Alberta premier ‘pleased’ by tone of first ministers meeting, Ford says Ottawa needs to show Prairies ‘some love’

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she was “pleased” by the tone of the first ministers meeting with fellow premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney held virtually on Wednesday.

In a statement to Postmedia, Smith said there was a consensus among premiers that the federal government needs to clear regulations on their end to pave the way for nation-building projects and attract new investment.

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“I expect to see meaningful action from Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal government to remove the restrictive policies and barriers that have landlocked our resources and hampered our economy for the past decade,” Smith said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters on Wednesday following the virtual meeting that it is time the federal government “start showing some love” to Saskatchewan and Alberta.

“Even Danielle, we’re texting back and forth, and she wants to sign an MOU too. We do get along by the way just to let you know we text each other,” Ford said.

“I’m a big believer of pipelines, big believer of getting rid of Bill C-69 and we need to unite this country and the way we’re going to unite this country, as I mentioned to the prime minister, let’s start diversifying our trade when it comes to oil. Let’s start building pipelines west, east, north and and south.”

Carney and premiers will meet in Saskatoon on June 2 as an “olive branch” after Western provinces have expressed frustrations with Ottawa.

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A statement on Wednesday from the Prime Minister’s Office said Carney provided an update with the premiers on his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump where he emphasized Canada’s desire to continue building a relationship with the U.S. that would benefit both countries.

“First ministers also discussed building projects of national interest to diversify the economy, create higher-paying jobs, and build one Canadian economy instead of 13. They agreed to accelerate project approvals, including through a ‘one project, one review’ approach,” the statement said.

“The prime minister reaffirmed his commitment to table federal legislation to eliminate federal trade barriers by Canada Day.”

ctran@postmedia.com

@kccindytran

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