Tag: Mark Carney

TMXL: Alberta is getting a new pipeline but who’s going to pay for it?

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date July 4, 2026

Publicly-owned Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission and Trans Mountain Corporation to build pipeline to the Pacific Coast

The path already taken might be the easiest way to get a new oil pipeline built from Alberta through British Columbia to Canada’s Pacific Coast.

That’s what Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith are betting on as they announced a proposal for a new pipeline to follow the route near the Trans Mountain and Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipelines to BC’s Lower Mainland. So let’s call it TMXL.

Daveberta Podcast

Alberta’s role in Canada – why we need to tell better stories

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 17, 2026

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Federalists need emotional arguments about improving Canada and Alberta

Alberta’s separation referendum is only four months away, so longtime Daveberta Podcast contributor Adam Rozenhart joins Dave Cournoyer for part 2 of our discussion about Canada’s role in Alberta and Alberta’s role in Canada as neighbours and leaders in our country.

Where do Albertans fit in the sprawling success story we call Canada? What can we do to improve Alberta and Canada? How can we tell better stories about why Albertans are important players in making our country a better place? We start the discussion here.

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Tags Adam Rozenhart, Alberta Politics, Alberta Politics Substack, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Canada Election Substack, Danielle Smith, Dave Cournoyer, Daveberta Podcast, Daveberta Substack, Mark Carney, Pierre Poilievre, United Conservative Party

Daveberta Podcast

Podcast: Why Canada needs Alberta and Alberta needs Canada

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 13, 2026

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Part 1 in a Daveberta Podcast series about Alberta, Canada, and the stories we do and don’t tell each other

Longtime Daveberta Podcast contributor Adam Rozenhart joins Dave Cournoyer for a discussion about Canada’s role in Alberta and Alberta’s role in Canada as neighbours and leaders in our country.

This is part 1 of a podcast series about where Albertans fit in the sprawling success story we call Canada and how we can tell better stories about why Albertans are important players in making our country a better place.

Part 2 will be released in about a week.

Thanks for listening.

Become a paid subscriber to listen to the full episode.

Tags Adam Rozenhart, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Danielle Smith, Dave Cournoyer, Daveberta Podcast, Daveberta Substack, Mark Carney, Mitch Sylvestre, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Referendum for another referendum blocks Alberta’s unilateral declaration of independence

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 25, 2026

An AI-generated image of Premier Danielle Smith and US President Donald Trump celebrating an “Independent Republic of Alberta” shared by the anonymous pro-separation “Rise of Alberta” Instagram account (source: riseofalberta / Instagram)

Grinding the gears of many separatist organizers is the referendum for another referendum-style question.

A referendum to hold a referendum to open constitutional negotiations is a pretty dry rally slogan and it robs more radical separatist elements of the temptation to just unilaterally declare independence if a clear separation question was successful.

Since there is no separation process in the Canadian constitution, we’ll have to guess what Smith believes the next steps would be. Legal minds I have spoken with suggest that the constitution would need to be amended and we all know how long and drawn out that process would be.

Some prominent separatist organizers have openly dangled the threat of American President Donald Trump immediately recognizing Alberta’s independence, forcing the hand of the federal government and other provinces that would want to undertake constitutional negotiations.

Danielle Smith shows her love for Canada by holding a separation referendum

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 23, 2026

Premier Danielle Smith and separatist leader Mitch Sylvestre at a UCP fundraising dinner in Bonnyville in May 2025 (source: Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul UCP / Facebook)

Does it make any sense? No. But not much does in Alberta politics these days.

“Should Alberta remain a province of Canada, or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”

That’s the referendum question that Premier Danielle Smith has decided to put on the 10th paper ballot that Albertans will be handed when they show up to vote on October 19, 2026.

Smith says the wordy multiple choice question was her only option because the court ruling quashing Elections Alberta’s approval of the separatist Stay Free Alberta citizen initiative petition ruled out a question where yes and no were the only answers.

Smith had an option to not hold the referendum at all but she opened this can of worms and it won’t easily be closed. The populist-turned-separatist-wing of the United Conservative Party that booted former premier Jason Kenney and then boosted Smith into the Premier’s Office is now firmly entrenched in the governing party — and they are not going away.

Read a lot more on the Daveberta Substack

Alberta Politics

Won’t a new pipeline make the Alberta separatists happy?

