Prime Minister Mark Carney says he will maintain emissions cap, despite Premier Danielle Smith's calls to end it
March 28th 2025
"We're just asking the question of the Prime Minister to (either) lift this destructive unconstitutional production cap or not. Albertans and Canadians do want the answer before they go to the polls and not after."
Following a meeting with Canada’s premiers, Prime Minister Mark Carney says he will maintain the emissions cap despite Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s calls to end it and her earlier demand for clarity on the federal government’s stance on the cap after conflicting responses from Carney and his federal environment minister.
Speaking with media following Friday’s meeting, Carney said his government’s focus is on getting emissions down and said the emissions cap is there for a reason. When asked whether or not the federal government would build pipelines he said “the position is not black and white.”
“I’m focused on, as the government is, on getting emissions down from the production to the transportation of conventional oil and gas,” Carney said after the meeting at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, where some premiers were able to attend in person, others, including Smith, virtually.
“My focus, and where I took my response the other day is around, how are we going to make that investment happen? So the (emissions) cap is there (for a reason). The issue is getting the investments down … We’re making progress in unlocking that. We need to continue to work on it.”
At a housing announcement on Thursday, Carney suggested he may be willing to move away from emissions caps for oil and gas companies and said in his morning meeting with Smith the two discussed “getting things done,” including building more pipelines across Canada. He said part of the plan will be implementing new legislation to accelerate delivering those projects.
However, later that day, federal Environment Minister Terry Duguid said in an interview with The Canadian Press that Carney would be moving forward with the Liberal plan to impose emissions reduction targets on oil producers.
Smith at a press conference in Calgary on Friday said she made it clear that Alberta will “no longer tolerate an emissions cap on oil and gas.”
“We’re just asking the question of the prime minister to (either) lift this destructive unconstitutional production cap or not. Albertans and Canadians do want the answer before they go to the polls, and not after.
“In fact, we’d love to have the answer today, and I hope that we know whether or not it’s the prime minister’s message or the environment minister’s message.”
Carney met virtually with Canada’s premiers at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa on Friday to discuss the looming threat of U.S. tariffs set to come into force on April 2, after being delayed twice.
He said the focus of the meeting was on “nation building” and the federal government intends to clear all exemptions in order to eliminate trade barriers across the country.
“We have a unique opportunity to quickly develop these trade corridors so that they are effective, resilient and forward looking and workers can move seamlessly from coast to coast to coast by harmonizing regulations by enhancing labour mobility,” Carney said.
Following her Thursday meeting with Carney, Smith outlined a list of nine demands for the next prime minister, saying the demands must be addressed within the first six months of the prime minister’s term to “avoid an unprecedented national unity crisis.” She later said on Friday that the list was not “unreasonable” amid the looming threat of tariffs.
The list includes demands for the federal government to guarantee Alberta full access to oil and gas corridors, repeal Bill C-69, and eliminate the oil and gas emissions cap.
If the demands are not met, Smith said she’ll form a Fair Deal Panel to generate ideas on what Alberta should do next. In 2019, former premier Jason Kenney formed a Fair Deal Panel after taking office, citing province wide frustration with Ottawa. The panel put forward a number of recommendations, including creating the Alberta Pension Plan — however, few ideas have been fully implemented.
Smith said there has been a “real willingness” among premiers to find a way to remove interprovincial trade barriers, identify economic coordinators, and there’s talk of reviving projects that have been shut down in the past decade.
“I’ve got businesses in my riding that have been impacted both ways, with export tariffs as well as with import tariffs. We need to get an understanding of what the compensation looks like to defray some of the pains that our businesses are suffering through,” Smith said.
“We also need to have a strategy about what happens April 2, if indeed reciprocal tariffs are applied worldwide.”
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Edmonton Journal, Cindy Tran
edmontonjournal.com
Following a meeting with Canada’s premiers, Prime Minister Mark Carney says he will maintain the emissions cap despite Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s calls to end it and her earlier demand for clarity on the federal government’s stance on the cap after conflicting responses from Carney and his federal environment minister.
Speaking with media following Friday’s meeting, Carney said his government’s focus is on getting emissions down and said the emissions cap is there for a reason. When asked whether or not the federal government would build pipelines he said “the position is not black and white.”
“I’m focused on, as the government is, on getting emissions down from the production to the transportation of conventional oil and gas,” Carney said after the meeting at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, where some premiers were able to attend in person, others, including Smith, virtually.
“My focus, and where I took my response the other day is around, how are we going to make that investment happen? So the (emissions) cap is there (for a reason). The issue is getting the investments down … We’re making progress in unlocking that. We need to continue to work on it.”
At a housing announcement on Thursday, Carney suggested he may be willing to move away from emissions caps for oil and gas companies and said in his morning meeting with Smith the two discussed “getting things done,” including building more pipelines across Canada. He said part of the plan will be implementing new legislation to accelerate delivering those projects.
However, later that day, federal Environment Minister Terry Duguid said in an interview with The Canadian Press that Carney would be moving forward with the Liberal plan to impose emissions reduction targets on oil producers.
Smith at a press conference in Calgary on Friday said she made it clear that Alberta will “no longer tolerate an emissions cap on oil and gas.”
“We’re just asking the question of the prime minister to (either) lift this destructive unconstitutional production cap or not. Albertans and Canadians do want the answer before they go to the polls, and not after.
“In fact, we’d love to have the answer today, and I hope that we know whether or not it’s the prime minister’s message or the environment minister’s message.”
Carney met virtually with Canada’s premiers at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa on Friday to discuss the looming threat of U.S. tariffs set to come into force on April 2, after being delayed twice.
He said the focus of the meeting was on “nation building” and the federal government intends to clear all exemptions in order to eliminate trade barriers across the country.
“We have a unique opportunity to quickly develop these trade corridors so that they are effective, resilient and forward looking and workers can move seamlessly from coast to coast to coast by harmonizing regulations by enhancing labour mobility,” Carney said.
Following her Thursday meeting with Carney, Smith outlined a list of nine demands for the next prime minister, saying the demands must be addressed within the first six months of the prime minister’s term to “avoid an unprecedented national unity crisis.” She later said on Friday that the list was not “unreasonable” amid the looming threat of tariffs.
The list includes demands for the federal government to guarantee Alberta full access to oil and gas corridors, repeal Bill C-69, and eliminate the oil and gas emissions cap.
If the demands are not met, Smith said she’ll form a Fair Deal Panel to generate ideas on what Alberta should do next. In 2019, former premier Jason Kenney formed a Fair Deal Panel after taking office, citing province wide frustration with Ottawa. The panel put forward a number of recommendations, including creating the Alberta Pension Plan — however, few ideas have been fully implemented.
Smith said there has been a “real willingness” among premiers to find a way to remove interprovincial trade barriers, identify economic coordinators, and there’s talk of reviving projects that have been shut down in the past decade.
“I’ve got businesses in my riding that have been impacted both ways, with export tariffs as well as with import tariffs. We need to get an understanding of what the compensation looks like to defray some of the pains that our businesses are suffering through,” Smith said.
“We also need to have a strategy about what happens April 2, if indeed reciprocal tariffs are applied worldwide.”
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Edmonton Journal, Cindy Tran
edmontonjournal.com

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