A TV commercial from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s election campaign says, among other things “Canadians want change.” It’s not clear if the meaning is a change in the way Canada has been governed under the Justin Trudeau regime, but the message is correct, Canadians want change. More than that, Canadians need and deserve change, which is not something they’ll get with a Carney Liberal government. .The only thing that comes to my mind that makes Carney different from Trudeau is, I've never seen a photo of Carney in black face. Carney, like Trudeau, is a strict follower of the edicts of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and worships at the feet of Klaus Schwab, WEF chairman. It’s early days, but Carney has yet to clearly elucidate details of his election platform, but they’re sure to follow WEF guidelines. .He’ll likely come out of the gate attacking US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which certainly should be discussed and debated, but that will conveniently put his WEF net zero plans under the radar, which would be part of his plan. Carney has mumble-gaffed about lifting the carbon tax (which he did, only at the retail level) as well as telling Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in a meeting on Thursday he would remove the federal government’s emission cap, about the same time his new environment minister, Terry Duguid, said the emissions cap will remain place. He also told Smith he would open corridors to get Alberta’s oil and gas to the west coast, north coast and east coast to open new markets, all designed to appeal to Albertans, but completely opposite from his previous talks and deeds. .All talk and obviously no action so far, but Carney is exactly the same as Trudeau, politically, economically and egotistically. Carney grew up in Edmonton, but it’s not clear whether he shares Trudeau’s disdain for Alberta. “This has been the same story for the last 10 years,” Smith said after her meeting with Carney on Thursday. “Liberals come to Alberta, smile for the cameras, tell everyone how much they are going to work with Alberta and support the energy sector. Then they leave, go home, and proceed to do everything in their power to roadblock and scare away investment from the energy sector.” At the meeting, Smith also told Carney, “Alberta will no longer tolerate an emissions cap on oil and gas, which absolutely works like a production cap that scares away billions in investment and thousands of jobs, makes us more dependent on the United States, and has been found by Ottawa’s own Parliamentary Budget Office to be greatly destructive to the Canadian economy.” .And then, after the meeting, Smith said what this Albertan and many other Albertans have been waiting to hear. “I provided a specific list of demands the next prime minister, regardless of who that is, must address within the first six months of their term to avoid an unprecedented national unity crisis,” she said in a statement, hinting at taking concerns to a referendum in Alberta. I am a born-and-raised Albertan. Except for working for 18 months in Regina, I have spent my entire life in Alberta and I’m damn proud of it..If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it 1,000 times that Albertans ‘have attitude.’ People say it as if we should be offended, but no true Albertan is offended by being told she or he ‘has attitude.’ Our attitude, and semi-official motto, is ‘get ‘er done.’ Get involved, help and assist or get the hell out of the way. .For decades, we’ve endured more punishing measures and legislation from the federal government than any other part of Canada. The harshest battle lines and animosity came together when Pierre Elliot Trudeau brought in his National Energy Program (NEP), which was designed to bring Alberta to its knees and destroy its economy. It succeeded, as thousands of jobs were lost and the giant oil rigs lined up at the Coutts border crossing to get into the US, where jobs were plentiful. That was when I became an Alberta protectionist, and while I can’t speak for all Albertans, many of us didn’t then, and still to this day do not feel like we are part of Canada. .Trudeau senior’s NEP was snuffed out by then-Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed, and thankfully, Alberta today has a premier with the same guts and gumption as Lougheed, actually maybe more (a woman scorned and all that, you know). Given the harsh treatment Alberta has received from Trudeau junior over the last decade, I and many other Albertans, are less Alberta protectionists, as much as we are leaning towards independence or some form of autonomy, which is not going to change unless Mark Carney, as his TV commercials say, is serious about change if he gets elected. Alberta is in a unique position, with natural resource wealth, a strategic location, a young and growing population, strong local identity and independence and the strongest premier in the country. That is the kind of power to force systemic change. A national unity crisis is the smoking gun. A Carney/Liberal election win could pull the trigger.
