Trudeau Clean Grid Plan Has Alberta Leader Pledging Defiance

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith vowed to fight Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s environmental initiatives with “every power that we have,” including by having the oil-rich province defy federal legislation.

A federal goal of zeroing out the emissions from the nation’s power grids by 2035 and a plan to slash emissions from oil and gas companies by 42% this decade are unachievable for Alberta, Smith said Tuesday at an energy conference in Calgary. If necessary, the province will use the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act that was passed last year as grounds to disregard federal laws, Smith said. The act’s constitutionality has been widely disputed, and its use may provoke a court case.