Alberta
Alberta’s Energy Road Ahead Has Never Been More Important: Brian Jean – Minister of Energy and Minerals

From EnergyNow.ca
By Brian Jean – Minister of Energy and Minerals of Alberta
Recently I had the opportunity to speak at The Road Ahead, Alberta Energy 2024, presented by EnergyNow at the Calgary Petroleum Club.
The road ahead for Alberta in 2024 is an important one. Alberta is at the crossroads on many key energy issues which I wanted to expand upon.
Let me start with some quotes from the last Throne Speech that will give you a sense of where Premier Smith wants Alberta’s world leading energy industry to go.
This is a key one: “Alberta’s government will ensure the entire world understands that the words “Alberta” and “energy” are inextricably linked for generations.”
All credible energy forecasters see the oil and gas industry as being the globally dominant energy player for decades to come. This means that Alberta, which produces energy in a better way than any other jurisdiction, will have opportunities and jobs in the energy industry for the children and grandchildren of those who are its current employees. Not only is Alberta’s resource one that will last, but it is also one that will lead the world.
Again, from the Throne Speech: “Our province is the fourth-largest producer of oil and gas in the entire world – and is, far and away, its most environmentally responsible one. Alberta will not be content with fourth place – not when our province’s energy reserves and environmental technologies are second to none.”
Our Premier recognizes that not only do we have globally significant oil and gas resources in the ground, but we also possess the significant knowledge and skills of Alberta’s energy workers and energy companies. That said, as we continue to develop energy projects of all types, more skilled trades will be needed and Alberta is committed to developing these skilled trades “in province” where possible. This will allow Alberta to continue to develop oil and gas in the most responsible way possible which will continue to evolve as new technology is developed.
All that heads us towards success. As a government we need to be bold enough to create the mechanisms of success for our energy industry and we are committed to do this.
Also from the Throne Speech: “Not only will Alberta be the greenest energy producer in the world, our government will ensure we create one of the most efficient, timely and red-tape free jurisdictions on the planet to invest in energy – whether that be conventional, non-conventional, renewable or otherwise.”
Premier Smith has tasked our government with improving our regulatory capacity. She wants us to create the flexibility and nimbleness to have world class results in all our energy spaces. We will take bold steps in the oil sands as we work with Pathways Alliance to create the world’s first carbon abated major oil field.
We will take bold steps with non-conventional producers to make the most of our gas and liquids industries in the Montney and Duvernay. And we will continue to take bold steps to use our energy industry to drive economic opportunities and reconciliation for our indigenous communities.
We will take bold steps to make sure that Alberta continues to be one of the top global places to build wind and solar, while protecting farmland and viewscapes.
We will use the skills and Alberta know-how that spring from our oil and gas expertise to make breakthroughs in lithium development and helium exploration.
Alberta is the ideal place for energy investments in established energy sectors and emerging energy-related sectors like petrochemicals, hydrogen, ammonia, lithium, and helium.
We will continue to lead the world in carbon capture, utilization and sequestration. A technology that we have deployed at scale faster than almost any other jurisdiction.
Finally, Alberta will take advantage of our tremendous natural gas resources to make Alberta a global centre for petrochemical production in general. But more than that, we will specifically be the global leader in green petrochemicals made from our energy resources and greened by sequestering the carbon used in their production.
These are the bold ambitions that Premier Smith and our government have for Alberta’s energy sector. Alberta has the expertise, and the duty, to remain a major global energy supplier.
And allow me to end with one last quote from the Throne Speech: “The world needs more Alberta energy – not less – and Alberta’s government intends to empower Albertans to deliver it!”
Our government isn’t afraid to declare that Alberta is energy and energy is Alberta!
Alberta
The beauty of economic corridors: Inside Alberta’s work to link products with new markets

