Premier Danielle Smith warned Tuesday that Alberta “will no longer tolerate” federal interference in its resource sector, escalating tensions with the federal government as preliminary results showed the Liberal Party leading in 168 of 343 ridings in Monday’s federal election.
“I congratulate Prime Minister Mark Carney on his minority government election victory last night,” Smith said in a written statement. “I also want to sincerely thank Pierre Poilievre for his powerful and principled advocacy against the last decade’s punitive taxation and anti-resource policies that have made our country weaker, more divided and overly-dependent on the United States.”
“While Liberals and New Democrats demeaned and demonized Albertans, our values and our industries for political gain, Mr. Poilievre made empowering Albertans and our energy sector a cornerstone of his campaign,” she said. “His respect and admiration for Albertans could not have been clearer. He is and continues to be a true friend of Alberta.”
She called for a reset in Alberta’s relationship with Ottawa.
“I invite the Prime Minister to immediately commence working with our government to reset the relationship between Ottawa and Alberta with meaningful action rather than hollow rhetoric,” she said. “A large majority of Albertans are deeply frustrated that the same government that overtly attacked our provincial economy almost unabated for the past 10 years has been returned to government.”
“I will not permit the status quo to continue. Albertans are proud Canadians that want this nation to be strong, prosperous, and united, but we will no longer tolerate having our industries threatened and our resources landlocked by Ottawa.”
Albertans, she said, will soon have an opportunity “to discuss our province’s future, assess various options for strengthening and protecting our province against future hostile acts from Ottawa, and to ultimately choose a path forward.”
“I will facilitate and lead this discussion and process with the sincere hope of securing a prosperous future for our province within a united Canada that respects our province’s constitutional rights, facilitates rather than blocks the development and export of our abundant resources, and treats us as a valued and respected partner within confederation.”
“Our government will be holding a special caucus meeting this Friday to discuss this matter further. I will have more to say after that meeting is concluded.”
As of 10:45 a.m. ET Tuesday, Elections Canada reported the Liberals leading in 168 of 343 ridings, followed by the Conservatives in 144, the Bloc Québécois in 23, the New Democratic Party in 7, and the Green Party in 1. A party must win 172 seats to form a majority.
National vote totals:
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Liberal Party: 8,362,177 votes (43.5%)
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Conservative Party: 7,946,028 (41.4%)
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Bloc Québécois: 1,223,441 (6.4%)
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New Democratic Party: 1,204,650 (6.3%)
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Green Party: 238,861 (1.2%)
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People’s Party: 139,209 (0.7%)
A total of 19,206,288 ballots had been cast from 28,525,638 registered electors, for a national turnout of 67.33 per cent. Figures do not include voters who registered on election day.
In Alberta, the Conservatives were leading in 34 of 37 ridings, or 91.9 per cent of the province’s electoral districts. The Liberals led in two, and the NDP in one.
As of 09:56 a.m. ET, Alberta vote totals were:
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Conservative Party: 1,400,811 votes (63.6%)
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Liberal Party: 611,364 (27.8%)
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New Democratic Party: 137,668 (6.2%)
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People’s Party: 19,828 (0.9%)
Voter turnout in Alberta was 68.05 per cent, with 2,201,098 ballots cast from 3,234,505 registered electors.
In Calgary, the Conservatives were ahead in 14 of 15 ridings, with the Liberals leading in one. Citywide vote totals were:
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Conservative Party: 579,876 votes (62.7%)
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Liberal Party: 300,449 (32.5%)
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New Democratic Party: 28,310 (3.1%)
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People’s Party: 5,338 (0.6%)
Turnout in Calgary was 68.43 per cent, with 924,638 ballots cast from 1,351,121 registered electors.
With files from Elections Canada.
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