Alberta invokes its sovereignty act amid looming Trump tariffs

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The Alberta government is using its signature sovereignty act to again push back against Ottawa’s planned emissions cap amid mounting concerns about the potential impact of heavy cross-border tariffs proposed by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

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Premier Danielle Smith announced at a Tuesday news conference the plan to invoke the Sovereignty Within A United Canada Act for the second time in its history.

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“We’ve been very clear that we will use all means at our disposal to fight back against federal policies that hurt Alberta, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Smith said.

“We are asserting our ownership over our oil and gas resources.”

A resolution based on the act has yet to be tabled but could come as soon as next Monday. It would be first debated in the legislature and would then pass by a majority vote of MLAs.

If the motion is passed, Smith said her government will pursue a number of measures intended to defy the emissions cap through a mix of changes to policy, regulations, and legislation.

• Restricting Alberta entities from enforcing the federal cap
• Defining all Alberta oil and gas facilities as essential infrastructure
• Restricting access to oil and gas facilities to only those licensed by the province
• Withholding data related to emissions as proprietary information
• Selling Alberta oil via a government-run royalty-in-kind program

Smith indicated other changes would also be considered, including a constitutional challenge of the cap once it is passed into law.

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“If the motion passes, we’ll act fast,” she said. “The fight will continue as long as it has to.”

Specifics on how those programs would work as well as the level of interest from the private sector and likelihood of potential legal challenges all remain to be seen.

Ottawa’s federal emissions cap is not yet finalized. The federal government describes it as a regulatory tool that it says will ensure the oil and gas sector “does its fair share to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, while creating new jobs in Canada.”

Earlier this month, Smith slammed the regulations as a “deranged vendetta against Alberta” in hinting that a sovereignty act motion would be coming.

The act was first invoked last November over the federal government’s clean electricity regulations.

Postmedia has sought comment from federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. He has previously characterized the act as having “no legal basis” and being “bad for Albertans.”

Upstream oil and gas operations contributed around 31 per cent of Canada’s total emissions in 2022, according to Guilbeault. From 2019 to 2022, emissions from the sector fell by seven per cent.

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Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi told reporters that the act is unnecessary, calling it “pure performance.”

“The sovereignty act accomplishes nothing. We’re still in the same court cases. We’re still hiring the same lawyers. We’re just sitting on the other side of the courtroom,” he said ahead of the premier’s news conference.  “It’s the absolute epitome of doing nothing.”

Trump tariffs loom large

The sovereignty act announcement comes a day after Smith and other premiers issued an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appealing for an emergency meeting on how to address the 25 per cent tariff on all products from Canada promised by Trump.

The letter states the premiers are seeking a “Team Canada approach” on engaging with the incoming Trump administration as well as clarity on issues of trade, borders, energy, defence, and supply chains.

The meeting is scheduled to be held virtually on Wednesday afternoon.

“They’ve got to drop the production cap if we’re going to have a meaningful and reasonable negotiation with the Trump administration,” Smith said.

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Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel in 2018, prompting retaliatory matching tariffs from Canada later the same year.

The incoming president has stated the tariffs will be one of his “many first executive orders” when he takes office early in the new year.

Smith is planning to travel to Washington to attend Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 next year.

Nenshi said Trump’s tariffs would devastate Alberta’s economy and called on Smith to take action.

“Instead of getting down to work and solving this the premier is just trying to blame everybody else.”

Alberta has already indicated tough economic times could be on the horizon amid Trump’s looming protectionist measures and sagging oil prices, with Finance Minister Nate Horner warning last week that continued trends could see the province’s finances fall into deficit as soon as February’s budget.

The U.S. is by far Alberta’s largest trading partner and the destination for close to 90 per cent of the province’s exports, according to government data.

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