From the Canadian Energy Centre
Q&A with Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transport and Economic Corridors
CEC: How have recent developments impacted Alberta’s ability to expand trade routes and access new markets for energy and natural resources?
Dreeshen: With the U.S. trade dispute going on right now, it’s great to see that other provinces and the federal government are taking an interest in our east, west and northern trade routes, something that we in Alberta have been advocating for a long time.
We signed agreements with Saskatchewan and Manitoba to have an economic corridor to stretch across the prairies, as well as a recent agreement with the Northwest Territories to go north. With the leadership of Premier Danielle Smith, she’s been working on a BC, prairie and three northern territories economic corridor agreement with pretty much the entire western and northern block of Canada.
There has been a tremendous amount of work trying to get Alberta products to market and to make sure we can build big projects in Canada again.
CEC: Which infrastructure projects, whether pipeline, rail or port expansions, do you see as the most viable for improving Alberta’s global market access?
Dreeshen: We look at everything. Obviously, pipelines are the safest way to transport oil and gas, but also rail is part of the mix of getting over four million barrels per day to markets around the world.
The beauty of economic corridors is that it’s a swath of land that can have any type of utility in it, whether it be a roadway, railway, pipeline or a utility line. When you have all the environmental permits that are approved in a timely manner, and you have that designated swath of land, it politically de-risks any type of project.
CEC: A key focus of your ministry has been expanding trade corridors, including an agreement with Saskatchewan and Manitoba to explore access to Hudson’s Bay. Is there any interest from industry in developing this corridor further?
Dreeshen: There’s been lots of talk [about] Hudson Bay, a trade corridor with rail and port access. We’ve seen some improvements to go to Churchill, but also an interest in the Nelson River.
We’re starting to see more confidence in the private sector and industry wanting to build these projects. It’s great that governments can get together and work on a common goal to build things here in Canada.
CEC: What is your vision for Alberta’s future as a leader in global trade, and how do economic corridors fit into that strategy?
Dreeshen: Premier Smith has talked about C-69 being repealed by the federal government [and] the reversal of the West Coast tanker ban, which targets Alberta energy going west out of the Pacific.
There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on the federal side. Alberta has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to economic corridors.
We’ve asked the federal government if they could develop an economic corridor agency. We want to make sure that the federal government can come to the table, work with provinces [and] work with First Nations across this country to make sure that we can see these projects being built again here in Canada.
2025 Federal Election
Next federal government should recognize Alberta’s important role in the federation

From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill
With the tariff war continuing and the federal election underway, Canadians should understand what the last federal government seemingly did not—a strong Alberta makes for a stronger Canada.
And yet, current federal policies disproportionately and negatively impact the province. The list includes Bill C-69 (which imposes complex, uncertain and onerous review requirements on major energy projects), Bill C-48 (which bans large oil tankers off British Columbia’s northern coast and limits access to Asian markets), an arbitrary cap on oil and gas emissions, numerous other “net-zero” targets, and so on.
Meanwhile, Albertans contribute significantly more to federal revenues and national programs than they receive back in spending on transfers and programs including the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) because Alberta has relatively high rates of employment, higher average incomes and a younger population.
For instance, since 1976 Alberta’s employment rate (the number of employed people as a share of the population 15 years of age and over) has averaged 67.4 per cent compared to 59.7 per cent in the rest of Canada, and annual market income (including employment and investment income) has exceeded that in the other provinces by $10,918 (on average).
As a result, Alberta’s total net contribution to federal finances (total federal taxes and payments paid by Albertans minus federal money spent or transferred to Albertans) was $244.6 billion from 2007 to 2022—more than five times as much as the net contribution from British Columbians or Ontarians. That’s a massive outsized contribution given Alberta’s population, which is smaller than B.C. and much smaller than Ontario.
Albertans’ net contribution to the CPP is particularly significant. From 1981 to 2022, Alberta workers contributed 14.4 per cent (on average) of total CPP payments paid to retirees in Canada while retirees in the province received only 10.0 per cent of the payments. Albertans made a cumulative net contribution to the CPP (the difference between total CPP contributions made by Albertans and CPP benefits paid to retirees in Alberta) of $53.6 billion over the period—approximately six times greater than the net contribution of B.C., the only other net contributing province to the CPP. Indeed, only two of the nine provinces that participate in the CPP contribute more in payroll taxes to the program than their residents receive back in benefits.
So what would happen if Alberta withdrew from the CPP?
For starters, the basic CPP contribution rate of 9.9 per cent (typically deducted from our paycheques) for Canadians outside Alberta (excluding Quebec) would have to increase for the program to remain sustainable. For a new standalone plan in Alberta, the rate would likely be lower, with estimates ranging from 5.85 per cent to 8.2 per cent. In other words, based on these estimates, if Alberta withdrew from the CPP, Alberta workers could receive the same retirement benefits but at a lower cost (i.e. lower payroll tax) than other Canadians while the payroll tax would have to increase for the rest of the country while the benefits remained the same.
Finally, despite any claims to the contrary, according to Statistics Canada, Alberta’s demographic advantage, which fuels its outsized contribution to the CPP, will only widen in the years ahead. Alberta will likely maintain relatively high employment rates and continue to welcome workers from across Canada and around the world. And considering Alberta recorded the highest average inflation-adjusted economic growth in Canada since 1981, with Albertans’ inflation-adjusted market income exceeding the average of the other provinces every year since 1971, Albertans will likely continue to pay an outsized portion for the CPP. Of course, the idea for Alberta to withdraw from the CPP and create its own provincial plan isn’t new. In 2001, several notable public figures, including Stephen Harper, wrote the famous Alberta “firewall” letter suggesting the province should take control of its future after being marginalized by the federal government.
The next federal government—whoever that may be—should understand Alberta’s crucial role in the federation. For a stronger Canada, especially during uncertain times, Ottawa should support a strong Alberta including its energy industry.
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