Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and other Western premiers are facing calls to find common ground on economic matters as they meet in Yellowknife this week.Craig Hudson/Reuters
Business leaders across Western Canada have united with a message for Ottawa to improve economic competitiveness. But as Western premiers gather in Yellowknife this week, divisions over resource development and separatist sentiments will make it difficult to find a common political voice.
On Tuesday, the Western Business Coalition − representing more than one-third of the Canadian economy − called on federal legislators to cut taxes and regulation, and to abandon the governing Liberals’ proposed greenhouse-gas emissions cap.
Industry’s consensus over priorities does not appear to be spilling over into the political realm.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe are focusing on new oil pipelines, and both are keeping the door open to secession referendums in their respective provinces.
Ms. Smith maintains that if Alberta does not get unfettered pipeline access to B.C.’s coast, Canada will face an unprecedented national-unity crisis. Her government is trying to significantly lower the threshold to allow for citizen-initiated referendums, including whether Alberta should separate from Canada.
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The NDP premiers of B.C. and Manitoba have played down the talk of Western separatism. B.C. Premier David Eby has been cool to pipeline overtures, pushing instead for national energy corridors that feature renewable energy. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is investing in expanding the Port of Churchill, which could include shipping oil to international markets.
The two-day meeting hosted by Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson began Wednesday with the premiers of the four Western provinces as well as those from the Yukon and Nunavut. The agenda ranges from energy security to emergency preparedness, but the meeting is also a chance to develop a common front heading into the June 2 first ministers’ meeting in Saskatoon.
Laura Jones, president and CEO of the Business Council of B.C., said the political leaders need to unite on matters of the economy.
“It‘s not our job to get the premiers singing off the same song sheet, but it is our job to make sure that we’re very clear with all politicians that the economy has to be Job 1. Right now, our economy is in terrible shape, and people are feeling it,” she said in an interview.
Prabha Ramaswamy, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, said Westerners are united in standing against the economic threats posed by tariff disputes with the United States and China. The premiers, she said, should be able to settle on an agenda that promotes agriculture, energy and critical minerals.
“We are in a very defining moment for us as Canadians and Canada as a country,” she said. “We’ve seen a surge of coming together of Canadians in a way that we’ve never seen before. And so there’s a tremendous opportunity in front of us, and that opportunity is for us to focus on strengthening our domestic economy, and the premiers should focus on economic unity.”
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But Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, said the debate over Western separatism, mostly in Alberta and Saskatchewan, will be an undercurrent that can’t be dismissed.
“Many Albertans − and I’d argue, many people in other parts of Western Canada that are largely in resource-based communities − are very frustrated,“ he said. ”They’re frustrated that they have their opportunities restricted, frustrated that generally the West does a large job of the economic lift in the country, and they want to see some better appreciation or recognition of that."
“Alberta is better to stay in Canada, but to have a deal that better defends Alberta’s interests.”
Mr. Eby, speaking to reporters in April, made it clear that he does not favour a new oil pipeline across B.C. However, he said all the provinces have to be prepared to bargain.
“I don’t think that a heavy-oil pipeline to our pristine North Coast is the answer to all Canada’s challenges that we face,” he said, “but we’re going to sit down around that national table and find the path, and each of us is going to have to give a little bit to find the kind of growth and opportunity that we need.”