Hello,
Within minutes of her election victory on Monday night, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith came out swinging against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pledging to fight his marquee climate and energy policies and urging all Albertans to “stand shoulder to shoulder” against them.
“Hopefully the Prime Minister and his caucus are watching tonight,” Ms. Smith said near the tail end of her election night victory speech Monday night in Calgary. “Let me be clear, this is not a road we can afford to go down. If he persists, he will be hurting Canadians from coast to coast and he will strain the patience and goodwill of Albertans in an unprecedented fashion.
“As Premier I cannot under any circumstances allow these contemplated federal policies to be inflicted upon Albertans, I simply can’t and I won’t.”
Ms. Smith won a majority government against her opponent, NDP Leader Rachel Notley in Monday’s election, but shrunk her party’s footprint in the legislature. The United Conservative Party won 53 per cent of the popular vote and 49 seats, while the NDP won 44 per cent of the popular vote and 38 seats. While that’s a healthy margin, the NDP are taking comfort in winning the most votes ever in their party’s history and forming the largest Official Opposition in the province’s history.
Ms. Smith is particularly opposed to the federal government’s planned emissions cap for the oil and gas sector — which she called a “defacto production cap” during the campaign — and new rules that will require provinces to stop relying on fossil fuels for power generation starting in 2035.
On Monday night she decried the latter policy saying it will push up electricity prices and lead to a less reliable grid.
On their way into cabinet on Tuesday morning, federal ministers refused to rise to the bait, promising collaboration and downplaying the potential for the rift between Ottawa and Alberta to grow.
“I’m confident that we will be able to work our differences out with them,” said Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, noting that under former NDP Premier Rachel Notley the two governments agreed to phase out coal-fired electricity.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
“ORCHESTRATED CAMPAIGN OF FOREIGN INTERFERENCE” - Former Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole stood in the House of Commons on Tuesday morning to address the briefing he received from Canada’s spy agency in which CSIS told him he was the victim of misinformation and voter suppression by the Chinese Communist Party. He says the briefing showed there was an “orchestrated campaign of foreign interference” leading up to and during the 2021 federal election. Robert Fife and Steven Chase have the latest.
THIRD MP TARGETED BY CHINA REVEALED - New Democrat Jenny Kwan is the third opposition MP to be identified as a target of Chinese state intimidation, setting off a new round of calls for the Liberal government to remove former governor-general David Johnston as special rapporteur and appoint a full-fledged public inquiry into foreign interference.
ARRIVECAN APP’S STRUGGLES CONTINUE - Erroneous orders from the federal government’s ArriveCan app urging more than 10,000 Canadians to quarantine last year under threat of heavy fines was a violation of the Privacy Act, privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne says. Bill Curry reports on the finding.
CBC UNDER THE MICROSCOPE - Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Monday he is starting to review the mandate for CBC and its French-language service Radio-Canada, including ways the government can bolster funding to the public broadcaster so that it is less reliant on advertising dollars.
WILDFIRES NEAR HALIFAX - Fire officials in Nova Scotia say the uncontained wildfire in suburban Halifax is stable, but they warn the return of dry, windy conditions Tuesday could lead to a “reburn” in evacuated subdivisions. Already 200 homes and structures have been damaged since the fire started Sunday.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – MPs will debate an NDP opposition day motion calling on former governor-general David Johnston to step aside from his role as special rapporteur studying foreign interference and again demand that the federal government launch a public inquiry.
MINISTERS AT COMMITTEES - Families Minister Karina Gould, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan, and Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough, will appear together before the House of Commons human resources committee Tuesday afternoon to answer questions on the Main Estimates. Meantime Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino will testify at the public safety committee on Bill C-20 which replaces the RCMP’s Civilian Review and Complaints Commission with an independent body called the Public Complaints and Review Commission.
THE DECIBEL
On Tuesday’s episode, Carly Weeks joins the team at the Decibel to explain why emergency rooms in Canada are heading into another tough summer and what it says about the health care Canadians receive now. Listen here or subscribe for free on your preferred podcasting platform.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began Tuesday at the National Prayer Breakfast, where he delivered remarks. He then chaired the cabinet meeting, and will also attend Question Period, according to the publicly released version of his itinerary.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh held a press conference on his party’s opposition day motion on Tuesday morning. He will also be in question period and participate in the debate on the motion in the House.
No itinerary was released for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
OPINION
Lori Turnbull (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on Pierre Poilievre being right about one thing: Special rapporteur is a fake job: “The decision to hold a public inquiry is an inherently political one, for which the Prime Minister alone is accountable. He cannot depoliticize a political decision by handing it off to a non-elected person, and the fact that he has tried to do so has stalled the conversation about foreign interference. It has also tainted the reputation and legacy of a man who, four months ago, was beyond reproach.”
Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail) on Danielle Smith’s difficult job of governing a divided province: “It would be nice to write that the culmination of this election will bring a new sense of balance and calm to Alberta politics. But instead, it’s likely a new round of turmoil begins today.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on the country (and Alberta) bracing for what Premier Danielle Smith has in store: “Surely never has a party won office while having to overcome such a profoundly weak leader. Conversely, seldom if ever has a Canadian premier exhibited such acute disdain for established political norms and still been voted to lead a province. Most provinces would have been too embarrassed to have someone like Danielle Smith leading it.”
Editorial Board (The Globe and Mail) on the need for Canada’s political parties to rediscover the missing middle ground: “The actions and platforms of the Conservatives and the Liberals, and the value judgments they represent, have divided the country into mutually antagonistic voting blocs that may be ripe for the plucking by party strategists, but which have done nothing to create a united vision of the country.”
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