Rachel Notley and Justin Trudeau's plan to make Alberta's electricity grid net zero by 2035 is the most expensive political promise ever made in Alberta history, and it will cripple Alberta's economy. The United States of America campaign team is here to remind Albertans that this plan is not only unrealistic, but dangerous to Alberta s economy.
00:08:00.000We are here because Albertans deserve to know the truth about what an NDP government would mean for them.
00:08:13.280In 2015 the NDP talked about a carbon tax but they didn't campaign on it and what was the first
00:08:19.680thing they did after the election? Well Albertans received a carbon tax. They said they had always
00:08:26.000been clear that they wanted a carbon tax, but they absolutely did not campaign on it.
00:08:31.440Now we know the NDP isn't being honest about their plans for electricity and what
00:08:36.080that means for Albertans. Well, it means skyrocketing prices. Albertans shouldn't be
00:08:41.760surprised that Rachel Notley and the NDP are trying to pull another bait and switch in this
00:08:46.240election. But this time, we know her strategy. And we're sharing with Albertans the NDP policy
00:08:53.680that the NDP don't want to talk about this election. Like the carbon tax, it is a policy
00:08:59.680where Rachel Notley and Justin Trudeau agree. And like the carbon tax, it is a policy that
00:09:06.400particularly hurts Albertan families. Albertans across this province should be very concerned
00:09:12.960about Rachel Notley's commitment to Trudeau's net zero electricity grid by 2035. Why? Well,
00:09:21.200It is the most expensive political promise ever made in Alberta history.
00:09:26.880It is not only unrealistic but it is also very dangerous to the long-term viability of our economy.
00:09:33.200Everyone from moms and dads, business owners, farmers, right across Alberta would bear the brunt of this anti-Alberta policy that comes straight from the desk of Justin Trudeau.
00:09:44.240Justin Trudeau knows that the majority of Canada's fossil fuel generated electricity is produced here in Alberta.
00:09:51.200Now, Alberta used to make electricity from coal, but we got off coal.
00:09:56.220Rachel Notley phased out coal on such an aggressive timeline that it cost Albertan families billions of dollars and continues to do so.
00:10:04.600You're seeing that right now on your bills.
00:10:12.700And let's remember, in the last decade, Alberta replaced almost all its coal power generation with new natural gas-fired electricity, and it cost Albertans several billion dollars.
00:10:24.960Now, Trudeau has declared war on these new natural gas power plants that Alberta installed.
00:10:30.320And Rachel Notley, surprise, surprise, has made that her policy.
00:10:35.460Notley doesn't want you to know how much this will cost.
00:10:37.760not like probably doesn't care how much it will cost because the ndp it always seems to
00:10:44.420never remember that it's your money it's albertans money and they work hard for it
00:10:49.360it's not the ndp's money independent analysis says that even if this can be done
00:10:55.160it will cost albertans and the alberta economy at least 87 billion dollars and yes folks that's
00:15:18.020Rachel Notley is a threat to Alberta's prosperity and just like she did the last time, she will make life more expensive for every Albertan if given the chance.
00:15:29.080Unlike the NDP, our government has committed to reasonable measures and aspiring to a net zero energy sector by 2050.
00:15:35.820Our major industries are already reducing emissions and over the next almost 30 years, industry will continue to innovate and invest in the long term to make a real difference.
00:15:46.820Rachel Notley has instead chosen to risk Alberta's prosperity, our future, our economy, and our affordability advantage with the most expensive promise ever made in an Alberta election.0.79
00:15:59.160She doesn't care about the cost to Albertans and to our economy.
00:16:02.460Albertans deserve to know what the NDP has in store because Albertans can't afford Rachel Notley and the NDP.
00:16:09.240We're happy to answer any questions that you might have.
00:16:11.280All right. For reporters in person, just on the left line up, we're going to take one question, one follow-up, and we will start in person.
00:16:22.180If anybody has any questions, please step up to the mic and ask your questions.
00:16:46.140I want to ask you, yesterday, Artur Palowski was convicted.
00:16:49.700Now, I know that your leader, Danielle Smith, does not want to comment on this because of her ethics commissioner investigation.
00:16:57.200Now, I don't think that would apply to you, any of you, unless you happen to be investigated and don't want to self-implicate.
00:17:03.140But how do you explain to voters that when you meet on the doors and they ask you, why did she talk to Artur Pulaski about his charges?
