CALGARY — Former Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day has applauded Premier Danielle Smith’s stance against using Alberta’s energy resources as leverage in the ongoing trade conflict with the United States.Speaking to the Western Standard, the former federal international trade minister said that using Alberta’s oil and gas exports as leverage against the US would only deepen Western alienation and “stoke the fires” of the independence movement.“I’m behind Premier Smith 100%,” Day said.Earlier this week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford raised the possibility of using Canadian energy as leverage against Washington, while former Alberta premier Alison Redford has also argued energy exports should be placed on the negotiating table.However, on Wednesday, Smith said cutting off oil exports to the US would be a disastrous decision.“I cannot think of a more disastrous policy decision than cutting off or taxing Alberta's oil to the United States,” she said.“Doing so would absolutely devastate the Canadian economy.”Day said asking Alberta to sacrifice its largest industry for a confrontation driven by Ottawa would be politically dangerous, particularly amid renewed debate over the province’s place in Confederation.“It's not Danielle Smith who is saying, ‘Let's push Canada closer to China.’ It's not Danielle Smith who's saying, ‘Let's knock Trump off of his pedestal,’” Day said.“That's the prime minister's fight, and now Albertans are being asked to pay for that.”.Prolonged trade war risks deepening Alberta alienation.He also warned the Liberals’ current trade strategy could convince Albertans who are neutral or undecided about independence and the October 19 referendum that Alberta’s economic interests will continue to be sacrificed for Ontario and Quebec.“This will stoke the fires of independence because people are going to say, once again, as in the last 150 years, the West — and specifically Alberta — is being asked to suck it up for fights that primarily Eastern Canada is having with Washington,” he said.“If Prime Minister Carney is saying once again, ‘Albertans, you sacrifice. It’s time for you to sacrifice,’ it’s unrealistic and really bad timing,” Day said.Day also addressed reports that Prime Minister Mark Carney withdrew an offer to cooperate on possibly reviving the Keystone XL pipeline during the final stages of trade negotiations with US President Donald Trump.On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Carney took Keystone XL off the table during the final hours of failed trade negotiations with Trump, saying the terms on offer weren’t good enough to revive the proposed project.He cautioned that while the report had not been fully confirmed by the Liberals, removing the pipeline from consideration would represent a lost opportunity to secure concessions from Trump.“Even Trump, regardless of what people might think of him, has to go back to his constituency and say, ‘I got this,’ or ‘I got that,’” Day said.Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in reviving Keystone XL, which was intended to transport Alberta crude to refineries on the US Gulf Coast before its presidential permit was cancelled by former president Joe Biden in 2021.
