Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office is shrugging off a United Conservative backbenchers’ public opposition to the government’s deal with Ottawa to get an oil pipeline built.
Smith has long pointed to the memorandum of understanding as proof the country can work, arguing that it can help tamp down separatist sentiment as her province readies for a fall referendum on the prospect of eventually pulling out of Confederation.
But, UCP MLA Jason Stephan says Smith’s agreement with Prime Minister Mark Carney is “not good enough for Alberta.”
In a social media post, Stephan suggests the memorandum of understanding is a cynical ploy meant to pacify and subjugate Albertans rather than address their longstanding grievances.
“Some in Ottawa act as if they are doing Alberta a favour by the MOU. Does that mean Alberta should now be quiet and to be a good colony?” Stephan writes.
Sam Blackett, spokesperson for the premier’s office, said in a statement individual MLAs are welcome to differ, but the position of the government and caucus is clear.
“Through the Alberta-Ottawa MOU, we have successfully repealed and amended the majority of the nine bad laws that were hindering Alberta’s economy, clearing the way for Alberta to build new pipelines and export our energy resources on an unprecedented scale,” Blackett wrote.
Get daily National news
“We will continue to work with Ottawa where we can, and we will push back where we must.”
The deal was signed last fall, as Carney agreed to fast-track a pipeline project in exchange for progress on a carbon capture network by the province’s major oil producers.
Stephan was not made available for an interview, and caucus deferred to his written statement.
His comments come as Smith is expected to announce her government’s proposal for a million-barrel-a-day bitumen pipeline to the West Coast later this week.
On Oct. 19, Albertans will vote on whether to stay in Canada or begin the process to hold a second, binding referendum on separating from the country.
In Stephan’s letter, which was also published by online media organization The Western Standard on Friday, he questions Carney’s motives on whether there would be an MOU “absent this referendum?”
Both the federal and provincial governments have stated their goal is to make Canada a global energy superpower.
Stephan resigned as Smith’s constitutional affairs adviser in May, more than a month after he wrote an editorial encouraging all Albertans to sign a petition calling for a referendum on the province quitting Canada.
While Stephan didn’t directly advocate for separation, he wrote that having a vote would send a message to Ottawa and what he called its “stupid laws and policies.”
Premier Smith has had to straddle the line between a UCP base more inclined to separation and a general population that consistently polls against it.
She has said she supports the province remaining in Canada, but she also welcomes diverse opinions in her caucus.
In late May, she was publicly at odds with the party president, who said he thought a majority of rank-and-file party members would vote against remaining in Canada, but that the party would stay neutral since its members have not had an official policy vote.
Smith later said when it comes to the United Conservatives, her word is the last word, and the party’s official position is that it wants Alberta to stay in Confederation.
“Let me be clear, because I do speak for our government, our caucus and our party,” she said.
“Our party had as its founding principles that we support autonomy for Alberta within a united Canada.
“Every one of my MLAs got elected on that,” she said last month.
The MOU is not a good deal, as the carbon tax increase and carbon capture Scam is required.
#AlbertaIndependence
Subject: Smith & Carney show real progress
Smith and Carney are at least delivering something concrete. The separatist/Independent Alberta folks keep promising the moon but can’t outline even the basics of how an independent Alberta would operate. Until they can show a real plan, it’s just noise.
Even IF one pipeline gets built, that’s the very least of all the issues we have. The top 3 provinces sending cash to Ottawa over the past 10 years.
Alberta $372B
B.C $86B
Ontario $64B
See the problem?
Carnhole and his swallowers,ya can’t fix stupid
What.a.weasel.of.a.pic.
Nelson: “Saying Carney has ‘no credibility’ just doesn’t match reality. You can disagree with his policies, but he’s held major economic roles internationally — including Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor. Plenty of Albertans respect his expertise even if they don’t share his political views. If Carney truly had ‘no credibility,’ someone should probably tell the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, and every global institution that trusted him with their economy. But sure — I guess they were all fooled, and only you managed to uncover the truth. Fools will only work against solutions to the issues at hand — separatists, Jason Stephan, and people like yourself aren’t helping anything.”