00:17:12.960You know, on any given day when you're an elected representative or like some of us who are on the leadership campaign trail, we talk to Albertans every single day.
00:17:22.320We hear their concerns, we hear their issues, and we commit to get back on certain processes that need to be followed.
00:17:28.980In this case, the Premier did exactly that.
00:17:30.840she got advice on the process to follow she took that advice and now when it
00:17:34.620comes to this specific case the courts have made their decision was it in your
00:17:38.840view a perfect phone call that she she handled I would say again as elected
00:17:42.900officials or those aspiring to be elected officials we do take a number of
00:17:46.320questions from a variety of Albertans on a variety of different issues I
00:17:50.040personally often commit to looking into details and getting back to people what
00:17:55.140our leader did here was get advice from the Ministry of Justice she followed that
00:17:59.360advice and now the courts have made their decision thank you jason next question and to be clear uh
00:18:04.800i have not heard that on the door i've been knocking on a lot of doors and what albertans
00:18:08.640are worried about is affordability they're worried about being able to afford their electricity bills
00:18:13.120of being able to afford their natural gas bills uh and that's what they're worried about
00:18:19.360alex dolly will rebel news my first question is um in a cbc interview uh in october premier
00:18:26.480Daniel Smith opened the possibility of the province re-latigating the constitutionality of
00:18:32.080the federal carbon tax with the Supreme Court of Canada. Now, have there been any further
00:18:36.000conversations as to whether that will be pursued in the near future?
00:18:39.760Well, listen, this government, the UCP, is always going to stand up for Albertans. And the
00:18:45.680carbon tax is something that puts a tax on everything and makes life more expensive for
00:18:49.920Albertans. And especially for Albertans when you take into consideration how everybody else is
00:18:56.080dealing with the carbon tax and especially when you take into consideration this particular issue
00:18:59.920of electricity and the electricity grid this is going to hurt albertans harder than it's going to
00:19:03.840hurt anybody else in canada except for maybe saskatchewan and we need to make sure that
00:19:07.680albertans realize this before election day how significant this promise is by rachel not alex
00:19:12.960follow-up uh yes i do uh so in uh recent weeks we've seen the official opposition um pick winners
00:19:19.600and losers in terms of uh which members of the press they will take questions from recently we
00:19:24.400We saw Rachel Notley kick out Keane Bextie and myself from a press briefing in downtown Calgary.
00:19:31.580Now, can we get a commitment from the UCP that they will allow all members of the press,
00:19:36.080regardless of where they land on the spectrum, that their questions will be answered
00:19:41.760and they will have that opportunity to ask those questions?
00:19:43.820Our team and our leader have been committed to taking questions from all media outlets.
00:19:49.100We saw that earlier this week at our very exciting campaign announcement
00:19:53.020to reduce personal income taxes for Albertans.
00:19:55.660Premier continues to take questions from media on a daily basis as do we
00:19:59.980and as you see here today we're happy to take questions from all media outlets.
00:20:03.820Thank you. Next question in person. Sean Polzer Western Standard.
00:20:11.100What would be a UCB plan to lower some of these electricity costs while presumably reducing
00:20:18.540emissions are you prepared to roll back uh the coal ban or would you increase natural gas or
00:20:25.820wind and solar or what well we've seen significant cost to albertans over the last decade because of
00:20:30.700some of the steps that rachel notley took as premier she made these decisions uh very quickly
00:20:37.020and without a lot of forethought and planning and we've seen that in the the documents since
00:20:41.260and we're not going to do that we're going to follow of course our commitments uh but we're
00:20:44.940we're going to fight every step of the way in our jurisdictional right to do so as Alberta and we're
00:20:49.660going to make sure that the federal government stays in their lane by the way their lane is not
00:20:54.060electricity and they should not be trying to enforce something that is outside of their
00:20:57.980jurisdiction like electricity so we're going to make sure we keep the electricity bills like all
00:21:03.100bills as low as we possibly can for Albertans that's you know some of the great steps we've
00:21:07.020done so far in our affordability packages it sees inflation in Alberta the lowest in the country
00:21:11.980lowest gas prices in the country these are things we can actually do and we're going to
00:21:15.660you know there's no silver bullet we need to do anything we possibly can to keep prices and
00:21:19.900affordability in a reasonable place for albertans and we're going to do that and a follow-up well
00:21:25.260may i just add first as well i'm what you see with the ndp is again ideology and allowing
00:21:31.020justin trudeau to determine what happens here in alberta where you have a united conservative
00:21:35.740party that is committed to absolutely having reliability to reducing emissions by 2050 but
00:21:41.660making sure that electricity remains affordable for Albertans because that's
00:21:45.160what Albertans want to see. I read that ASO report and one of the things that
00:21:51.500were in it is that electricity prices have doubled nearly tripled in the past
00:21:57.440few years and one of the reasons was the retirement to the coal plants because
00:22:01.520coal has about 98% uptime reliability compared to about 50% for wind. So I
00:22:08.180I guess my question is, would you repeal some of these rollbacks on the coal ban?