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 17, 2026

Smith used the threat of national unity crisis to leverage the approval of a new pipeline to the Pacific Coast, and it looks like she just might get that. So this is a political win for Smith — especially because the September 1, 2027 target for the start of construction of a new pipeline lines up with the start of the next provincial general election campaign.

Expect “We got Alberta a pipeline!” to be splashed all over UCP re-election ads in 2027.

But don’t expect the promise of an oil pipeline to dampen the enthusiasm of Alberta’s separation activists. That was demonstrated clearly last November when Smith was booed by delegates at the UCP AGM when she touted the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding about pipelines and electrification.

For them, it was never about building a pipeline.

Danielle Smith will take the pipeline but won’t shelve the separatism talk

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 16, 2026

Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney speak at a joint press conference in Calgary on Friday, May 15, 2026.

Will she just call a referendum anyway? Yes, probably.

Expect “We got Alberta a pipeline!” to be splashed all over UCP re-election ads in 2027.

For them, it was never about building a pipeline.

Policy proposal from St. Albert Liberal aims to block private health care and Alberta Pension Plan

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 1, 2026

Lucia Stachurski was the Liberal Party candidate in the St. Albert-Sturgeon River in the 2025 Canadian federal election (source: David J. Climenhaga)

Delegates to the Liberal Party’s national convention in Montreal earlier this month voted unanimously in favour of two policies that take direct aim at key pieces of Premier Smith’s political agenda.

Introduced by past St. Albert-Sturgeon River candidate Lucia Stachurski, the policy proposals call for the Liberal Party to oppose the implementation of Bill 11 and a big item on Smith’s sovereignty agenda: the creation of an Alberta Pension Plan.

“Our universal healthcare system is under coordinated across the country. There is a shift towards for-profit clinics that divert federal transfers away from public care and in many cases bill Canadians out-of-pocket for assured services,” Stachurski said when she took the floor to introduce the motion. “We cannot allow a two tier healthcare system to become the Canadian norm.”

Will Mark Carney push back against Alberta’s health care privatization agenda?

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date April 29, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney (source: Mark Carney / Facebook)

Alberta separatism, referendums, library book bans, and gerrymandering are catching a lot of the headlines these days but a law passed by Alberta’s United Conservative Party government that allows for more private-for-profit health care is becoming harder for the federal government in Ottawa to ignore.

Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 (No. 2), known as Bill 11 when it was passed through the Legislature last December, would allow physicians working in Alberta to practice medicine in both the public system and in private-for-profit businesses, something that isn’t allowed anywhere else in Canada.

Premier Danielle Smith’s push toward privatization of the public health care system, which UCP defends as “European style” health care, is almost certainly more American-inspired. But wherever the inspiration comes from, it will almost certainly mean more out of pocket expenses for Albertans — something Smith has long advocated for — and more public funds subsidizing private companies.

Worried about gerrymandering? Pay attention to the closest races from Alberta’s 2023 election

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date April 23, 2026

A map of the ridings with the closest races won by the UCP (blue) and NDP (orange) in the 2023 Alberta provincial election (map tool: CanadianPolling.ca)

The United Conservative Party government has moved to take greater control of how the electoral boundaries for Alberta’s next provincial election will be drawn. Premier Danielle Smith’s UCP government voted to toss out of majority report of the bipartisan Electoral Boundaries Commission this week and create a new process where an advisory panel reporting to an MLA committee will redraw Alberta’s new electoral map.

Alberta Politics

An Edmonton Riverbend by-election could have told us a lot about Alberta politics today

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date April 11, 2026

Fifty days ago Edmonton Riverbend MP Matt Jeneroux crossed the floor from the Conservatives to the Liberals. Jeneroux’s defection wasn’t unexpected, it had been rumoured for months, but a late 2025 statement that he planned to resign in 2026 led many people to believe there would be a by-election in Edmonton Riverbend.

Edmontonians won’t get the chance to vote in a federal by-election this spring, but had Jeneroux resigned we would have had an opportunity to test the long list of recent polls that show support for Carney’s Liberals increasing in Alberta. It wouldn’t have been much a test in most Alberta ridings, as Pierre Poilievre’s Battle River-Crowfoot by-election win demonstrated, but Riverbend is a different matter.