The conversation around Alberta independence has drifted far from reality, and Albertans deserve clarity before being asked to make decisions of this magnitude. This isn’t about slogans or “standing up to Ottawa.” If Alberta left Canada, every major law and system we rely on today would have to be rebuilt from scratch, because almost all of our core institutions operate under federal legislation.
Right now, Alberta’s entire legal framework sits inside the Canadian Constitution. Independence means no constitution, no Criminal Code, no federal courts, no federal policing, no federal tax law, no federal benefits, and no federal regulatory bodies. All of that disappears on Day 1 unless Alberta recreates it — and recreating it takes years, not months.
People keep talking like we’d just “change a few laws.” No. We would need:
• A new constitution
• A full criminal code
• A new tax system
• New courts and appeals systems
• New border, customs, and immigration laws
• New pension, disability, and senior benefit laws
• New financial and regulatory systems, including banking, securities, accounting standards, and possibly a central bank
This isn’t ideology — it’s the basic machinery of how countries function. Alberta does not currently have these systems, and you cannot run a modern province without them.
Asking people to vote without those basics is asking them to decide blindly. When the leadership, the transition plan, the legal framework, and the financial realities are all missing, voters aren’t being offered a choice — they’re being asked to take a leap of faith.
________________________________________
The Hidden Costs Nobody Is Talking About
When people talk about separation, they focus on symbolic ideas like sovereignty or resource control. But the real challenges are the technical systems that keep a country running — and those are the most expensive and disruptive parts of all.
If Alberta leaves Canada, accounting procedures, financial reporting standards, and the entire tax system would have to be rebuilt from scratch. Alberta currently relies on Canadian PSAS, IFRS, ASPE, and the CRA’s federal infrastructure. A new country would need its own accounting standards, enforcement bodies, audit regulators, and tax agency. That means years of transition and billions of dollars in setup and operating costs.
Every business would be forced to overhaul payroll, corporate tax filings, cross border reporting, GST/VAT replacements, import/export rules, and financial reporting. None of this is optional — it is the backbone of how a province funds itself.
And if the currency changes — whether Alberta keeps CAD, creates an Alberta dollar, or adopts USD — the complexity multiplies. A new currency requires a central bank, foreign reserves, monetary policy, exchange rate management, and conversion rules for mortgages, pensions, savings, and contracts. Even keeping the Canadian dollar without a central bank leaves Alberta with no control over monetary policy and no lender of last resort.
People underestimate how much daily life depends on invisible federal systems: CPP accounting, EI administration, customs revenue, federal regulatory reporting, and international tax treaties. All of that would need Alberta specific replacements.
________________________________________
The Seniors’ Warning Alberta Cannot Ignore
The most alarming omission in the independence discussion is what it means for seniors.
There are zero guarantees in the plan about:
Old Age Security (OAS) — a federal program Alberta would have to replace entirely, with no costed plan showing how.
CPP pensions already earned — the plan assumes Alberta will receive a large share of CPP assets, but that number is disputed and not guaranteed.
Survivor benefits, disability benefits, GIS, and other federal supports — all would have to be recreated and funded by Alberta alone, with no clear, costed guarantees.
Seniors have spent decades paying into these programs. They deserve iron clad certainty, not vague promises and optimistic projections.
________________________________________
The Fiscal Plan: A Political Document, Not a Financial One
The so called “Fully Costed Fiscal Plan for an Independent Alberta” — published by the Alberta Prosperity Project — is not an audited budget, not prepared under GAAP or public sector accounting standards, and not based on verified financial data. It is built on best case scenarios, not hard numbers.
Its revenue projections depend on:
• perfect oil prices
• speculative economic growth
• uncertain CPP asset transfers
• savings that only exist if negotiations go perfectly
That’s not fiscal planning — that’s gambling with assumptions.
When a proposal hides the true costs, inflates potential revenues, and offers no concrete guarantees for seniors’ pensions, that’s not transparency — that’s a warning sign.
Albertans deserve honesty, independent analysis, and full disclosure before anyone is asked to make decisions of this magnitude. The risks are real, the uncertainties are massive, and the consequences of getting this wrong could last for generations.
No Albertans believe Carney. He has no credibility and speaks with a forked tongue. Carney is all hat and no cattle as we say in Alberta