00:22:14.180Well, first of all, you know, going backwards in time isn't a great thing
00:22:18.340very often and in fact in this particular case I don't think it is. What we need to do is make
00:22:22.020sure we comply with our international commitments because that's what the federal government has the
00:22:25.700right to impose upon us to some degree as long as it's within their jurisdiction and we need to make
00:22:30.020sure that we're looking at the future. Some of the things in the future are SMRs and different0.98
00:22:34.900opportunities to look at cogen and expanded cogen opportunities those are things that make a lot
00:22:39.220of sense because they lower power bills for albertans but we you know can we point to any
00:22:42.980particular thing that we're going to roll back in time no but is if there's new uh new technology
00:22:48.020that comes forward that shows that we can have very clean coal and do so in an environmentally
00:22:53.460uh consistent way with what the expectation of the world is then we're going to do that
00:22:58.580and i think what your question points out is is really how bad the decisions and the governance
00:23:04.340of four years of NDP government was for Albertans and you know when Albertans do ask about
00:23:09.380affordability and their bills when I am on the doorsteps this is something that I hear fairly
00:23:13.860regularly and of course Albertans are paying today for short-sighted decisions made by the NDP
00:23:20.260government that focused on ideology as opposed to focusing on affordability and reliability of our
00:23:26.260systems thank you and can we get the next question in person please morning simon jones ctv um a
00:23:35.620couple questions just about the tone of the election so far uh the ndp is currently running
00:23:40.180attack ads and digging up old controversial statements from ucp candidates are you worried
00:23:46.180at all or concerned about that tactic you know what i think that it's fair for us to point out
00:23:52.500the NDP's record, I think Albertans have a right to essentially have that reminder of what the four
00:23:59.700years under the NDP government was like. It was devastating for Calgary, for Alberta, we lost 183,000
00:24:07.700jobs, investment in people were losing or leaving our province, sorry, at record rates. And you know,
00:24:13.380I think what Albertans want to see is a plan, a plan that addresses the top of mind issues for
00:24:18.900everyday people that means having a strong economy and opportunities for family it also means
00:24:24.420affordability like our announcement here today also transforming our healthcare system by focusing
00:24:30.580on feedback from the front line and making sure that we have a system that works for patients
00:24:34.660and so when I think of what Albertans are going to want to see they want to know that a party who
00:24:39.860wants to govern has a plan to balance absolutely our economy our growing economy that is more
00:24:46.100diverse than ever before affordability and i think our record speaks for itself on that front
00:24:53.140and i think it's very fair to point out issues during the campaign that are not correct for
00:24:58.580instance suggesting that the ucp raised taxes 100 plus times is ridiculous and it is untruthful we
00:25:04.740need to stand up and point that out so that albertans recognize who they're voting for when
00:25:09.460if they decide to vote for the ndp and recognize they're going to increase their costs their home
00:25:14.580electricity costs their heating costs exponentially higher than it's ever been before they're trying to
00:25:18.820make the most expensive political promise of all time and people need to know that so pointing out
00:25:23.300the truth absolutely we will not lie uh and we need to make sure that that uh the the press and
00:25:29.540and we hold the other parties to account when they do follow up uh yes please um just on that note
00:25:36.420both of you uh ran campaigns for the leadership race which were fairly critical of uh premier
00:25:42.180smith now premier smith why do you think that tactic is going to work during the provincial
00:25:46.740election against the ndp you know i would say in danielle smith we have a leader that loves good
00:25:52.740policy debate and has taken the feedback from those of us in leadership from our colleagues
00:25:57.460she expects us to bring the views of our constituents to the table and has made changes
00:26:02.260to policy or to legislation to reflect those perspectives and so i actually think that that's
00:26:08.500an excellent leadership quality. Now while we're out here every single day making announcements
00:26:13.460that will benefit everyday Albertans, committing to not increasing the business tax, lowering
00:26:19.060personal income tax, and certainly there's more to come, I think that that shows that we're a
00:26:23.940party that's focused on the everyday issues for the vast majority of Albertans. Now I do think
00:26:30.020that Albertans, they know that what's being shared by the NDP and Rachel Notley is not always
