Danielle Smith believes Quebec should develop its own natural gas industry

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling on Quebec to take advantage of its resources and develop its own natural gas extraction industry to wean itself off equalization payments.

While in Montreal on Monday, Smith briefly met with reporters before addressing some 400 guests invited by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

“What I tell Premier (Francois) Legault is I believe Quebec has a 200-year supply of its own natural gas,” Smith said. “They should develop their own natural gas so that they can wean themselves off their 100 per cent reliability on America.

“So if Quebecers want to be strong and sovereign within the United Canada, starting by developing their own resources is number one.”

Smith did not discuss the possibility of building a pipeline through Quebec to transport Alberta’s oil or natural gas eastward.

Rather, she spoke of her discussions with Ontario Premier Doug Ford to transport Alberta’s fossil fuels to Thunder Bay and then ship them eastward via the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

And she spoke about how Alberta can help Quebec develop its own natural gas industry.

“We have some expertise in the regulatory environment, we have some expertise in the royalty environment,” she said. “I’d love to see Quebec develop a new revenue source so that they can reduce the amount of equalization they get. So that’s the conversation that I have with the premier.”

Smith’s comments were part of a broader push towards larger provincial autonomy.

“Let’s put the last 10 years behind us and let’s start building again,” Smith said. “Let’s realize that we need to have a strong energy system that will support all of the development in all of our provinces. And that each of the provinces has to be able to develop to their strengths.

“I will always go on the international stage and talk about Quebec’s aluminum and Quebec’s aerospace industry, Quebec’s critical minerals. And I would hope that all of the other premiers would do the same thing. We’ve got to be all for one and one for all. We’ve got to be making sure that not only are we promoting our own interests, but we’re promoting trade with each other, as well as creating new markets.”

The Alberta premier also pitched the need for closer economic ties between provinces in her speech at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

She says Ontario and Quebec have a strong manufacturing base that could supply Alberta with equipment such as coil tubing, drill bits and steel pipe, all of which the province currently buys from the United States.

United in pushing back against Ottawa

Smith also found common cause with Quebec in challenging federal authority, saying both provinces are frustrated with Ottawa. As an example, she used Ottawa’s decision to ask the Supreme Court to set limits on how Quebec and other provinces can invoke the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause.

“We understand why that’s important for Quebec to be able to maintain its control over culture and some of the other aspects that impact it,” Premier Smith said. “We have our own reasons for wanting to be able to maintain that power. It’s one of the historic compromises that we had when we came together as a country.

“So that’s what we’re looking at as well, is how can we support each other? And I think one of the main things is if we just have to get back to operating the country the way it was intended. We have exclusive areas of provincial jurisdiction. The provinces respect the federal areas of jurisdiction. The federal government doesn’t respect ours. And so I think if we could partner on those things to make sure that the federal government is focused on areas where it can and should do well, then the country would operate a lot better.”

Jonathan Kalles, a former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, says alliances between the two provinces are rare and complicated.

“Every once in a while, they try to band together to fight for common interests, especially vis-à-vis the federal government,” Kalles said. “But we’re in a bit of a different time now where there is better cooperation with the federal government, more than we’ve seen in a long time.”

Smith is touring eastern Canada and was scheduled to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney later Monday. She is also scheduled to meet with Premier Doug Ford, as well as business leaders from Quebec and Ontario, among others, before returning to Alberta Wednesday.

–With files from Lola Kalder