Alberta premier says Carney deal is about undoing Trudeau-era 'woke agenda'

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is downplaying the construction of a pipeline to the Pacific Ocean as part of her memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Smith says the MOU was also about stopping the Liberal government’s “woke agenda.”

“I know everyone is focused on the single pipeline, but that wasn't the full extent of what the MOU is about. The MOU was to address nine terrible policies from the [Justin] Trudeau-[Steven] Guilbeault era,” Smith tells The Post Millennial, referring to the former prime minister and his climate change champion environment minister.

“Remember, the NDP were propping up the Liberals and pushing this agenda to keep it in the ground,” the premier says in reference to net zero policies that frustrated Alberta’s desire to pump more oil. She says that policy was part of “all of the woke agenda, all of the direction that we've gone in the last 10 years of safe supply and revolving door of criminals going through our justice system, and the keep it in the ground narrative, all of that has come from that partnership.”

Although Carney kept Guilbeault in his cabinet, the Quebec Member of Parliament first resigned from his ministry and then announced he was leaving the House of Commons.

“So I'm glad to see Guilbeault gone, and that should tell you something, that he determined that we were unwinding a lot of his legacy, and I'm very proud to say that we had a very large role in that, because I think he did the most to damage unity of any politician that I've ever seen,” says Smith.

But Smith says the pipeline remains viable, even as she has accepted the Carney government’s carbon pricing and seeks a “carve out” on federal government ban on oil tankers docking on the British Columbia coast.

Smith says she remains committed to getting “conditional approval” of a pipeline construction plan by Oct. 1, 2026, even as the provincial government of BC and many indigenous bands continue to fight the concept.

The premier is also dealing with a thriving Alberta independence movement. A strong federalist, she has chosen to reject an October referendum on separation and instead have a referendum on whether to have a future referendum on independence. That response satisfied no one and she says she is not surprised that a recent Angus-Reid poll had her at 39% support as premier. Moreover, her own United Conservative Party has a membership and voting base that is strongly in favor of independence and could threaten her leadership.

Smith says she is confident she can overcome the odds.

“Well, I don't want to prejudge what Albertans are going to do. Everyone is going to be in the polling booth and make … their own choice on the basis of what their heart and their conscience is telling them. All I know is that we have made tremendous progress with the approach that we have taken. The approach is Alberta sovereignty within a united Canada … What I've been advocating for is I want the federal government to stop interfering in our provincial roles, and so the way in which we've enacted our Alberta Sovereignty Within the United Canada Act is, we've passed motions when the federal government has tried to boss us around on energy policy and said, ‘we're just going to ignore you.’”

But Smith says she remains capable of flexibility.

“That being said, if Albertans choose to go in a different direction, then that is also the marching orders for those of us who are democratically elected. We are having the ultimate policy conversation now that'll be decided on October 19. ‘Do you want to remain or do you want to start the process to leave?’ And we're putting it to the people to have that debate.”