00:26:36.260truthful and so more to come on that i think we're happy to point out the ndp lies on it
00:26:41.140on any given day i think we have a responsibility to do that because voters need to know what they
00:26:45.540can expect uh from their future governments simon do we have any more questions in person
00:26:53.860if not uh operator can you please put through our first caller
00:27:07.540operator can you please put through our first caller
00:27:15.780you can kind of hear it there i think we just need the
00:27:17.460we just have some uh technical difficulties josh can you hear us okay i can now yes uh
00:27:29.540my first question's on uh daniel smith isn't expected to make a real uh media availability
00:27:37.720until tomorrow so this will be really the fourth day of the uh of the election it'll be three days
00:29:41.320is focused on patient needs and wants to keep Alberta moving forward thanks Josh operator could
00:29:47.400you please put through our next caller hi thanks for taking my question the announcement today
00:29:56.280looked at the cost of net zero by 2035 your plan is net zero by 2050 how much will that cost
00:30:04.200Well, it's going to cost any time you take traditional power sources off the grid, it's going to cost Albertans.
00:30:12.620We don't know what it's going to cost by 2050, but we do know that we would be complying with the international commitments,
00:30:17.900and we believe that plan is reasonable and is affordable.
00:30:21.200It certainly is a lot more affordable than trying to accelerate it over the next 11 and a half years,
00:30:25.480something that, frankly, nobody else in the entire world is doing.
00:30:28.360Listen, we have a very small amount of our power on coal right now and have relatively,
00:30:33.240very small amounts of coal over Alberta's existence because of the nature of our population.
00:30:38.760If you look at China and India and the amount of their base that's on coal, it's staggering the
00:30:43.980difference. What we're doing is actually looking at technologies that we can showcase to the world
00:30:48.440and bring more and better opportunities to the world on electricity generation and in other forms
00:30:54.600of energy generation. And what we're going to do is not throw the baby out with the bath water and
00:30:59.360and uh do radical changes that are frankly politically driven and not done for the best
00:31:04.320interests of albertans we're going to make sure we do this in the best interests of albertans
00:31:08.720and carrie do you have a follow-up um yeah i do thank you so um you're asking albertans to look
00:31:16.160at this and say not least plan is bad because it's going to cost uh it's the most expensive
00:31:21.840campaign promise of all time but you're also saying we also have a promise but we don't know
00:31:27.520how much it's going to cost why should albertans select the ones where you're promoting is better
00:31:34.480but you don't have a price tag so i would say that was where a couple of weeks ago our colleagues
00:31:41.040and our leader did announce our plan to both reduce emissions while you know maintaining
00:31:46.480affordability and not jeopardizing our economic growth and prosperity obviously some of that still
00:31:53.760requires work with industry but with what you see with United Conservatives is a very practical
00:31:59.360common sense approach to reduce emissions while making sure our economy remains strong
00:32:04.400and life remains affordable for Albertans what you see with the NDP is ideology at all costs in
00:32:11.120this case that's a cost of 87 billion dollars and completely disregarding affordability and
00:32:18.080reliability of our systems for Albertans and I just don't think that that's what Albertans want
00:32:23.120to see moving forward and carry let's be clear that there's no plan on co-generation and alberta's
00:32:29.040base load is about just over 40 percent uh based on co-generation which you know there's no federal
00:32:34.240rules on it no certainty at least and we don't know how they're going to treat this so there is
00:32:38.400you know there is a staggering cost and on albertans to implement this especially if they
00:32:42.480don't consider co-generation or do consider co-generation as far as being a uh pollutant
00:32:48.160uh that needs to be shut down so you know there's a lot of uncertainty here but we do know this our
00:32:52.320plan is going to cost significantly less than the NDP's proposal which is frankly more aggressive
00:32:58.480than anybody else's plan in Canada or in the planet that I can see. And let me just point
00:33:04.880out when we're talking about costs 87 billion dollars is a huge number. What this means for an
00:33:10.800everyday Albertan is an increase in costs by 40 percent more than they would otherwise be. I think
00:33:17.440that's the question for albertans do they want to see their electricity costs going up by 40
00:33:23.920of what they would otherwise be i just don't think so carrie thank you carrie operator next caller
