Premier Smith says Alberta refuses to go along Ottawa's plans

Premier Danielle Smith is unhappy with Ottawa's plan to create a green electrical grid by 2035 and has invoked the Sovereignty Act.

The federal government plans to fully decarbonize Canada's electricity grids by 2035 and help enable the rest of the economy to electrify by the year 2050.

On Monday, Premier Smith stated in a news conference that her government refuses to play ball.

"If the Federal Government has its way, many people will be left without electricity that they can pay for, on a power grid that will fall short, or even fail, in a typical Alberta winter or summer. We refuse to go along with this plan," Premier Smith said. Smith adds that by rushing towards to the 2035 deadline, the reliability of Alberta's power grid will be put at risk.

A news release from the Office of the Premier, states that the Alberta Government will not allow Albertans to be put at risk because of "the federal government’s proposed unaffordable, unreliable and unconstitutional Clean Electricity Regulations (CERs)."

So, Premier Smith invoked the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act.

"We developed this legislation to shield the province from Federal intrusions, and we are using it now, because the consequences of this particular overreach would be so severe," Smith explains. "Alberta will bear the largest share of the expenses required to meet these absurd targets and consumers and businesses will see their bills soar."

The Alberta government has held meetings with the Federal government to try and reach an agreement to allow the 2035 deadline to be extended to 2050, but to no avail.

"We have tried to work with Ottawa to align their emissions-reduction efforts with our provincial plan to achieve a carbon-neutral power grid by 2050," explains Smith in a news release. "Unfortunately, after months of meetings, they continue to reject this opportunity and remain committed to an absurdly unrealistic and unattainable goal of a net-zero power grid by 2035. We are left with no choice but to create a shield to protect Albertans from Ottawa’s dangerous and unconstitutional electricity regulations. They may be willing to expose Albertans to high costs, blackouts and brownouts, but we are not, and we will continue to ensure Albertans are protected from these destructive and unconstitutional federal policies."

Under the Canadian Constitution, legislating and regulating the development of electricity falls under the jurisdiction of the province.

With the Alberta Sovereignty Act, Alberta's cabinet has been asked "to order all provincial entities not to recognize the constitutional validity of, enforce, nor cooperate in the implementation of the CERs in any manner, to the extent legally permissible." 

This order does not apply to individuals or private companies.

The provincial government is now examining the feasibility of creating an Alberta Crown corporation that will add any necessary electricity to the grid.

They hope to achieve this either by purchasing existing power-generating assets (such as natural gas power plants) or by building new power-generating assets that those in the private industry may not wish to build or keep open, due to uncertainty and penalties from CERs.

But, making Alberta's electrical grid system isn't as daunting as it may seem on the surface.

In a federal document entitled Powering Canada Forward: Building a Clean, Affordable, and Reliable Electricity System for Every Region of Canada, they discuss the progress made in the decarbonizing of Canada's electricity systems.

In this document, they single out and highlight the progress that Alberta has already made towards creating a green electrical grid.

 "The phasing out of coal-powered electricity generation has exceeded all expectations and regulatory requirements. For instance, while the original regulations in 2012 would have required the last coal-fired power plant in Alberta to be retired by 2061, the province is now on track to shutter the last such facility later this year," the document reads. 

The document also explains how all of the major electric utilities and power producers in Alberta have already adopted net-zero emission targets.

Not only that, but this document shows that in 2021, Alberta was the fastest-growing source of solar photovoltaic (conversion of light into electricity) in Canada.

Still, Premier Smith's government plans to use all legal means available to them to oppose the Federal Electricity Regulation.

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