchange rate vis-a-vis all the other uh nations in the world
00:23:40.340but this this competitive advantage of the us in particularly impacts canada because of course
00:23:47.780were neighbors uh with the u.s but because of the destructive socialist policies of the federal
00:23:56.180government which have led to decrease economic competitiveness for all what we see is unfortunately
00:24:05.620a divergence in the economic performance that you see i spoke earlier about this from a per capita
00:24:12.980GDP perspective but it has also impacted our currencies because of course the US economy
00:24:21.540is performing significantly better than the Canadian economy there has been this interest
00:24:29.460rate divergence where the Bank of Canada because of the slowing economic concerns in Canada the
00:24:36.660the recessionary concerns, which are going to come as surely as night follows day in Canada,
00:24:45.020has been forced to cut interest rates at a quicker rate than the U.S., which is enjoying economic
00:24:54.540recovery. So the divergence in interest rates are really an indicator or an alignment of the
00:25:02.400economic performance between the two countries but we have seen a very profound uh recent
00:25:09.360impact from the canadian dollar we we've seen this now now our our exchange rate to get um
00:25:17.840one canadian dollar gets you less than 70 cents uh from a u.s perspective uh we were in the mid
00:25:26.24070s for a long time but the con the the impact here is just beginning is very very concerning
00:25:34.480because our ability to import capital which improves our productivity it's now going to be
00:25:42.000more uh difficult more expensive for us to become in that way and while you know we do compete uh
00:25:51.120from an export perspective perhaps because we have a lower exchange rate versus the us our goods
00:25:59.840are cheaper in that way it also creates friction because one of the main concerns of the president
00:26:08.000elect is trade imbalance and if we are depreciating our dollar which impacts us over the long term
00:26:17.040in a negative way uh this is just going to increase uh that friction so again seeking
00:26:25.040win-win relationships with greater economic integration will create greater alignment
00:26:33.920between canada and the u.s a great and prosperous nation the most powerful economic powerhouse in
00:26:43.520the entire world we want to work together for mutual gain and benefit energy security is
00:26:52.080absolutely essential to the to the economic well-being of north america is there as we
00:27:00.960move forward and as negotiations start up is there a way that we can use energy and and our oil and
00:27:07.040gas products as a a olive branch to the united states in order to have a tariff free type of a
00:27:14.160relationship in the long run and and do you think that this uh we'll call it a conflict between the
00:27:18.960two countries opens the door for us to have a better relationship moving forward if we can
00:27:24.720properly handle this through diplomatic channels i think so i mean when you think about the friends
00:27:31.680that you have deep friendships i think about my own marriage it's important to be able to have
00:27:38.560open conversations about things that perhaps you don't necessarily agree on all corners on
00:27:45.840and so having a robust discussion on focused on the merits is a very positive thing for any
00:27:51.600relationship you know and when we talk about economic security that's really an aspect of
00:27:59.760win-win we see other nations colluding together sometimes acting in destructive ways you know
00:28:08.400our friendship with the u.s other than with other provinces in terms of alberta the u.s
00:28:16.400and us should be our best customers uh we you know why why buy oil and gas products from
00:28:25.440countries and nations, which are not our friends, sometimes seeking to undermine and cause harm,
00:28:33.340we should be uniting together. We share many of the same values of principle, seeking
00:28:40.620individual prosperity and freedom for all of the citizens of our respective nations.
00:28:47.940So there's really a great opportunity now to integrate more, you know, to seize upon this
00:28:53.780as an opportunity to again have that win-win relationship. And again, the premier's focused
00:28:59.400on that. Unfortunately, some of the other leaders in our country are not. Okay, moving on. Thanks
00:29:06.000for that answer, Jason. Another question I had was, how about the aspect of the premier actually
00:29:12.880getting an audience with the president? I know it's very rare for provincial leaders to get that
00:29:18.220face-to-face time with the president. Kevin O'Leary was on the record of saying that he was
00:29:23.280very impressed with it. Of course, he was the one that set up the meeting. I was wondering if you'd
00:29:27.140comment on that and what your thoughts were. Sure. I think it's really remarkable and impressive
00:29:33.880actually that the Premier was able, you know, a leader of a subnational government of Canada was
00:29:41.260able to have in-person audience with the President-elect of the United States, the most powerful
00:29:49.120nation on the earth. You know, the premier has many unique strengths, one of which she is1.00
00:29:55.960articulate. She is a great listener. She is intelligent and pleasant. And again, I think that
00:30:03.060because the premier has been focusing in a constructive manner on a win-win relationship,
00:30:09.200She is someone that is respected. The president-elect does not respect Trudeau. Trudeau is the worst prime minister that Canada has ever had. He is a horrible lame duck leader. He has caused so much destruction to Canada.
