EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith delivered a note of congratulations — along with a sharply worded warning and a blanket condemnation — to Prime Minister Mark Carney and his new Liberal government on Tuesday.
In a statement, Smith urged Carney to immediately reset Ottawa's relationship with her province, accusing the Liberals of undermining Alberta’s resource-based economy for a decade.
"I will not permit the status quo to continue," she wrote.
Speaking to reporters later, Smith said more than 300 members of Parliament were elected because they stood on a platform to get resources developed, while the federal NDP and the Green Party were "crushed" and the Bloc Québécois "lost ground" because they were opposed.
"I would hope that the current prime minister understands that his mandate comes from moderate voters who actually want this province to be a genuine energy superpower," she said.
"I guess the ball will be in (Carney's) court to see how he responds," she said, adding she hopes she can work with Carney's government to find common ground.
Smith wrote that she will see about steps to shield Alberta from what she calls “hostile acts” from Ottawa, adding the Liberals and NDP have “demeaned and demonized Albertans” for political gain.
The Liberals were returned to power in Monday’s federal election, but it was not clear whether it will be with a minority or majority government as ballots continued to be counted.
Smith, in her statement, praised Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who lost his long-held seat in Ottawa, calling him a “true friend of Alberta" who advocated for anti-tax and pro-resource policies, and drove debate in the country for years.
Speaking to reporters, Smith said she hopes Poilievre stays on as leader.
She was also asked if she took responsibility for undermining Poilievre's campaign with her earlier comments to American media that Poilievre was more "in sync" with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Smith answered that the vote solidified because of federal campaigning in the past two weeks, and "I don't think I was in the media in the last two weeks."
She insisted that she tried to keep herself out of the federal election.
"I know the media kept on trying to draw me in."
Trump has provoked the ire of many Canadians for launching and threatening tariffs on Canadian goods and for openly musing about annexing the country.
Alberta has long held a frosty relationship with Liberal governments in Ottawa.
Last month, Smith outlined a list of demands for the next prime minister, which includes scrapping the greenhouse gas emissions cap and ditching a ban on single-use plastics "so we can start using straws again."
Smith also has said she wants guarantees that pipelines can be built in every direction. She's called for net-zero electricity and vehicle targets to be shelved and for Canada's anti-greenwashing law to be repealed.
In the lead-up to the election, Smith warned of an "unprecedented national unity crisis” if her demands weren't met within six months.
Later, she said she would strike a second Fair Deal Panel — one she would dub the "What's Next" panel — to "listen to what it is that Albertans want to do in consequence."
It all came as some, including former Reform Party leader Preston Manning, have warned of a sovereignty reckoning from Westerners frustrated by the thought of four more years of Liberal government.
Smith said Tuesday it's up to Albertans, not her government, to put the separation question on a referendum ballot, but said the issue is bubbling to the surface because they "feel hurt and betrayed."
Opponents, including Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi, have criticized Smith for flirting with Alberta separatism in the midst of a trade tariff war with the United States.
In a statement congratulating Carney, Nenshi said now is the time to set aside divisiveness and for Smith to work with the new federal government to help Albertans.
The first Fair Deal Panel was formed by former United Conservative premier and Smith's predecessor, Jason Kenney, shortly after he took office in 2019.
That panel was tasked with finding ways to gain leverage against Ottawa, and came back with more than two dozen recommendations, including an Alberta pension plan and replacing the RCMP with a provincial police force.
Kenney adopted neither. Five years later, Smith hasn't explicitly committed to the recommendations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2025.
Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
