Nearly 2,000 supporters attended Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s annual United Conservative Party fundraising dinner at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary on Thursday. The sold-out event provided Smith with an opportunity to share her thoughts about Alberta’s energy sector – including strategies about how best to get the province’s natural resources to market. One of the other topics of discussion was whether or not Prime Minister Mark Carney was interested in repairing Ottawa’s relationship with the western province. “As most Albertans already know, I have repeatedly stated that I support a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, and I personally have such high hopes that there is a path forward for that with Ottawa,” she said. “I am going to do everything in my power to negotiate a fair deal for Alberta with the new prime minister.” Smith said she’s optimistic about Alberta’s relationship with Carney. “This new prime minister - I’ll give him credit for this - he has met with us many times,” she said. She said Carney’s next visit to Alberta will come on Sunday, where she expects he will be meeting with business leaders “to get an idea of what it is that Alberta wants.” “I can tell you they’re going to mirror the same things that we want, because I’ve been talking with them a lot, and we’ll go to Saskatoon for a first ministers’ meeting. “I don’t think we have to wait that long. I think we will know in the communique that comes out after a day and a half of meetings, whether this government is serious about changing course, or whether we’re just going to have to double down on the fights. You don’t have to wait that long - just a couple more days.” While discussions are open, Smith said there’s more work ahead, adding Alberta won’t ignore the tools it has to protect itself from Ottawa’s overreach. “They pass laws that are unconstitutional and illegal, and then they make us go for years and years and years to get a court decision on them,” Smith said. “Well, we’re gonna do the same thing. “We’re going to pass laws and if they think they’re illegal, they can come after us.” Also during her speech, Smith called out the federal government for not backing down on its zero emission caps or Bill C-69.