00:30:31.540I am so glad that 2025, we are going to be changing.
00:30:36.720Someone that has really been getting in the way, frankly, of Alberta and prosperity for Canada as a whole.
00:31:48.820We have seen a pattern of this from other provinces, frankly,
00:31:54.680certainly the federal government but again this is a lose-lose type of mindset you know again
00:32:04.620the premier is talking win-win she genuinely genuinely likes the U.S. so do I I respect
00:32:11.720and admire them I respect and admire many people have respect and admiration and want to have a
00:32:19.560win-win she likes people i really find it disappointing frankly that again um you know
00:32:27.020unfortunately there seems to be sort of a bit of a culture of envy uh certainly from the federal
00:32:33.020government that we're able to succeed in spite of ottawa continually being hostile capricious
00:32:41.400getting in the way holding us back it's very unfortunate because again they hold back all
00:32:46.300of Canada. So I like the win-win versus the lose-lose relationship. We should be focusing
00:32:52.860on the mutual benefits and advantages that we enjoy and seek greater economic independence
00:33:00.620or interdependence with the US. What does Trudeau say? He says, well, one of the things that define
00:33:07.680Canadians is we're not Americans. I mean, that is so pathetically weak from the leader of our
00:33:15.140country so weak you know and it's kind of insulting it kind of implies an insult to americans as well
00:33:22.660i'm just so disappointed this man needs to get out as soon as he can he's getting in the way
00:33:28.740you know and for the good of canada you know they the lemming caucus of the liberal party
00:33:34.580has really done a great disservice to the entire nation they should be wiped out
00:33:38.820in the next election. And frankly, as well as their sidekick mothership NDP, who has aided
00:33:48.340and abetted destruction for all of Canada. It's very unfortunate. But again, good times are ahead
00:33:54.560because we get to get rid of these clowns with once and for all, we got to get rid of them.
00:33:59.620Yeah. So one of the other issues that the president raised, president-elect raised in
00:34:04.380his communications about our international border was a lack of security in terms of
00:34:11.900both drugs and migrant movement. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the actions
00:34:17.220that the Alberta government has taken in dealing with this issue and how that puts us in really a
00:34:22.380better light in terms of our relationship with the incoming president. Well again this again a
00:34:29.520contrast in relationship. You know, everyone wants to have good border security. Everyone wants to
00:34:39.460have controlled migration to reduce drugs. You know, unfortunately, again, this federal government
00:34:46.300has been light on drugs with their support of more drug liberalization with all their drug sites
00:34:57.480and just ridiculous policies, their open border, out-of-control immigration.
00:35:04.680And, of course, that lack of security for individuals coming into the country
00:35:10.920does create risks of more vulnerability, and that's just a matter of public record.
00:35:18.060So I really appreciate, again, the Premier doing the job of the federal government
00:35:24.100and focusing on making sure that our borders are more secure and safe that we're harder on drugs
00:35:31.540and crime and i do appreciate as well that the federal government although it seems to be um
00:35:38.660later than they should they you know if they had been doing their job in the first place this
00:35:42.980would not be as much of an issue but they have taken some constructive action and i i do appreciate
00:35:48.900that that's good there's room for improvement on both sides of the border but i do hope that
00:35:54.100We do work together, again, for a stronger win-win relationship.
00:35:58.180Again, I appreciate the leadership of the Premier because she identified, you know, addressed the concern, the legitimate concern,
00:36:07.280and sought to improve things, you know, where we can do that.
00:36:12.220But we're doing the federal government's job, just for the record.
00:36:15.580Well, I think that's part of the issue.
00:36:17.120And I think that's really where and this is coming from me is that, yeah, we as a province, we have to have our own interests in mind, because if we leave the federal government in charge of our affairs, we are going to get less than we're paying in or even just completely abused in certain aspects.
00:36:40.020And so I do think that what we're seeing is a shift in the power dynamics in this country, that the premier is taking a more forward role in representing Alberta, and which we haven't really seen since the days of Peter Lockheed back in the 1980s, and to maybe a lesser extent, Don Getty.
00:37:00.860But I just I personally think and you can comment on this as well, that this is absolutely essential to the future of our province, that if we, again, leave our affairs in the hands of a government dominated by 199 of the 338 seats being in Ontario and Quebec, that we are not going to ever get fairly treated and that we have to at least try and defend ourselves in the best way possible through the means that we're doing.