Nenshi wants to avoid Brexit mistakes in fight against Alberta separatists

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date April 11, 2026

Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi launched the For Alberta For Canada campaign (source: Naheed Nenshi / YouTube)

“Our country is not perfect, but it’s the best place in the world, and Albertans are ready to fight for Canada,” Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi said as he launched his party’s For Alberta For Canada campaign in anticipation of an expected referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada.

“Every day, Albertans ask me one simple question about separatism: ‘what can I do?’ This new campaign is an answer to that—giving everyday people the tools and the power they need to stand up for our country.

They know that if Alberta separates, we’ll lose so much. Even the threat of a referendum is already damaging our economy and creating chaos and uncertainty. Today we are giving Albertans the tools to take action and be ready for this fall.”

The NDP campaign will kick off with a province-wide door-knocking day of action on April 25, which Nenshi says aims to attract pro-Canadian Albertans beyond NDP voters.

“We’re not repeating the mistake of the people who thought Brexit would never pass. We’re getting out there now,” Nenshi told reporters. “We’re not sleepwalking into this.”

Farmers and First Nations unite against northeast Alberta carbon dioxide pipeline

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date March 26, 2026

Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation spoke at the NO CO2 Pipelines Alberta Coalition’s news conference in Edmonton on March 24, 2026 (photo credit: David Climenhaga / AlbertaPolitics.ca)

A coalition of farmers and Indigenous leaders from northeast Alberta have formed a coalition called No CO2 Pipelines to oppose the construction of a pipeline that could run from Fort McMurray and other areas to carbon capture storage areas near Cold Lake.

The coalition is concerned about the safety of the proposed 600-kilometre carbon capture pipeline and 18,000 km² underground carbon storage project that will cross near dozens of rural and Indigenous communities. The planned project would be the world’s largest carbon capture and storage network.

In Session: Danielle Smith charms rural leaders as secret Saudi side trip raises questions about loose ethics rules

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date March 23, 2026

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)

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This is the third in a series of Daveberta Podcast episodes I’m calling Daveberta In Session. In these short episodes available to paid subscribers, I’ll sharing a few key things that I’m watching in Alberta politics this week and some other things that have caught my attention.

In today’s Daveberta Podcast episode, I discuss:

Premier Danielle Smith reluctantly admitted last week to taking jet flights and hotel stays from a Saudi Arabian prince that were not previously disclosed during her recent trip to the Middle East. The secret Saudi side trip is raising questions about loose ethics and disclosure rules.
Smith charmed rural municipal leaders at the recent Rural Municipalities of Alberta convention in Edmonton. A new report from a joint government working group acknowledges that unpaid property taxes from oil and gas companies are a sore spot for rural municipal governments and proposes solutions for the future, but not much hope that the already due back-taxes will ever get paid.
A new report from the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters highlights the importance of investing in transportation in rural communities in order to save lives and makes four recommendations.
The ongoing police investigation and expected Auditor General report into serious allegations of corruption and political interference involving hundreds of millions of dollars in medical supply procurement and private surgical contracts by the provincial government. MLAs will soon select a new Auditor General before Doug Wylie retires on April 28.
A few things I’ll be watching in Alberta politics in the week ahead, including the final report of the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission, Smith and energy minister Brian Jean’s trip to CERAWeek in Houston, Texas (federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson will be there too), and the federal NDP leadership vote next weekend.

I decided to test this podcast series during the spring session of the Alberta Legislature. I’m planning to do this for most weeks until the Assembly breaks for the summer — and then we’ll see where we go from there.

Thank you for subscribing and listening to this episode of the Daveberta Podcast. A sincere thank you to new paid subscribers, Selena, Megan, Sandeep, and Nate.

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Alberta Politics

The Online News Act is causing more harm then help

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date March 20, 2026

I have seen little evidence that federal and provincial elected officials understand this threat or take it seriously. It would probably require more heavy government regulation of the corporations that own the social media platforms and AI generators.

The failure of the Online News Act probably means the federal government has lost the ability to meaningfully regulate the tech giants that own the major social media platforms.

It seems clear that the federal government’s attempts to pressure social media companies like Meta to compensate mainstream media companies for the right to share links on their platforms has failed. Meta’s retaliatory banning of links to news websites on Facebook and Instagram has caused more harm than help in Canada.