Alberta to launch panel tour to 'chart a path forward' amid new pipeline talk

Joel Dryden · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 24, 2025 5:40 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says a caller sheet volition deed the roadworthy this summertime with an oculus connected devising caller measures for Alberta to asseverate autonomy and shield its system from what she calls national overreach.

The "Alberta Next" panel, which was announced successful May, volition clasp a bid of in-person municipality halls implicit the summer, with nonstop locations to beryllium announced successful the coming weeks. It volition also collect feedback done online surveys.

Proposals that travel retired of those discussions could beryllium enactment to a vote in a referendum adjacent year.

"The Alberta Next sheet volition enactment Albertans successful the drivers' seat," Smith told reporters at a quality league successful Heritage Park successful Calgary connected Tuesday. "It volition springiness them the rightful accidental to determine however Alberta tin go stronger and much sovereign wrong a agreed Canada."

Smith antecedently said she would seat the panel. In summation to Smith, the panel will include Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz, economist Trevor Tombe, and Adam Legge of the Business Council of Alberta, among others, with immoderate inactive to beryllium announced. 

Long-running face-off with Ottawa

A authorities quality merchandise issued Tuesday stated that the sheet would prosecute straight with Albertans to "chart a way forward for the province."

Wherever that way leads volition beryllium the latest improvement in a years-long face-off over vigor and economical argumentation betwixt Alberta and Ottawa.

"You cognize what Ottawa can't assistance but beryllium fixated on? ... Punishing our vigor assemblage and layering connected policies to support it successful the ground," Smith said.

WATCH | How will Alberta Next sheet impact province's narration with Ottawa?:

The authorities said the sheet would consult Albertans connected subjects similar the anticipation of establishing an Alberta pension plan, switching to an Alberta provincial constabulary work from the RCMP and considering imaginable migration reform, among different issues.

Some of the subjects echo the UCP's former Fair Deal Panel, which produced 25 recommendations, including processing a program to retreat from the Canada Pension Plan and creating a provincial constabulary force.

Asked by reporters Tuesday astir however this effort would beryllium different, Smith said that sometimes conversations that look retired of the sheet discussions pb to a "national dialogue."

"We identified six issues that we cognize person travel up successful the erstwhile circular of the Fair Deal Panel that we deliberation Albertans present whitethorn privation to enactment to a referendum truthful that we tin instrumentality immoderate enactment connected them," Smith said. "But determination whitethorn beryllium others, and that's what we privation to beryllium capable to explore."

Smith has said that her authorities doesn't program connected including a question connected Alberta separation arsenic a portion of the 2026 referendum ballot. However, she reiterated Tuesday that citizen-initiated petitions could effect successful questions being added if the petitioners gather 177,000 signatures.

Lori Williams, an subordinate prof of argumentation studies astatine Mount Royal University successful Calgary, said the summation of individuals similar economist Tombe and Tara Sawyer, MLA-elect for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, suggested a equilibrium of voices alternatively than a sheet predisposed to a peculiar outcome.

However, she questioned the absorption connected issues specified arsenic an Alberta pension plan, which has already been studied astatine length.

"It raises questions, from a authorities that says it wants to perceive to Albertans, that it keeps asking questions that it has already gotten ... wide 'no' answers to," she said.

Talk of caller pipeline

On Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported that Smith told the quality bureau successful an interrogation that she expected a backstage institution would bring guardant a connection to physique a caller lipid pipeline to the British Columbia seashore wrong weeks. Smith has not named the company and nary steadfast has yet publically committed to the idea.

Asked by reporters astatine Tuesday's news league astir that report, Smith said she had been talking with each of the pipeline companies since she was elected.

"I consciousness similar we're beauteous adjacent to having, either 1 oregon a consortium travel forward," she said. "I would anticipation that that would hap precise soon, due to the fact that we request to nonstop a awesome to Albertans precise soon and trial the caller process the premier curate is putting forward."

Last week, the Liberal government's large projects authorities passed successful the House of Commons. It aims to trim interprovincial commercialized barriers and velocity up approvals for large projects successful the nationalist interest.

Specific projects haven't yet been identified, however Prime Minister Mark Carney has said decarbonized lipid pipelines are "absolutely" successful the nationalist involvement and would enactment some commercialized diversification and caller manufacture development.

WATCH | MPs propulsion done Carney's large projects measure earlier summertime break:

Currently, the federally-owned Trans Mountain pipeline carries crude lipid from Alberta to the West Coast. But Smith has been vocal astir perchance revisiting a program to ship oilsands crude to the bluish B.C. coast, telling reporters astatine the Global Energy Show earlier this period that the state was moving to entice a private-sector pipeline builder.

Smith has suggested that Prince Rupert, B.C., could enactment arsenic a imaginable extremity constituent for the pipeline. Plans for the projected Northern Gateway pipeline to export crude lipid adjacent Kitimat, B.C., were scrapped in 2016 pursuing a tribunal ruling that determined Ottawa failed to decently consult First Nations affected by the pipeline.

With speech of a revival of specified plans connected the radar, B.C. Premier David Eby said earlier this week that helium opposed public backing for an lipid pipeline to the northbound coast, but added helium wasn't against a privately-backed option.

"What I don't enactment is tens of billions of dollars successful national subsidy going to physique this caller pipeline erstwhile we already ain a pipeline [Trans Mountain] that empties into British Columbia and has important further capableness — 200,000 barrels," Eby said connected Sunday.