The UCP is building Alberta's sovereignty from the ground up, brick by brick

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Building a little sovereign enclave called Alberta in a country as big as Canada is a lot of work, but the UCP has it tough.

The initial uproar over the Independence Act gave the impression that this new Alberta would emerge from a certain crisis with Ottawa – a serious issue that would force the UCP to form a quasi-independent state.

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But such a fight is already underway: the Impact Assessment Act and the federal refusal to accept the Supreme Court's ruling in its entirety; From clean electricity regulations that UCP considers dangerous for Alberta; strict limits on oil and gas emissions.

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Last fall, the UCP passed the first legislative proposal under the Sovereignty Act.

It allowed the Cabinet to force agencies and regulators to ignore federal electricity regulations. Premier Daniel Smith has promised to protect the officials from any federal punishment.

It was dramatic. However, Smith's responses are also surprisingly restrained – or Canadian, if you will.

He takes things one at a time, goes to court, insists that his actions are completely constitutional, and generally sounds like the latest of Western prime ministers.

But on the other hand, the UCP is building its sovereign Alberta in a way no government has done before.

They are building the foundations from the ground up, brick by brick, preparing a Quebec-like province for as complete independence as possible.

Since the end of 2022, the UCP has passed at least seven bills that would give the government stronger powers over Ottawa and, most importantly, much broader powers in the province.

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First came the law on sovereignty itself. It was soon followed by the Horsegun Act, a direct response to Ottawa's notoriously difficult buyback and forfeiture program.

This act overrides federal authority over gun control. It says only officers appointed by the province, not Ottawa, can seize firearms in the province.

Crucial to the whole sovereignty project is the Alberta pension. As planned or dreamed up, it created a large capital pool under provincial control, like the Quebec pension plan managed by the Caisse de Depot.

This gives Quebec financial influence and autonomy from Ottawa – unmatched by any other province.

The pension proposal is not popular in Alberta. This does not stop UCP. They proposed Bill 2, which promised that nothing would be done without public approval in a referendum.

But the bill also states that a referendum is not mandatory unless the Cabinet declares it so. This allows the government to try until a positive vote is reached.

With Bill 11, the UCP laid the groundwork for another key piece of the autonomy puzzle – a provincial police force to replace the Mt.

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Ontario and Quebec have had provincial powers for many decades. There is nothing radical here. Also, the RCMP is likely to retire as a provincial police force in 2032.

But in Alberta, the proposal is highly political and sovereign. Imagine Quebec without the Sureté du Quebec, known as the “national” police force.

The latter two moves also give the province much more control over local authorities.

The Provincial Priorities Act prohibits any agreement with Ottawa unless the province specifically agrees.

This applies to hundreds of municipal councils, boards of education, post-secondary schools, health regions, government agencies and Crown organisations.

They can't get a dime without a provincial stamp of approval – a bureaucratic measure that the Department of Red Tape is proud of.

Then came the Municipal Affairs Charter Amendment Act, which allowed the province to fire elected councillors, repeal or change municipal bylaws, challenge local health mandates, outlaw electronic vote tabulators and empower municipal political parties.

Many local officials say the province uses its power to enforce demands and suppress dissent.

They are not wrong. The UCP does not want internal opposition when the real crisis comes with Ottawa.

In doing so, they shape Alberta to welcome Ottawa as an honest and united small state, protected from the temptations of federal money.

Don Braid's column appears regularly in the Herald

X: @DonBraid

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