Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has refused to allow Alberta’s prosperous energy industry to be used as a bargaining chip by the Liberal government as it approaches the end of its mandate.
Despite mounting pressure from other Canadian leaders to retaliate against President-elect Donald Trump’s impending 25% tariffs on Canada by blocking energy exports, Smith remains steadfast.
Smith’s decision to defend Alberta’s sovereignty over its energy resources, including its robust oil supply, comes as the rest of Canada looks to leverage Alberta’s wealth in negotiations with Trump.
While many are eager to make concessions to Trump in hopes of appeasing his administration, Smith is firmly refusing to participate in this high-stakes gamble. The Premier’s unwillingness to compromise has drawn sharp criticism from Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
Ford, whose province benefits from the federal equalization program—expected to provide Ontario with $576 million this year, largely funded by prosperous provinces like Alberta—has publicly challenged Smith’s position.
The Ontario Premier has proposed retaliatory actions, including an embargo on energy exports and critical minerals to the United States, claiming such measures would disproportionately hurt Ontario, the nation’s most populous province.
“Well, that’s Danielle Smith. She’s speaking for Alberta; she’s not speaking for the country,” Ford said of Smith’s hard-line stance. “I’m speaking for Ontario, which is going to get hurt a lot more. They aren’t going to go after the oil—they’re coming after Ontario.”
The tension between Smith and Ford highlights the deep divides between provinces over how to handle energy policy and its place in Canada’s broader economic strategy. Smith, however, remains undeterred.
“Oil and gas are owned by the provinces, principally Alberta, and we won’t stand for that,” Smith declared Monday, adding that she could not predict how Albertans might respond to federal interference.
While some within the federal government, including Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, have hinted at using Alberta’s resources as leverage in dealings with the U.S., Smith is adamantly opposed to such tactics.
She warns that federal retaliation measures, such as energy export blockades, could inflame national unity issues and possibly reignite simmering separatist sentiment in the West.
Ford, meanwhile, has made it clear that he is willing to use Alberta’s resources as a bargaining chip, although energy is a provincial jurisdiction.
“I want to ship him more critical minerals; I want to ship him more energy, but make no mistake about it: if they’re coming full-tilt at us, I won’t hesitate to pull out every single tool we have until they can feel the pain,” Ford stated. “But that’s the last thing I want to do.”
