What Must Carney Do for Alberta? “As It Happens” Interview
On Wednesday April 30, I was a guest on CBC’s As It Happens radio show. We talked about what Mark Carney needs to do to make Albertans feel that our aspirations and goals are genuinely a part of his government’s plans, after a decade of hostility from Ottawa on issues like resource development, infrastructure reviews, and product exports.
The Show site is here; My segment starts at the 10:15 mark. The written transcript is below (note that transcripts sometimes contain errors).
TRANSCRIPT: As It Happens, April 30, 2025
Guest: Greg McLean
CH: Alberta is, once again, a sea of blue. In Monday’s election, the Conservatives won all but three of the ridings in the province — some in landslide numbers. That result was hardly a surprise. Before the election, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith warned of an “unprecedented national unity crisis” — unless Canada’s next prime minister implemented her wish list around the oil and gas sector in the first six months. And yesterday — although she said she will not push for a vote on separation — she did announce a bill that would make it easier for Albertans to trigger a provincial referendum. All of which complicates things for Conservative MPs flying east to Ottawa — especially without an elected leader. Greg McLean is the re-elected Conservative MP for Calgary Centre. We reached him in Calgary.
NK: Greg McLean, the prime minister says he plans to govern for all Canadians. What do the Liberals and Mark Carney need to do, in your view, to repair the relationship with Alberta?
GREG MCLEAN: Well, let’s go over what happened in the last Liberal government with the last prime minister. Everything the Liberal government advanced was contrary to the interests of the economy of Alberta. And you think about the Northern Gateway pipeline that was canceled, you think about the Energy East pipeline that was canceled. Both of these would have contributed to our economic destiny as far as trading with other partners around the world, not just the U.S. So, note the irony in there of what’s emerged in the last few months here south of the border is that the policies of the current government have led to what they describe as a crisis with our trade partner to the south.
NK: This prime minister has been saying that he’s going to be doing things differently. He’s saying different things about pipelines, as we know. So, what do you need to see and hear in the coming weeks and months to maybe give you and your colleagues a sense that Alberta is getting what you believe it deserves to get?
GM: What we want to do is make sure that a strong Alberta, of course, leads to a strong Canada. So, this prime minister has to put some actual path behind the words he’s used in the election here and actually get to the real changes that are required. One of which, of course, is changing the Impact Assessment Act, the old Bill C-69, that made it almost impossible to develop any infrastructure in Canada. Because it’s not just pipelines, it’s not just oil and gas. It’s mines, it’s roads, it’s things that are held up as a result of the legislation that’s been put on the table here by the previous Liberal government of which we see this one as a continuation. So, during the election, he said he would not be making the changes required by the Supreme Court to amend the Impact Assessment Act. That has to happen.
NK: As you know, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and our listeners just heard, laid out this to-do list that she sees that Prime Minister Carney needs to complete within the first six months around the oil and gas sector, specifically. And the premier spoke about, as she put it, an unprecedented national unity crisis if they can’t come closer or come to an agreement on that to- do list and the things that she believes needs to get done. And what would an unprecedented national unity crisis look like, do you think, if they don’t come closer on these issues?
GM: Well, that would be speculation about what a crisis like that would look like. We have to stop using words like crisis in dealing with things. We’ve had this put on our plate by the Liberal government for a long time that everything we have to deal with requires them to intervene with unforeseen powers in order to deal with the latest crisis. There’s things that will continue to change in a volatile world, but the world is getting more volatile. So, we’ve got to start dealing with things on a look-forward basis rather than look back. We’ve got all kinds of monetary impediments we’re going to face going forward here. Notice what Mr. Carney’s put on the table here with this Liberal policy during the election. It is going to lead to a monetary problem going down the road here. We’ve got to start addressing this before they become crises
NK: During the campaign, you’ll likely remember former reform party leader Preston Manning wrote an op-ed in the Globe and Mail saying a vote for the Liberals is akin to a vote for Western secession. And Premier Smith has made it easier for Albertans to force a referendum now. Is there really an appetite for Alberta to leave Canada? What are you hearing on that front from your constituents that you’ll now be representing again?
GM: We hear lots of things. We hear both sides of that discussion. We go door to door all the time and make sure that we listen to everybody. Here’s the issue is we’ve got 37 seats and 37 MPs that come from Alberta. Thirty-four of those are Conservative now. And that sends a message in itself that there is something the Liberal government is not working well with that benefits Albertans. We’ve got to make sure we actually govern for this whole country and that’s what a democratically elected government should do is govern for the whole country. So, if you look at the whole nature of government, at the end of the day, it is about using resources collectively to actually aid in the direction the government wants to go. We need to use those resources now from a political perspective and make sure that we are developing a strong economy, something that was completely ignored in the last 10 years of the Liberal government. Let’s get it developed. Let’s make sure we trade well with other partners and build the economy, build our incomes back in Canada, and make sure the cost of living doesn’t run ahead of everybody’s ability to pay those bills.
NK: It sounds like you think the relationship is salvageable, but do you worry at all that those tensions are simmering? That we could get to a point where, you know, there were levels of discontent people might remember back in 2019 when that Wexit movement was born? Are you worried that that’s going to start bubbling up and bubbling up?
GM: Well, it seems you want to talk about this as opposed to everything else that’s wrong with the country, but let me —
NK: [chuckle] No, I want to talk to you about what’s happening. I don’t live in Calgary, and many of our listeners don’t, so I want get a sense from you, someone who knows Calgary, and clearly loves it, and Alberta, to find out what people are actually feeling.
GM: And Canada. And Canada, let’s make sure that, I’m a federally elected MP, so let’s make sure I am a Calgarian, an Albertan, and a Canadian.
NK: Of course. Yeah.
GM: I’ve been elected as a Canadian representative here. So, we will continue to find, you know, solutions that are for the benefit of all Canada and aren’t continuing to penalize the interests of Alberta, Alberta’s economy, and Alberta’s industries in what the federal government is trying to do here. It’s clear there are some people that are very frustrated with the way the Liberal government has treated, you know, Alberta. And they’re looking for what are the solutions to the problem at hand. Now, I think we have to look at a full set of those solutions rather than running for, you know, the extreme option right away. I think most Albertans are Canadians first. And hopefully, Mr. Carney is wise enough and wants the the confederation to have the solutions available that actually build on the strengths of every one of our provinces. So, hopefully, he meets the premier’s at the table and listens to their concerns and undoes some of the damage that’s been done to, you know, the provinces in their economies by his predecessor. That, I think, would be a wise first move for Prime Minister Carney to actually sit with the premieres, the ones that feel that they’ve been the most hard done by the previous relationship with the previous prime minister as quickly as possible.
NK: Greg McLean, I appreciate this. Thank you for your time.
GM: My pleasure. Thank you.
CH: Greg McLean is the Conservative MP for Calgary Centre.