Before relaunching her political career last May with the announcement of her candidacy to succeed Jason Kenney as leader of the United Conservative Party of Alberta, Danielle Smith had worked for several years as a private radio host and as a columnist for the Calgary Herald. She had regularly taken advantage of this showcase to stir up popular discontent towards Quebec, calling the Belle Province “the great leech of Confederation” and holding it responsible for the rise of separatist sentiment in Alberta.
“François Legault lit the fire when he killed the idea of reviving [l’oléoduc] Énergie-Est and declared that there was no social acceptability for oil in Quebec, she wrote in 2018. Well, you know what? There is no longer any social acceptability in Alberta for sending our money to Quebec. “Last year, Mr.me Smith was interested in the enthusiasm of Quebecers for outdoor swimming pools, a well-known phenomenon for anyone who had flown over the suburbs of Montreal or Quebec City before landing at Trudeau or Lesage airport.
“How is it that in Quebec, city of Bonhomme and Carnival, there are so many residents who can afford heated swimming pools open all year round? The answer is subsidized electricity. According to the columnist, Quebec would no longer need equalization if its electricity rates followed the market, as gas prices do in Alberta. “Imagine what would happen if Alberta decided to lower the price at the pump by reducing oil company royalties while asking Ottawa to compensate for the shortfall,” Ms.me Smith. They would tell us to fuck off, and with good reason. »
It is this undeniable talent of Mme Smith to create scapegoats that propelled her to victory in her party’s leadership race last October. Sworn in soon after as premier of her province, she has since remained faithful to this populist formula, despite the weight of her new responsibilities. And everything indicates that she does not intend to change her strategy in view of the provincial elections which will take place next spring. It must be said that this is its only real asset against the New Democratic Party of Alberta and its more experienced leader, Rachel Notley, who led the province from 2015 to 2019.
By tabling his bill this week “On Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada” — a title that borders on the ridiculous and will make any fan by Yvon Deschamps —, Mme Smith has shown a staggering disregard for Canadian political institutions and the constitutional order, which she says she wants to protect. All in an attempt to provoke a reaction in Ottawa which would serve as a pretext to campaign against the federal government of Justin Trudeau rather than against the NDP opposition in Alberta.
According to this absurd bill, a provincial minister could, following the adoption of a simple motion by the legislative assembly, order “provincial entities” not to enforce federal laws if he considers the said laws to be “prejudicial to the interests of Alberta”. It is difficult to imagine a scenario, whatever it is, where such an order could apply. But Danielle Smith’s goal is not to clarify things. It is rather to confuse the spirits.
We understand that some Quebec politicians share the point of view of Mr.me Smith on Ottawa’s sometimes unfounded interference in provincial jurisdictions. However, it is surprising to see the leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, salute the efforts made by the Prime Minister to wreak havoc. “Alberta goes much further than the CAQ in stating that when a federal law infringes on a power of Alberta or creates prejudice to Alberta, well, there is a mechanism where Alberta suspends the effect of this federal law,” dropped the PQ leader. The mechanism to which Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon refers is not only lame, it is condemned by its planned obsolescence before it even leaves the box.
The PQ is indeed on the wrong track by associating itself with the populist approach of Mme Smith. His very credibility takes for his cold. This Alberta sovereignty bill is becoming the laughingstock of the entire country. The Alberta business community resolutely dissociates itself from the initiative of Mr.me Smith, fearing that investors will see it as the hallmarks of a banana republic. Constitutionalists are surprised by the amateurism of Danielle Smith. Rarely, they say, have they seen such a poorly crafted bill.
In an attempt to consolidate her support with her rightist base, the very one who brought her to the head of the party, the Alberta premier is alienating moderate voters in her province. It is not even certain that his own government, several members of which had strongly criticized his idea of adopting such a law during the leadership race, will be able to survive this daredevil exercise.
Justin Trudeau says he does not want to “seek the chicanery” with Alberta. There is therefore no question of invoking the federal power of disallowance, a power that no federal government has dared to use since 1943, to invalidate the Alberta law. It would be a colossal political mistake to even think about it. M’s House of Cardsme Smith will collapse on his own.