00:33:30.320please radio canada hi just right now um ndp leader rachel notley is announcing a new tax credit she
00:33:41.040is elected to firm government and alberta's future tax credits which in their words they say it would
00:33:46.160I think the last time the NDP were in power in Alberta we saw 183,000 people leave Alberta to find other jurisdictions in the last six months of last year over 90,000 people came back to Alberta and call it their home now I think that's success and it speaks for themselves I think what the NDP does is
00:34:16.160promised things on ideology thinking that they're going to win the hearts and minds of people and
00:34:21.200especially Albertans and the reality is is when people see how much it costs when they actually
00:34:25.760get the bill they realize the NDP is the wrong answer for them they want a government that cares
00:34:31.360and that is smart about it and that's exactly what the UCP government is a caring and smart government
00:34:37.760and let's just be clear the NDP is also planning to raise corporate tax rates uh I don't think that
00:34:44.640that that worked out well in the four years of their government when we then saw reduced corporate
00:34:49.600tax revenue coming into the province and we saw head offices and jobs leaving calgary and
00:34:53.840leaving alberta so i think their record does speak for itself all right thank you uh follow
00:34:59.600up from audrey can i have uh yes thank you very much um another topic actually um this monday
00:35:07.600the UCP announced a new tax bracket of 8% for people earning up to $60,000.
00:35:15.120Every expert we talked to said that this would increase the reliance on oil and gas revenues,
00:35:20.880which are today lower than what the province needs to balance the budget.
00:35:25.280So do you think that you are tying the Alberta government's hands by doing so and promising this?
00:35:31.920Thanks, Audrey. Well, first of all, let's recognize that the oil and gas in Alberta belongs
00:35:35.120to the people of Alberta and it's there for them and for the government to make sure that their
00:35:39.360lifestyle is affordable and that's what we're going to make sure we do and those people that
00:35:43.120are less fortunate sometimes and obviously are in those lower tax brackets and right now is a time
00:35:48.000of tremendous affordability needs and the Alberta government is going to be there to pick up the
00:35:53.120slack for them and to make sure that they can afford what they need to afford and make sure
00:35:57.600we can do all that we can to reduce their taxes so they can take more home to their family and make
00:36:02.800their decisions in the best interest of them all right we got time for two more questions operator
00:36:08.160please put through our next caller barco calgary herald
00:36:16.560hi yes can you tell me when would the ucp government propose to see a net zero power
00:36:21.200grade in alberta by 2050 along with our international commitments
00:36:25.760Yeah, just to follow up, the federal government has made a commitment to a net zero power
00:37:52.120Thanks for taking my call. I'm curious, Brian, you said that Notley and the NDP are lying about this. But isn't it true that Notley did just, and you mentioned this as well, that she's actually made the commitment to the public.
00:38:07.660Her tweet says from April 19th, Alberta's NDP will work with the industry to achieve a net zero electricity grid by 2035 and a net zero economy by 2050.
00:38:18.480So, and, you know, in her campaign speech, she said, you know, you can trust me to do what I say.
00:38:23.600So she seems quite clear and quite committed and they are going to do this.
00:40:17.720Because that's the argument that you're making.
00:40:19.660Well, David, I've seen the NDP come forward and implement policies before.
00:40:23.220They shoot first and ask questions later.
00:40:25.080That's not the way to do good politics and good policy decisions.
00:40:28.160We need to take time, make sure we get it right, have a proper plan in place, and implement it slowly so that Albertans don't feel too much pain like we have over coal-fired plants when those are shut down.
00:40:38.320What we're going to need to do is we're going to have to retrofit all our power plants.
00:40:41.480We're going to have to take electricity as being not a good source of power anymore, but a bad source of power, which I don't see.
00:40:59.080We're going to attract other competitors into our marketplace so they drive prices down.
00:41:03.780We're going to make sure that we don't do things that cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure investments and other bad decision-making that can happen if you don't do this right.
00:41:13.940This is a very important decision and series of decisions, and it's not done overnight.
00:41:18.800We need to make sure we do it right and rely on experts and empirical data to get it right every time.
00:41:25.300And that's all the time we have for today.