Alberta
Toddler rescued from sexual abuse
From the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT)
A toddler from Strathcona County has been rescued from suspected sexual exploitation. ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit has charged the child’s mother.
ICE rescued the child on February 4, 2023 after entering the home under exigent circumstances. A tip from the FBI, received less than 48 hours earlier, detailed alleged prolific and ongoing sexual abuse of a young child in Alberta.
The child was taken to hospital for evaluation and has received help from a variety of specialized support services, including Zebra Center for Child Protection and Edmonton Police Services’ Child at Risk Response Team. Alberta’s Children’s Services is also involved.
The victims’ mother has been charged and her name is not being released in order to protect the identity of the victim.
The 35-year-old woman has been charged with:
- Sexual exploitation;
- Sexual interference;
- Arrangement to commit a sexual offence against a child;
- Making child pornography;
- Distribution of child pornography;
- Accessing child pornography; and
- Possession of child pornography.
The suspect was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court on February 22, 2023 in Sherwood Park.
The victim’s father was unaware of the alleged offences and has been fully cooperative with the investigation.
The alleged sexual abuse was uncovered and in relation to an arrest that took place in Yuba City, Calif. in October 2022. Yuba City Police Department charged Brian Davis, a 30-year-old man, with suspicion of oral copulation with a victim under 10 years old, possession of obscene matter involving a minor in sexual acts with the intent to distribute.
Forensic analysis and examination of devices seized from Davis later uncovered that he had been conversing over the social media platform Kik with a woman somewhere in the Edmonton region. The chats depicted and communicated graphic sexual abuse of the woman’s child.
Via the FBI, this information was shared with the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Center and ICE on February 3, 2023. ICE acted quickly to identify and relied upon exigent circumstances to identify and locate the suspect and rescue the child.
A number of partner agencies were involved in this investigation including Strathcona County RCMP, Edmonton Police Service, ALERT Surveillance teams, FBI, and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.
Anyone with information about this case or any child exploitation situation is asked to contact their local police or to report their concern anonymously at www.cybertip.ca.
ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.
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.”
From the Fraser Institute
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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