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Alberta

Alberta’s Danielle Smith announces new parental rights policy to be released this week

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

‘When it comes to the balancing of the parental rights with kids growing into adulthood, I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with parents wanting to protect their child’s innocence as long as possible on issues of sexuality,’ Danielle Smith said over the weekend.

Alberta is set to unveil new legislation to protect parental rights within the school system this week.   

On January 27, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that this week her United Conservative Party (UPC) will publish a new parental rights policy after promising the legislation last November.   

“We’ll be releasing policy about this next week and I’m really hopeful that we can depoliticize the discussion and be thinking about the kids who are listening to us adults, talking about these issues that are impacting them and making sure we get the right balance,” Smith told the audience of her Corus  radio call-in show. 

Smith’s comments came in response to a caller named Linda who referenced Smith’s promises during the UPC’s annual general meeting (AGM) and questioned when Smith would introduce “an Alberta parental rights bill.” 

“I want every parent listening today to hear me loud and clear. Parents are the primary caregivers and educators of their children,” Smith had promised at the AGM last November.   

“Regardless of how often the extreme left undermines the role of parents, I want you to know that parental rights and choice in your child’s education is and will continue to be a fundamental core principle of this party and this government, and we will never apologize for it,” she declared.  

In November, UPC members passed a slew of pro-family, medical freedom, and anti-woke policies at its AGM, including one calling for a bill to support “comprehensive parental rights” in education. While the policies are non-binding, merely serving as suggestions for the Alberta government, Smith told reporters at the time that her government does support the party’s grassroots process.  

During Saturday’s show, Smith revealed that consultations have taken place about such a policy, and that new legislation will be published shortly.

“When it comes to the balancing of the parental rights with kids growing into adulthood, I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with parents wanting to protect their child’s innocence as long as possible on issues of sexuality. I think that that’s a good instinct,” she told the caller.  

Smith’s promise comes after both Saskatchewan and New Brunswick introduced legislation to protect parental rights despite incurring the ire of many in the LGBT community. 

Last September, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe invoked his government’s notwithstanding clause to protect legislation mandating that parents be told if their child changes “genders” at school; a judge had ruled against enforcement of the law earlier that day.  

The notwithstanding clause, embedded in section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, allows provinces to temporarily override sections of theCharter of Rights and Freedoms to protect new laws from being scrapped by the courts. 

Saskatchewan had followed the example of New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, who earlier in 2023 had been condemned by LGBT activists for reviewing the province’s “gender identity” policy that allowed schools to hide students’ “transgender” status from parents. 

“For [a desire to be identified with the opposite sex] purposefully to be hidden from the parents, that’s a problem,” Higgs told reporters at the time.

In early August, pro-LGBT politicians tried unsuccessfully to remove Higgs from office. Their failure led Progressive Conservative Party members to say that, despite the media backlash, Higgs has the support of the “silent majority.” 

According to an August 2023 survey, 86 percent of Saskatchewan-based participants are for parental rights and support the province’s new laws.

There have also been numerous protests against the LGBT agenda in schools, including the September 2023 “Million Person March” which drew thousands of Canadians from across the country.

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Alberta

Big win for Alberta and Canada: Statement from Premier Smith

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Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement on the April 2, 2025 U.S. tariff announcement:

“Today was an important win for Canada and Alberta, as it appears the United States has decided to uphold the majority of the free trade agreement (CUSMA) between our two nations. It also appears this will continue to be the case until after the Canadian federal election has concluded and the newly elected Canadian government is able to renegotiate CUSMA with the U.S. administration.

“This is precisely what I have been advocating for from the U.S. administration for months.

“It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including zero per cent tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and host of other Canadian goods.

“There is still work to be done, of course. Unfortunately, tariffs previously announced by the United States on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum have not been removed. The efforts of premiers and the federal government should therefore shift towards removing or significantly reducing these remaining tariffs as we go forward and ensuring affected workers across Canada are generously supported until the situation is resolved.

“I again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion while avoiding unnecessary escalation. Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective to this point.

“As it appears the worst of this tariff dispute is behind us (though there is still work to be done), it is my sincere hope that we, as Canadians, can abandon the disastrous policies that have made Canada vulnerable to and overly dependent on the United States, fast-track national resource corridors, get out of the way of provincial resource development and turn our country into an independent economic juggernaut and energy superpower.”

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Alberta

Energy sector will fuel Alberta economy and Canada’s exports for many years to come

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From the Fraser Institute

By Jock Finlayson

By any measure, Alberta is an energy powerhouse—within Canada, but also on a global scale. In 2023, it produced 85 per cent of Canada’s oil and three-fifths of the country’s natural gas. Most of Canada’s oil reserves are in Alberta, along with a majority of natural gas reserves. Alberta is the beating heart of the Canadian energy economy. And energy, in turn, accounts for one-quarter of Canada’s international exports.

Consider some key facts about the province’s energy landscape, as noted in the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) 2023 annual report. Oil and natural gas production continued to rise (on a volume basis) in 2023, on the heels of steady increases over the preceding half decade. However, the dollar value of Alberta’s oil and gas production fell in 2023, as the surging prices recorded in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine retreated. Capital spending in the province’s energy sector reached $30 billion in 2023, making it the leading driver of private-sector investment. And completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has opened new offshore export avenues for Canada’s oil industry and should boost Alberta’s energy production and exports going forward.

In a world striving to address climate change, Alberta’s hydrocarbon-heavy energy sector faces challenges. At some point, the world may start to consume less oil and, later, less natural gas (in absolute terms). But such “peak” consumption hasn’t arrived yet, nor does it appear imminent. While the demand for certain refined petroleum products is trending down in some advanced economies, particularly in Europe, we should take a broader global perspective when assessing energy demand and supply trends.

Looking at the worldwide picture, Goldman Sachs’ 2024 global energy forecast predicts that “oil usage will increase through 2034” thanks to strong demand in emerging markets and growing production of petrochemicals that depend on oil as the principal feedstock. Global demand for natural gas (including LNG) will also continue to increase, particularly since natural gas is the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel and more of it is being traded in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Against this backdrop, there are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for Alberta’s energy sector, particularly if the federal government dials back some of the economically destructive energy and climate policies adopted by the last government. According to the AER’s “base case” forecast, overall energy output will expand over the next 10 years. Oilsands output is projected to grow modestly; natural gas production will also rise, in part due to greater demand for Alberta’s upstream gas from LNG operators in British Columbia.

The AER’s forecast also points to a positive trajectory for capital spending across the province’s energy sector. The agency sees annual investment rising from almost $30 billion to $40 billion by 2033. Most of this takes place in the oil and gas industry, but “emerging” energy resources and projects aimed at climate mitigation are expected to represent a bigger slice of energy-related capital spending going forward.

Like many other oil and gas producing jurisdictions, Alberta must navigate the bumpy journey to a lower-carbon future. But the world is set to remain dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come. This suggests the energy sector will continue to underpin not only the Alberta economy but also Canada’s export portfolio for the foreseeable future.

Jock Finlayson

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
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