Trudeau Says He’s ‘Not Looking for a Fight With Alberta’ After Sovereignty Act Passes

Trudeau Says He’s ‘Not Looking for a Fight With Alberta’ After Sovereignty Act Passes
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes his way to his vehicle as he leaves the G20 Leaders Summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 16, 2022. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Marnie Cathcart
Updated:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday the federal government is “going to continue to work as constructively as possible” with Alberta, after the province passed a new sovereignty act to act as a “constitutional shield” against overreach by Ottawa.

“We are not going to get into arguing about something that obviously is the Alberta government trying to push back at the federal government,” Trudeau told reporters Thursday in Ottawa.

Trudeau previously said, “We’re going to focus on delivering to Albertans the way we have,” when asked about the province’s new legislation.

On Nov. 30, he told reporters, “We know the exceptional powers the premier is choosing to give the Alberta government in bypassing the Alberta legislature is causing a lot of eyebrows to raise in Alberta. And we’re going to see how this plays out,” said Trudeau.

The prime minister said his focus was going to be “constructive.” “I’m not going to take anything off the table, but I’m also not looking for a fight,” he said.

Bill 1, the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, the first legislation introduced since Danielle Smith was elected premier, has a stated purpose to “protect Albertans from federal legislation or policies that are unconstitutional or harmful to our province, our people, or our economic prosperity.”

Premier Danielle Smith said during debate over the bill, “It’s not like Ottawa is a national government.”

“The way our country works is that we are a federation of sovereign, independent jurisdictions. They are one of those signatories to the Constitution and the rest of us, as signatories to the Constitution, have a right to exercise our sovereign powers in our own areas of jurisdiction.”

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, Treaty Six chiefs, and Treaty Seven chiefs said the sovereignty act infringes on their treaty rights.

Rick Wilson, Alberta’s indigenous relations minister, told reporters that Bill 1 specifically states treaty rights will be respected, and the government will listen to concerns and work to address them.