Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks to the media in Calgary, on Sept. 18, 2023.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Ottawa has completed its report about how the Canada Pension Plan would be divvied up if a province were to leave the national retirement program, but Premier Danielle Smith says the document failed to calculate Alberta’s share of the multibillion dollar fund.
Ms. Smith said in an unrelated news conference Thursday that Alberta cannot proceed with a referendum on exiting the CPP in favour of establishing its own system until the federal government details her province’s slice. Alberta will ask the federal Finance Minister for more information once the political turmoil enveloping Ottawa subsides, she said.
Alberta last year argued it is entitled to more than half of the multibillion-dollar fund, a calculation disputed by the federal government and other provinces. The Premier has said Alberta would consider holding a referendum on whether residents wanted to set up their own pension fund.
Last November, Chrystia Freeland, who was then the federal finance minister, said she would ask the Office of the chief actuary to calculate an asset transfer “based on a reasonable interpretation of the provisions” in the CPP legislation.
Ottawa confirmed on Thursday that it shared the chief actuary’s report with the provinces and territories in November. Ms. Smith said she does not believe the report reflects Ms. Freeland’s request of the chief actuary.
“It doesn’t contain a number. And it doesn’t even contain a formula for how you get to a number,” Ms. Smith said.
The CPP boasts $647-billion in assets, up from $575-billion a year ago, when Alberta released a report calculating its share to be $334-billion. At the time, that translated to about 53 per cent of the entire pension fund’s projected assets in 2027.
All provinces, save for Quebec, are part of the national pension program, and all have the legal right to withdraw their share of the funds if they want to set up their own system. However, the legislation is fuzzy on how the assets would be divided.
Alberta intends to reach out to the federal Finance Minister on how to get certainty around the province’s share of the fund, Ms. Smith said, once the political turbulence in Ottawa calms.
The federal Liberals are in shambles, as they war over whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should continue to lead his party and a minority government into an election set for 2025.
Ms. Freeland on Monday quit as finance minister, noting in her resignation letter that Mr. Trudeau intended to replace her. Dominic LeBlanc took over the portfolio Monday afternoon as Mr. Trudeau scrambled to fill the void. A larger cabinet shuffle is expected Friday.
Ms. Smith said the chief actuary’s report was a disappointment.
“We were under the impression that the chief actuary was hiring three different analysts to look at the legislation, to be able to get three very precise ways of looking at this issue, so that we had a precise number,” she said.
The Globe and Mail on Wednesday and Thursday asked spokespeople for the current and former federal finance minister for a copy of the report. The federal Finance Department instead provided a statement confirming Ottawa provided governments across the country with the report “on the interpretation of the asset transfer provisions in the CPP legislation” if a province were to exit the plan.
“Discussions will take place between the government of Canada and provinces and territories over the coming weeks regarding the report and possible next steps,” said Benoit Mayrand, a spokesperson in the finance department, in the statement.
Spokespeople for Alberta’s Premier and Finance Minister did not acknowledge requests for the report. Ms. Smith stated the report is public, although The Globe and Mail could not locate it.
Ms. Smith said Alberta needs a firm figure – and pledge to stick to it – from the federal government before the province pursues a referendum.
“We actually both need to have an agreement on a number before going to a referendum,” she said. “There would be no point if we don’t have some commitment from the federal government that they will honour the result of a referendum.”
With a report from James Bradshaw