Alberta, Tories React to New Federal Oil and Gas Emissions Rules

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith addresses UCP members at the party's annual meeting in Red Deer, Alta., on Nov. 2, 2024. The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh

There were swift reactions to Ottawa’s new plan to reduce emissions in the oil and gas sector by one-third as of 2032, with Alberta contemplating legal action and the federal Conservatives warning against its negative impact on the economy.

“This cap must be scrapped,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a Nov. 4 statement to The Epoch Times.

Smith said her province, the main oil and gas producer in the country, is “actively exploring” launching a constitutional challenge and using the provincial sovereignty act to counter the new draft regulations.

The statement, also signed by Alberta’s Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz and Energy Minister Brian Jean, says the cap violates the Canadian constitution and will cause economic and societal decline in the province.

The new draft regulations announced Nov. 4 by Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault call for oil and gas companies to lower their greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent below 2019 levels by 2032.

Guilbeault said oil and gas companies have been making record profits in recent years. He said they should re-invest their gains into pollution reduction projects.

“Let me be clear, this was carefully designed through rigorous consultations. It goes after pollution, not production,” Guilbeault said during an Ottawa press conference.

Alberta, under the United Conservative government, has been a staunch opponent of Ottawa’s various policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The province launched an ad campaign in the lead-up to the new emissions cap announcement and has taken the federal government to court to challenge what it considers encroachment in its jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court sided with Alberta last year, calling the federal environmental impact assessment scheme “largely unconstitutional.”

Federal Conservatives have taken a similar stance regarding emissions and the oil and gas industry. Tories say policies from the Liberal government are having a negative impact on the economy at a time when Canadians are dealing with affordability issues.

The Liberal government is leading an “ideological crusade” against the energy sector, the Tories said in a Nov. 4 statement. The party says the “arbitrary” emissions cap will “devastate” Canada’s already weak economy and lead to more reliance on authoritarian oil-producing countries.

The Liberal government says transitioning to a green economy is a requirement both to remain competitive globally and attract foreign investments.

Parliament has already adopted legislation to help transition the oil and gas workforce to jobs considered more environment-friendly, as it pursues reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The Sustainable Jobs Act became law in June.

Both the NDP and the Bloc Québécois have supported the Liberals’ environmental plan, with their main criticisms being that it doesn’t go far enough and is taking too long to implement.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters on Nov. 4 Canadians have been “let down” by the delay in implementing the cap and encouraged the government to put it in place “as quickly as possible.”

Bloc MP and environment critic Monique Pauzée also said in a media scrum the government has dragged its feet on the matter.

“The government has been in power for nine years. If it’s trying to do something to compel oil producers to pollute less, let’s just say it has failed,” Pauzée said on Nov. 4 in Ottawa.