00:37:26.800So, yeah, you can comment on that if you want. That's just my thoughts.
00:37:30.860Yeah, it's really unfortunate. I actually wish that the federal government would act in a principled and fair way.
00:37:39.420We certainly pay them a lot of money for them to do this.
00:37:45.000They have failed miserably, miserably in doing it.
00:37:50.580And so to protect the public interest, she has a stewardship and a duty to Albertans.
00:37:57.460and she is having to do some heavy lifting that unfortunately the federal government
00:38:02.740has failed to do and she has shown great leadership you know and I appreciate the
00:38:10.440premier not only speaking and leading by example but not only in word but deed you know unfortunately
00:38:17.480our former premier was sometimes unfortunately more talk and less action sometimes action did
00:38:26.940not align with words. I appreciate the better alignment that we're seeing from Premier Danielle
00:38:33.680Smith in seeking the freedom and prosperity for Albertans and for Canada as a whole. That's what
00:38:43.000the federal government should be doing instead of focusing on lose-lose calculations. She is seeking
00:38:51.780win-win calculations. Great job, Premier Smith. One of the issues that President-elect Donald
00:39:00.460Trump raised in the tariff conversation was border security in the sense that Canada wasn't doing
00:39:06.360enough to address the invisible border across the 49th parallel. I was just wondering if you could
00:39:13.120speak to that and maybe talk a little bit about what the Alberta government has done in addressing
00:39:18.880this yeah so you know having border security you know curtailing any flow of drugs across the
00:39:27.040borders is something that i think you know objectively speaking we all want we all want
00:39:34.000that both federally provincially uh from a state from a united states federal government perspective
00:39:41.440we all want to do that and so i appreciate the premier looking at how within our own uh scope
00:39:49.680within our own uh circle of influence what can we do to uh that we address those concerns and
00:39:59.200seek ways of improvement and so the premier has not only spoken but has acted uh spent taxpayer
00:40:08.160dollars doing really what is actually in the jurisdiction of what the federal government
00:40:15.600should be doing but we're again we're seeking to be the best partner possible both to the federal
00:40:21.920government and to um you know the us and spending our own dollars in seeking to improve that um
00:40:31.120you know looking at what part we can do and so again i love that focus on win-win relationships
00:40:37.520you know good fence make good neighbors i think that's kind of a phrase we've all heard
00:40:42.640you know and we want to make sure that while we have greater economic integration that we have
00:40:48.640good fences where we don't want to have undesirable flow of things while we want things that create
00:40:54.480wealth and have flow between those things unimpeded we don't want to see you know flow of
00:41:02.640negative things like drugs illegal immigration and i appreciate and respect uh the efforts that
00:41:10.320the premier has been doing the leadership she has been doing doing uh helping out ottawa doing what
00:41:16.880they should you know their job and which oberta disproportionately pays them to do and they need
00:41:23.920to be better but everyone needs to be better in this so i appreciate the president-elect's
00:41:29.600desire for that. That's what we all want. Excellent. On that note, I guess, do you have
00:41:34.640any final thoughts? And if not, we'll let you go. Yeah, I just want to just bring across one other
00:41:40.820aspect where there is an opportunity. And that is to the extent that Alberta can build upon,
00:41:48.440and Canada as a whole, build upon greater economic integration. But from Alberta's perspective,
00:41:54.600the less we need ottawa the greater leverage that we have for fairness and them treating us with
00:42:03.720respect and principle and so as we're able to strengthen our relationship with us on the merits
00:42:11.880which built prosperity for all oberta us and canada as we need the rest of canada
00:42:21.000less, it does provide more leverage to hold them accountable, to make sure that they treat us
00:42:27.520fairly and with respect. And that's how adults and how families should treat themselves.
00:42:34.260Okay. Well, thank you very much for coming on the show, Jason. You were an excellent guest as
00:42:39.100always. And I appreciate you doing this and helping me out. From all of us here at the
00:42:43.560Western Standard, thank you very much and have a great day.
00:42:46.820Josh, thanks for all you do. And thanks to the great work of the Western Standard.
00:42:51.920Well, we appreciate that. Thank you. That it was Jason Stephan, MLA for Red Deer South,
00:42:57.960representing the United Conservative Party. So, yeah. Well, thank you to everybody for watching
00:43:02.980the Corey Morgan show today. And I just have a message for all of our viewers. If you support
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