KANANASKIS — Western Canada’s premiers have gathered in Alberta this week for their annual conference, with discussions expected to focus on trade, energy security, defence and nation-building projects, while the elephant in the room will be the growing debate over Alberta independence.The Western Premiers Conference is taking place on Monday and Tuesday in Kananaskis, west of Calgary, just days after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced her government’s plans to put a question related to Alberta’s future in Confederation on the provincial October 19 referendum ballot.The new question put forth by Smith’s government is: “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”.Several of the premiers who will be in attendance have already commented on the situation in Alberta, with BC Premier David Eby saying the conference may be awkward given the current political climate and the tensions between himself and Smith over the proposed crude oil pipeline to the BC coast — especially in light of the recent energy agreement Smith signed with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Calgary.“As a country, it’s time to stop rewarding bad behaviour. It cannot be the case that the projects that get prioritized in Canada are those where a premier threatens to leave the country,” Eby said in an official statement earlier this month.Eby has long opposed a new pipeline in BC and has said he is focused on discussions with Carney on securing equal attention for major projects in his own province.“My goal was to convince the prime minister to give the same level of attention and investment to BC projects as he’s giving to Alberta,” Eby said Thursday.Meanwhile, Smith has defended her deal with Carney, saying it was “a good day for Alberta and a good day for Canada,” adding that she hoped Carney could persuade BC to support the pipeline project.“I think the prime minister has a lot of persuasion skills and he also has a lot of dollars that he can assist in moving some of these projects along in British Columbia,” Smith has stated.Speaking to reporters on Monday ahead of the conference, Smith rejected the suggestion Alberta was turning away from cooperation with other provinces, arguing instead that her government was trying to address what she described as Albertans’ “legitimate grievances” with Ottawa.“That’s what cooperative federalism is,” Smith said. “We have areas of jurisdiction that belong to the federal government and the provincial government. And when we have an area of overlap, we have to work it out. And it’s my job to get Albertans working again.”Smith also defended putting the independence question on the ballot after Prime Minister Carney reportedly criticized the idea of a referendum as "unhelpful" earlier in the day. “This is a decision for Albertans to make,” Smith said, while adding she believed she and Carney have shown Alberta and Ottawa can still work together on “shared interests.”.BC will be kept 'in the loop' on new pipeline talks, Smith says following meeting with Eby, Carney.The Canadian Press reports that despite the tension between the provincial leaders, Smith is expected to gift Eby a pair of cowboy boots while at the conference.Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who will also be in attendance, said the main item on his agenda will be expressing his love for Canada — something he hopes other premiers show as well.“When we build our nation-building project in Churchill, I hope it’s a big old hug to our friends in Alberta and that they realize there’s no point in having a referendum and that Canada is the best country in the world,” Kinew said last week in Winnipeg.Premiers Scott Moe (Saskatchewan), R.J. Simpson (Northwest Territories), and Currie Dixon (Yukon) will also be attending the event in person, with Nunavut Premier John Main expected to participate virtually due to the territory’s legislature having convened last week.
