Sask., Alberta look for 'maximum leverage' with energy regulation demands, expert says

Saskatchewan and Alberta teaming up to demand the rollback of some energy regulations could make it difficult for the prime minister to get nation-building projects off the ground, an energy industry expert says.

 "Whatever grand plans Prime Minister Mark Carney has, he has to have the provinces on board," said energy industry journalist Markham Hilsop, adding that energy production is almost exclusively under provincial jurisdiction.

This gives Saskatchewan and Alberta leverage to "press their industries' agendas because they'll say … 'we won't co-operate with the national power grid. We won't cooperate with internal free trade. You need to give us what we want or you got problems.' And Carney set himself up for this, frankly."

 On Wednesday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith held a joint caucus meeting in Lloydminster. As they've done in the past, Moe and Smith called for federal support for energy projects and the abandonment of some industry regulations — this time seated side-by-side.

Their demands are outlined in a joint statement released after the meeting. Thy include "an end to all federal interference in the development of provincial resources," the curtail or elimination of the federal Impact Assessment Act, and ditching proposed oil and gas emissions caps and clean electricity regulations.

Hilsop said those demands aren't new, as Smith as been repeating them for months.

"What Moe and and Smith are doing is making sure that this issue doesn't get out of the news cycle," he said.

"They want it to have as high a profile as possible so they get the maximum leverage when they're sitting down with the prime minister and his team and negotiating these deals."

Hilsop said the joint statement is, "seriously out of step with the energy transition and the changes that are taking place at the global level in the global energy system, which is shifting to electricity generated by renewable sources."

What the premiers said

"The national self-sabotage that has happened over the last 10 years has to end," Smith said.

Moe said this moment is a chance for Canada to take its place as an energy superpower.

"This is an opportunity that I would say is unlike any opportunity that I've seen in my lifetime for each of us as Canadians. And I'm, you know, very hopeful and excited on where this conversation will go in the next number of months," he said.

Moe said he is optimistic about Carney's nation building plans. Smith said she too is hopeful, but wants the two provinces to have more of a say.

"If I understand where the prime minister is attempting to go, if he very soon is able to announce a project list that has 20 or more substantial projects on it that include mining projects and transmission projects and power projects and pipeline projects, I think that would send a pretty big message to the world about the direction that we're going," Smith said. 

But Alberta's premier said legislation should also encourage private sectors to invest in big energy projects. Moe shares that view.

"Policies certainly matter. And the policies are much larger than a single pipeline that might have to be built," he said.

Along with oil and gas pipeline access, the two premiers also demanded the exploration of export potential in critical minerals, agriculture, and forestry product.

Moe says Canada's top priority should be building an energy corridor that connects the northwest coast to the coast of Hudson Bay. 

"A port-to-port corridor in Western Canada connecting northwestern Pacific ports to the Hudson Bay would provide the opportunity for us to have access to Asian [and] European markets for years into the future, for generations into the future," Moe said. 

Concerns with Bill C-5

The joint press conference comes after the Liberals passed a closure motion Monday morning to speed through study and debate of Bill C-5 by week's end. Multiple MPs and premiers were critical of the swift timeline.

The legislation would give the federal cabinet the ability to set aside various statutes to push forward approvals for a small number of major industrial products, such as mines, pipelines and ports, if the government deems them to be in the national interest.

The government expects to pass the bill by the end of Friday.

Moe and Smith said if Carney wants Canada to have the strongest G7 economy, he needs to repeal policies like the West Coast tanker ban and net-zero electricity regulations.