Premiers from across Western Canada are gathering in Alberta for their annual meeting, as that province stews over a monumental question of whether to quit Canada.
Premiers from the western provinces and northern territories are gathering Monday and Tuesday at a hotel in Kananaskis, Alta., about 100 kilometres west of Calgary, to discuss trade, the economy, energy security, defence and nation-building projects, said Sam Blackett, a spokesperson for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office.
The meeting comes on the heels of Smith’s announcement Thursday that she’s planning to put a question on her government’s fall referendum ballot that will ask Albertans if they want the province to remain in Canada or if they want a future binding referendum on separation.
At a news conference on Friday, Smith reiterated her federalist stance when it comes to the question of Alberta independence, but said she can’t ignore the hundreds of thousands of people who signed citizen-initiated petitions calling for a vote on the issue.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said he opposes how Smith is approaching the separatist conversation in Alberta, and said the situation adds some awkwardness to the western premiers’ meeting.
At an event hosted by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Smith noted the meeting may be awkward due to recent developments regarding an energy deal her province has agreed to with the federal government.
Tensions have been flaring between Smith and Eby, who are at odds over a proposal for a new pipeline to take oil to the B.C. coast. Eby has been critical of the pipeline idea and the deal which brought it forward.
“As a country, it’s time to stop rewarding bad behaviour. It cannot be the case that the projects that get prioritized in Canada are those where a premier threatens to leave the country,” Eby said in a news release earlier this month.
Smith, on the other hand, said earlier this month that she believes the signing of the energy agreement between Alberta and the federal government was a “good day for Alberta and a good day for Canada.”
In an online town hall on Saturday, Smith said that at this week’s premiers meeting, she also plans to discuss equalization payments, something that has been a longtime Alberta grievance with the federal government.
