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Alberta

Danielle Smith delivers on promise to protect gender-confused children in Alberta

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6 minute read

From LifeSiteNews

By Jonathon Van Maren

The proposed legislation is the first of its kind in Canada and may set a precedent other provinces will follow.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has finally unveiled the promised legislation restricting sex-change surgeries and puberty blockers for minors. The legislation will include:

  • Licensed doctors are prohibited from performing sex change surgeries on youth under 18 in Alberta.
  • Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones will be prohibited for minors under the age of 16 unless the minors have already begun taking those drugs.
  • Those “born biologically male” (that is, males) will be prohibited from competing against women and girls in competitive sports.
  • Parental opt-in will be required for “each instance” a teacher wishes to discuss gender identity, sexual orientation, or human sexuality.
  • Parental notification is required for “socially transitioning” a student — that is, changing a student’s given name or pronouns.  16- and 17-year-olds are still allowed to decide to change their name or pronouns in school, but parents must be notified.

Premier Smith detailed her plans in a long video posted to X, noting that “In less than a month, our UCP government will introduce critical legislation to ensure that children wait until adulthood before making decisions to physically alter their bodies for gender transition. We will also strengthen parental rights within our education system regarding this issue and ensure that women and girls can compete in female-only sports divisions.”

 

This news is incredibly significant for several reasons. Most important, it is a Canadian first. Other provinces have passed parental rights policies and made parental notification for “social transitioning” mandatory, but none have yet gone so far as to restrict sex-change surgeries or puberty blockers. In the time since Smith announced her plan to propose this legislation, the UK’s Labour Government and the high court has upheld the UK’s ban on puberty blockers, with the National Health Service condemning the practice and firmly rebutting the idea that such legislation causes suicidal ideation in trans-identified youth.

Smith also has shown willingness to actually push back against the disgusting accusations that immediately came her way. When Marci Ien, the MP for Toronto Centre and Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, claimed that Smith was “targeting trans youth” and that she would be “hurting” kids, Smith posted an article from the National Post titled “‘How will I come back from this?’: Detransitioners abandoned by medical and trans communities” and subtitled “They were irreversibly altered by mastectomies, hormone therapies when they were teens. What happens when they want their bodies back?”

“Do you mean children going through this, Marci Ien?” Smith asked. That is precisely the right response — pointing out that it is trans activists and their political enablers who pose a danger to the bodies of gender dysphoric children. It is also interesting to note that Smith used the phrase “gender reassignment surgery” in her posts and video rather than the trans-activist-approved “gender affirmation surgery,” which most media outlets and LGBT activist politicians use. Considering how carefully Smith and her caucus have approached this issue, that choice of words does not seem like an accident — they have chosen not to use language that implicitly affirms the premises of trans activists.

Not all of the responses were vitriolic. David Staples of the Edmonton Journal noted that Smith may be leading the way: “How long before all other Canadian provinces adopt similar rules around gender policy as Alberta? No more than 5 years? Many European countries leading the way here, Alberta following a sane and humane path.” Staples is correct. Trans activists have been steadily losing control of the narrative in a number of European countries, and the consensus that sterilizing and medicalizing gender dysphoric children is a medical scandal is growing. Canada has long been a holdout. I suspect history will look kindly on what Danielle Smith is doing here.

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Jonathon’s writings have been translated into more than six languages and in addition to LifeSiteNews, has been published in the National PostNational ReviewFirst Things, The Federalist, The American Conservative, The Stream, the Jewish Independent, the Hamilton SpectatorReformed Perspective Magazine, and LifeNews, among others. He is a contributing editor to The European Conservative.

His insights have been featured on CTV, Global News, and the CBC, as well as over twenty radio stations. He regularly speaks on a variety of social issues at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

He is the author of The Culture WarSeeing is Believing: Why Our Culture Must Face the Victims of AbortionPatriots: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Pro-Life MovementPrairie Lion: The Life and Times of Ted Byfield, and co-author of A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide with Blaise Alleyne.

Jonathon serves as the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.

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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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