Smith tells Kinew, Eby to stop "lecturing" Albertans and focus on pipelines
Speaking on her radio program Your Province, Your Premier, Smith responded to questions about last week’s Western Premiers Conference.
Author: Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pushed back against criticism from fellow Western leaders, arguing that premiers should focus on economic collaboration rather than “lecturing” Alberta about its internal political debates.
Speaking on her radio program Your Province, Your Premier, Smith delved into questions about last week’s Western Premiers Conference, where tensions flared with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and British Columbia Premier David Eby over Alberta’s sovereignty debate.
“I would say rather than lecturing Albertans about what they should and should not do — and should believe and shouldn’t — I would like to see other premiers give, as I am, reasons to feel confident in the western partnership and reasons to feel confidence in Canada,” Smith said.
Her remarks come after a highly charged meeting in Calgary, where Kinew and Eby publicly challenged Alberta’s direction on separatist sentiment and a planned referendum question.
Smith said the path forward lies in cooperation on major resource projects rather than constitutional confrontation.
“I think that the best thing those partners could do is work with us on getting pipelines built,” she said, framing energy infrastructure as the key to strengthening both the western economy and national cohesion.
She pointed specifically to Manitoba’s interest in expanding export routes, referencing Kinew’s remarks about reviving a Churchill-area pipeline concept and increasing Alberta oil shipments eastward.
“I know that Premier Kinew has said he wants to get a Churchill pipeline built — he’s said ‘move a few Alberta barrels’,” Smith noted. “I think that’s a really good message.”
Smith also argued that energy exports, including liquefied natural gas development, could create shared benefits across provinces by boosting revenues and reducing reliance on federal equalization transfers.
“He wants to talk about LNG export which would also benefit us — and it would also benefit him, because if he had new sources of revenue, it would reduce Manitoba’s reliance on equalization — they get about $5 billion a year in equalization payments,” she said.
Her comments come amid renewed national debate over Alberta separatism, sparked by a citizen-led petition effort and the province’s decision to put referendum-related questions to voters in October. Smith has maintained that Albertans should be allowed to democratically express their views on the province’s future, while emphasizing her preference remains within Canada.
“Albertans in good faith went out — 700,000 people signed onto petitions saying they wanted to have this discussion,” she said. “So let’s have it.”
The exchange at the Western Premiers Conference underscored growing regional tensions, with Eby warning that separation would leave Canada “poorer” and likening the movement to Brexit, while Kinew relayed a message he attributed to an Alberta service worker who opposed separation.