My Take | Alberta throws down gauntlet on becoming an energy superpower

Save the planet or save Canada – that seems to be the dilemma. This week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith dropped a bombshell. She said unless the federal government allows her province to “drill, baby drill”, she will try to pull it out of Canada. Quebec, part deux?

Well, she didn’t say it in so many words, but it was clear what she meant. She demands that Ottawa guarantees:

• land and port access to the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic coasts for the export of Alberta oil, gas, critical minerals and other resources;

• to end all federal interference in the development of provincial resources by repealing all and any federal law or regulation that purports to regulate industrial carbon emissions, plastics or the commercial free speech of energy firms;

• cancellation of export taxes or restrictions on the export of Alberta resources without its consent;

• equalisation of Alberta’s per-capita federal transfers with those of the three largest provinces – Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

Otherwise, she will hold a referendum on provincial separation from the country next year after lowering the number of signatures required for such a petition.

Political blackmail or just playing a strong hand? Whichever way, Smith has triggered what may be a transformational moment not only for her province and country, but also the world. Will Alberta end up becoming America’s 51st state? Some of her supporters were already carrying signs in the streets saying just that. Donald Trump, here’s your chance!

Canada has the world’s largest deposits of high-grade uranium, the third-largest proven oil reserves and is the fifth-largest producer of natural gas. Thanks mostly to Alberta, Canada can produce enough oil and gas to rival the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. It has the potential to be an energy superpower; it chose not to be one. Critics say it lacks leadership. I prefer to think it has escaped the “resource curse” of many by having a more balanced portfolio of commodities, including those in agriculture, as well as goods and services.

But if you are an Albertan, you would naturally feel ripped off, especially by Ottawa. The province has long argued it gives more but receives less than the other provinces from the federal government. In the past 10 years under the environmentally correct Justin Trudeau regime, it has been subjected to tough legal restrictions such as the controversial Impact Assessment Act or Bill C-69, which requires assessments for environmental, health, social and economic impacts and the rights of indigenous people before a major resource or infrastructure project can launch.