Alberta Premier Danielle Smith used a keynote address in the nation’s capital Thursday to call for a sweeping push to develop Canada’s energy infrastructure, ease interprovincial trade barriers and reduce economic reliance on the United States.
Smith warned that a failure to act could imperil the country’s prosperity and sovereignty.
“Canada cannot afford to be weak — not now, and not ever,” Smith said to a packed ballroom at the Canada Strong and Free Network’s annual conference in downtown Ottawa. “It is time for us to grow up and start acting like a strong, independent and sovereign nation that we know and love.”
Smith argued that Canada is at a “once-in-a-generation crossroads,” with Americans placing tariffs on Canadian goods and geopolitical instability threatening existing trade routes.
The conference is a high-profile gathering of conservative thinkers, organizers and politicians. This year, it comes just weeks before the April 28 federal election that is currently a two-way race between the Liberals and Conservatives.
Smith, whose United Conservative Party governs Alberta, has been a vocal critic of Ottawa’s climate and trade policies since taking office in October 2022.
In both her speech and a subsequent fireside chat with Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley, Smith laid out a vision of “nation-building” through infrastructure megaprojects and interprovincial cooperation — with Alberta, she argued, poised to lead.
Team Canada
At the heart of Smith’s address was a call to dramatically expand Canadian infrastructure. This would include reviving long-abandoned pipeline projects, investing in Arctic ports like Grays Bay in Nunavut, and turning Prince Rupert, B.C., into a major export gateway to Asia.
“This is Canada’s gateway to Asia,” Smith said of the Prince Rupert port. “ I tend to think of that as Alberta’s port, but it could be Saskatchewan and Manitoba and Ontario’s port too. [It’s] how we secure new markets, lessen our dependence on the United States, and export everything from food to fuel to critical minerals.
“But to unlock its full potential, we must twin rail lines. We have to build inland ports and logistics hubs.”
Smith criticized Canada’s regulatory process, which she says leads to “death by delay.” She advocated for a “one-year-to-yes” permitting policy that fast-tracks approvals for energy and transportation projects.
Smith also reiterated her support for a new version of the Energy East pipeline. However, unlike Energy East, which would have run through central Ontario and southern Quebec, she floated the idea of an alternative pipeline route that runs through northern Quebec, bypassing politically sensitive areas near Montreal. “You have to find out what it is that the objections are, and then just work with the community to try to address those,” she said.
Beyond pipelines, Smith promoted domestic value-added production and closer interprovincial economic ties. While Alberta could continue to produce oil and gas, she said, “it makes more sense for Sarnia to refine it, or for refineries in Quebec,” as part of a broader “Team Canada” approach.
To that end, Smith said she met with Quebec business leaders in Montreal earlier this week and intends to pursue similar trade-building efforts with Ontario.
“We need to buy more from each other,” she told the crowd. “That means breaking down interprovincial trade barriers that have hampered our economy for decades and killed countless jobs and opportunities.”
‘I believe in diplomacy’
Smith used much of her remarks to press the case for Canada to lessen its near-total dependence on the U.S.
“Unfortunately, for too long, Canada has drifted,” she said “We’ve coasted on past accomplishments, relying on the strength of our neighbours and the goodwill of our allies.
“We’ve been complacent while the rest of the world has gotten faster and more competitive.”
Smith noted that she has made direct appeals to American media figures such as conservative commentator Ben Shapiro in an effort to shape U.S. opinion on Canadian trade issues.
“That has a lot of weight to it,” she said. “We find our friends and allies in the United States who will make the argument to Americans in a way that we can’t.”
Pressed about criticisms that her U.S. lobbying efforts were unpatriotic, Smith brushed it off: “I believe in diplomacy. I guess that’s the difference.”
Smith also pointed to Alberta’s vast reserves of oil, gas and critical minerals as key to the province’s leverage in global trade. While Alberta may not become the site of additional refining capacity, its role as an energy supplier remains crucial, she said.
“There’s been a change among the premiers,” she said. “We have to support one another. The threat from the United States is existential for some provinces, and maybe existential for the country.”
In closing, Smith invoked the spirit of Confederation, drawing a direct comparison between the Canada of today and the Canada of John A. Macdonald’s time.
“Just like when Sir John A. Macdonald built the Canadian Pacific Railway to unite a young Canada, we too must once again focus on new nation-building projects that unite our country and secure our future,” she said.
The convention is subject to Elections Canada rules that limit third-party advocacy during the election period. But this did not stop Smith from endorsing the Conservative Party leader by name.
“I think that Pierre Poilievre, quite frankly, is the one with the credibility to take us there.
“So if you can, anything you can do to help get him over the finish line, I think—,” Smith said in her final appeal to the audience. Her last words were drowned out by applause.
