Commentary
Of the five infrastructure projects Prime Minister Mark Carney announced under his new fast-tracked approval process, none of them are in Alberta. Perhaps that’s why he chose to make the announcement in Edmonton. He wants to assure Albertans that the federal government has changed its approach and will be working cooperatively with the province rather than taking an adversarial role.
Carney has successfully wooed one of his harshest regional critics, as Premier Danielle Smith was uncharacteristically optimistic about the federal government’s initiatives. Despite no pipelines being on the planning list, upon emerging from a meeting with the prime minister Smith said “they finally get it,” and asked Albertans to be patient. It gives the impression that there will be more oil and gas-specific announcements coming soon….