Premier Danielle Smith said Friday that she and Prime Minister Mark Carney are committed to working through the issues between Alberta and Ottawa as separatism sentiment rises in the western province.
Smith told reporters she’s always taken the independence push seriously and that she’s spoken about it with Carney, who was in the United Kingdom “at the time that Brexit was not taken as seriously by political leaders.”
The premier said she doesn’t want to see a repeat of the surprise Brexit result.
“I know that there are people who are frustrated, disappointed, given up. And it’s my job, and I think (Carney) sees it as his job, to make the case about how we can work through these differences,” Smith said.
The premier got a warm reception at a gathering of Canada’s political right wing in Ottawa on Friday, where she was introduced as an example of how politicians can put conservative policies into practice.
Smith focused her speaking time at the Canada Strong and Free conference on her United Conservative Party’s “incredible record of success,” earning appreciative cheers as she highlighted the province’s lower taxes, reduced red tape and efforts to “(put) an end to the era of woke-ism.”
“It’s proof that when you get the fundamentals right and stay true to conservative values, the results will follow,” she said.
Her remarks did not touch on separatist sentiment in her province, which polls show is particularly high among UCP supporters.
Answering questions from reporters, Smith said her efforts to advance a memorandum of understanding with Carney on a potential pipeline to the Pacific coast are meant to “demonstrate that co-operative federalism works.”
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Smith also talked about her province’s economic ties to the United States and described the relationship as undergoing “a little bit of a disruption” right now.
“”What I’ve learned about President (Donald) Trump is you don’t go to him and say, ‘Oh, you better not do that because it’ll hurt me.’ That is like the last thing that is going to win him over,” she said.
“You say, ‘Hey, why don’t we work together? Because I’m going to help you, this is going to make America great.’”
Smith said that approach is part of the reason why Alberta’s trade relationship — and Canadian energy — is almost entirely tariff-free.
This year’s Canada Strong and Free conference has featured a significant focus on Canada-U.S. relations.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra did not make a planned appearance Friday at the conference in Ottawa, which is billed as the largest gathering of Canadian conservatives.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy said Hoekstra stayed in Washington, D.C., for meetings at the White House with senior officials in Trump’s administration.
Hoekstra attended the SelectUSA Summit with a delegation of Canadian businesses earlier this week.
On Thursday, former U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo spoke for an hour about the ongoing talks on the continental trade pact.
Pompeo told the crowd Canada should “move past the irritation” with Trump and remember which countries share its values. He argued that China is not a reliable partner and said Carney’s efforts to deepen ties with Beijing are misguided and “short-sighted.”
“Canada is important to the United States. We are incredibly important to Canada,” he said.
The conference wrapped with a panel on the Canada-U.S. relationship that included Conservative MP Jamil Jivani.
Jivani counts Vice-President JD Vance as a close personal friend and recently returned from a second trip to D.C., where he and representatives of Canadian oil and gas companies met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Jivani said he doesn’t believe a majority of Canadians bought into the “hysteria” around Trump’s threats to annex Canada and the trade war during the last election.
“I don’t think the majority of Canadians became anti-American bigots overnight,” he said.
He said the U.S. administration shouldn’t be made a scapegoat for problems in Canada and argued that Carney’s Liberal government has been given a free pass.
Jivani called on Canada’s private sector “to get more vocal” about calling for urgent action from the federal government on the trade negotiations with the United States.
“I do think that the average Canadian needs to know that our business communities need action and want action,” he said.
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