One person has been uncharacteristically silent in Ottawa’s war of words with Alberta over proposed electricity regulations: Jagmeet Singh..The federal NDP leader was in Edmonton this week amid the brouhaha between Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault after she told him to “pound sand.” .But there was nary a mention from the normally outspoken Burnaby MP who seems to be tongue tied on the matter..That’s likely due to an emerging rift between the Alberta and Saskatchewan wings of the party over the proposed rules which would essentially force them to wean off fossil fuels, including natural gas, by 2035..Notably, Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck issued a statement after the rules were announced last week blasting the Liberal policy as unfair and unrealistic to achieving a net-zero grid by 2035..“With more than two-thirds of SaskPower's generation coming from fossil fuels today, it isn't realistic to replace all that generation capacity with renewables in the timelines proposed by the federal government," she said in a statement..That puts her in line with Premier Scott Moe who said the proposed regulations “defy the laws of thermodynamics.”.In Alberta, opposition leader Rachel Notley has previously supported the 2035 deadline but declined to wade into Smith and Guilbeault’s escalating rhetorical battle..For his part, Singh told reporters in Edmonton on Monday he has not committed to a preferred target date other than to say Ottawa has to be more flexible to addressing regional concerns and capabilities..“Setting a target is fine, but if there's no plan to achieve it, what's the point?" he told a press conference. .“If we say we want to achieve results where we reduce our emissions, but provinces have no other way to produce electricity, how is that helping us bring down emissions and helping solve the problem? It's not.".Instead Singh is proposing a vague, hypothetical policy of allowing provinces such as BC — which is well on the way to becoming 98% non-emitting — to transfer surpluses to other provinces such as Alberta to achieve an overall 'national' net-zero grid..Political analysts said Singh has to walk a fine line to balance his industrial union base in Eastern Canada with the largely rural membership out West. .Meanwhile, the tit-for-tat between Smith and Guilbeault continued on the X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, with each taking shots and trying to score points..In one, she accused Guilbeault of “pushing ahead with his reckless agenda,” calling it a “fairytale.” Another post said his “net-zero plan is laughably impossible.”.“Alberta is committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 because it is realistic. It’s time for Ottawa to find an achievable framework and walk back punitive ideas like forcing a second carbon tax on Canadians.”.Unfazed, Guilbeault offered up this response: “Nice pic, Premier Smith, but your facts are just wrong.”.More than 80% of Canada’s electrical grid is already emission free, owing to hydroelectric dams in BC, Manitoba and Quebec along with extensive nukes in Ontario. .By contrast, Alberta and Saskatchewan rely on fossil fuels — mostly natural gas in Alberta — for almost 90% of their respective grids..Nova Scotia and the New Brunswick rely to a lesser extent on coal for electricity and even fuel oil for home heating. Both were just hit with the federal carbon tax effective July 1.
