‘Extreme Green’ Movement Wants to Use Just Transition to Shut Down Alberta’s Oil and Gas Industry, Smith Says

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at a press conference after the speech from the throne, in Edmonton on Nov. 29, 2022. Jason Franson/The Canadian Press

Danielle Smith says the “extreme green environmental movement” wants to use the federal government’s proposed “just transition” legislation to shut down the province’s oil and gas industry, which the Alberta premier has repeatedly said she wants to maintain and grow.

“Just Transition: I would just ask you to look at how the extreme green environmental movement uses that language. They use it as language to talk about completely phasing out the oil & natural gas industry,” Smith said in a video posted on Twitter on Jan. 19.

“They used it in the past to talk about completely phasing out coal, and so I find it offensive, personally, that our federal government would use that kind of language. They know exactly what it means to exactly that extreme sector of the environmental movement.”

Smith added that her government will be looking to “push back” against the proposed legislation.

“We all have to collectively push back against using that language because we are not going to transition out of this industry,” she said. “We are going to continue to transform it so that there are lower emissions, but this industry is going to survive for decades and decades and decades to come.”

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said earlier this month that Ottawa is looking to move forward with its proposed “just transition” bill this year, which intends to help Canada’s oil and gas sector workers move into green energy jobs.

Wilkinson said the legislation will create an excess of “good-paying jobs,” but a briefing note from his department in June 2022 said the “just transition” is expected to significantly disrupt the jobs of around 2.7 million Canadian workers.

Energy Sector Jobs

Following media reports, Wilkinson’s department responded on Jan. 17 to the briefing note’s claim by saying that the numbers referenced were misinterpreted and referred to overall workforce sizes of various industries rather than estimated job disruptions.

Smith previously responded to the briefing note by saying that numbers cited therein “should concern Albertans, & frankly all Canadians.”

“Alberta’s energy industry & our workers are world-class,” she said in a Jan. 17 Twitter post.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a press conference on Jan. 18 that the federal government will “be there” for Alberta’s energy workers throughout the planned transition, adding that the proposed legislation will create “many good middle-class jobs.”

“Energy workers in Canada, particularly energy workers in Alberta, have been essential in solving real problems over the past years and decades in terms of how to keep our world running,” Trudeau said.

“They will be essential parts of building a stronger future for everyone across Canada and around the world.”