OTTAWA — Danielle Smith says Alberta industry leaders and residents are growing “impatient” as negotiations with Prime Minister Mark Carney over a major energy agreement continue months after the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding.Speaking before a Friday morning meeting with Carney in Ottawa, Smith said she hopes a final agreement can be reached within days.“Still have a few things to work out and I hope that we can get to the finish line on signing that MOU,” Smith said. “I know industry is getting a bit impatient. Albertans are getting a little bit impatient.” Later in the day, Smith was much more optimistic saying she is Smith says she's 'much more confident' about pipeline being built.The agreement came last November, included commitments from the federal government not to proceed with a federal emissions cap on oil and gas production and to exempt Alberta from certain clean electricity regulations.In exchange, Alberta agreed to increase its industrial carbon price from $95 per tonne to a minimum effective rate of $130 per tonne, though negotiations over timelines and long-term implementation remain unresolved.The discussions are also tied to broader negotiations surrounding major energy projects, most notably Smith’s proposal for a new oil pipeline running from Alberta to British Columbia’s northwest coast, which David Eby’s government vehemently opposes. .Smith has previously said Alberta intends to submit a formal proposal for the project to Ottawa’s federal Major Projects Office.“And if we’re going to move forward with that MOU, I hope it happens in the next number of days because I think in Alberta there does need to be a demonstration that Canada can work,” Smith said. Following the meeting and a speech later Friday at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference in Ottawa, Smith said she now feels significantly more optimistic about reaching a deal with Ottawa. “Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney and I made significant progress towards reaching an agreement on a West Coast pipeline and carbon pricing,” Smith told reporters, adding the agreement could result in “hundreds of billions of dollars in new investment in the Alberta and Canadian economies.” “I am now much more confident that this will be completed well before Alberta’s West Coast pipeline submission to the major projects office next month,” she said. Smith later acknowledged that industrial carbon pricing timelines had remained one of the largest sticking points in negotiations with Ottawa.“We agreed in the MOU to a $130 price and the question was, how quickly do we get there in the environment that we’re in,” Smith said. “That’s always been really at the heart of the discussions.” The ongoing talks come as pressure grows from Alberta’s energy sector, where some companies have warned industrial carbon pricing policies could undermine Canada’s competitiveness at a time when Ottawa is seeking to diversify export markets beyond the United States.The issue has also become politically sensitive in Alberta amid renewed separatist sentiment and calls for greater provincial autonomy.Carney acknowledged Friday that more work remains between the two governments.“We have more to do, which is why we’re sitting down today,” the prime minister said. Smith is in Ottawa to speak later Friday at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference, where energy policy and federal-provincial relations are expected to feature prominently.
