Why Daniel Smith will outlive Justin Trudeau

Canadians will remember this story by heart: Alberta’s premier tells it to the feds – again and again and again.

What I want to know from Danielle Smith, in a long line of first ministers, is how she differs from the group before her (except maybe Rachel Notley, although as NDP premier even she began criticizing the feds after she was duped guy in socks)?

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

It’s drizzling and cloudy across Alberta; there’s no denying that summer is over. My virtual interview with the Prime Minister this Saturday afternoon is her latest engagement in a busy week; “Then I can go and sit down and watch Ancient Aliens and eat some sushi, my favorite treat,” she grins familiarly. My ears perked up; Is this the authenticity I’m hearing, or the banter of a radio talk show host talking to a caller, in this case me?

Ten years ago, when I sat across from Danielle in the Alberta Legislative Assembly—I was in the PC government caucus and she was the leader of the official opposition—the tone of her voice struck me as something noteworthy. Today, despite a busy schedule and months of dodging climate change missiles from Ottawa, her tone is calm and, except for a subtle sigh before she begins recounting her difficulties with Ottawa, there is no trace of gloom in her. in her voice.

“You know, what upsets me a little bit is that in my very first conversation with the Prime Minister, and what I’ve been saying all along, was that we agree to achieve carbon neutrality by the 2050 target,” Ob Danielle reports this. “This is a target that most industrialized countries have set, with the largest emitting countries pushing it back longer, to 2060 and 2070. So I think we have a responsibility to meet that (2050 timeline).”

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Targets are discussed with industry, emissions reduction milestones are set towards 2050, she continues, and every time we make progress and reach our targets, the federal government steps in to set new targets that are “unrealistic, unreasonable, unattainable and all more unconstitutional.” ” Her voice remains firm; the lines are well worked out.

Danielle has faced significant criticism from the federal Liberals since becoming premier almost exactly a year ago. But she says she is striking back, twice as hard, to protect the interests of Albertans. “Our very strong message to the federal government is to work with us, we want to continue together but stop taking unilateral actions in our areas of jurisdiction.”

This all sounds familiar. Except that, unlike some of her predecessors, she had no qualms about staking out Alberta territory. Three weeks ago, her UCP government released a report on how the province could exit the Canada Pension Plan and start its own pension system. Two weeks ago, her government launched a national campaign to “let the feds know” that their mandate for a clean electricity grid by 2035 would lead to blackouts and grid failures not only in Alberta, but in other provinces as well.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Danielle’s plan to attend COP 28, the UN climate conference in Dubai later this year, also sets her apart. Jason Kenny didn’t bother to send a delegation to COP 27 in Glasgow.

And after Dubai, according to Danielle, she will visit Abu Dhabi, and then go to Riyadh and Doha. I ask: “Have you been to Riyadh?” Having spent decades working in neighboring Yemen and never having visited the Kingdom, I am curious to understand this appeal. “No, it wasn’t on the list of countries I’d ever thought about visiting,” Daniel replies, arching his eyebrows.

Our country’s relations with Saudi Arabia, which had been frosty for several years, were diplomatically resuscitated earlier this year. The delegation to the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary this September, led by the Kingdom’s Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, was Saudi Arabia’s first step in warming relations with Canada. “I met him (the Saudi minister) at the airport, he showed me their pavilion and we had lunch,” Daniel reports. She is convinced the Saudis are serious about carbon neutrality, finding ways to capture CO2 and use it for useful purposes, such as improving rebar.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

I can picture Federal Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault sharing the podium with the Premier of Alberta at COP 28 in Dubai. What would I give to be there? In 2015, I attended COP 21 in Paris (at my own expense) and was irritated by the cheerful attitude of the Canadian delegation and the lack of attention paid to the socio-economic implications of the energy transition. Back then, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley were in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, each celebrating recent election victories and a new era of climate change by announcing a new carbon tax and limits on oil sands growth.

“We must solve the double problem of energy poverty, bringing people’s standard of living and quality of life to our level and at the same time reducing emissions,” states Daniel. “And you can’t do that with solar lights and intermittent power.”

“The question is not whether we have natural gas or solar; The question is whether we have natural gas or coal,” she clarifies.

To this end, Daniel is working with British Columbia, a former enemy of Alberta, to not only speed up exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from western Canadian ports, but also negotiate credits under Article 6 of the Paris Climate Agreement for emissions. Emission reductions are achieved by replacing LNG with more polluting fuels such as coal, manure and wood. In her opinion, “this is a great opportunity to be constructive and compassionate.”

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Can this 52-year-old Alberta firebrand convince Justin Trudeau to pull up his socks? As far as I’m concerned, Alberta’s reconciliation with the Liberal government in Ottawa seems unlikely. But I’m sure Daniel will survive him.

Donna Kennedy-Glans is in the energy business and runs a multi-generational family farm. Her latest book is Teaching a Dinosaur to Dance: Moving Beyond Business as Usual (2022).