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Cory Morgan: Smith’s Political Gamble in Taking On Trudeau While Facing Caucus Revolt, Low Poll Numbers

Cory Morgan: Smith’s Political Gamble in Taking On Trudeau While Facing Caucus Revolt, Low Poll Numbers

Commentary

The Trudeau government has rarely been considered a friend to Alberta. In the weird world of politics, though, Prime Minister Trudeau provides a boon to provincial leaders like Premier Danielle Smith.

The Alberta UCP is holding its annual general meeting in early November and over 6,000 people have registered to attend. The high turnout may be related to a leadership review of the premier which will be conducted, and a conservative faction may be organizing to oust Smith. There’s no better way to galvanize support in an Albertan party than to go to war with the Liberals in Ottawa, and Smith has done so by launching a $7 million advertising campaign in opposition to a possible federal emissions cap.
Premier Smith didn’t mince words as she questioned Trudeau’s motivations and dared him to call an election in a recent interview in the Calgary Herald. If she can goad the prime minister into a reaction, she will be able to frame herself effectively as the protector of Alberta’s interests against the Trudeau Liberals and it will surely buoy her support in the leadership review.

While Smith is playing great politics, will it lead to good policies?

Premier Smith warned of risks presented by the Trudeau government when she stated, “In the last few months of a dying government is when they’re the most dangerous.”

She is probably correct in both the assumption that the government is in its dying days and that it could be potentially dangerous in terms of policies that may be against her sides’ interests because of that. In that case, though, is it wise policy for her to provoke Trudeau while he is on the ropes?

The federal government is weak and distracted by a myriad of issues right now. Trudeau is fighting to maintain his leadership while pressures mount within and outside his party. In a bid of desperation fuelled by ire from Smith’s attacks, Trudeau could see imposing a national energy policy on Alberta as his father did in the 1980s with the flawed and much-reviled National Energy Program. Drawing the annoyance of a prime minister who feels cornered may not be a wise tactic for a premier on the other side of the ideological spectrum right now.

An emissions cap presents a risk to conventional energy producers, and Alberta’s premier is standing up for her province in opposing it. But with Trudeau in a politically vulnerable spot right now, a less confrontational approach to the issue could have been more effective for Smith to get him to relent on or soften the policy. That sort of approach wouldn’t have the impact of consolidating support from Smith’s party members, however.

It’s not just the upcoming leadership review motivating Smith. With it appearing likely that Trudeau will be out of office within a year, she may be thinking she needs to maximize her opportunity to use his government as a political enemy while she can. If Pierre Poilievre becomes the next prime minister, the Alberta government will have to change its approach to dealing with the federal government. Smith won’t have a clear antagonist to point at, and Poilievre is unlikely to attack Alberta’s energy sector. A great outcome for Alberta, but a mixed blessing for Smith who is only maintaining a narrow lead in popular support against Naheed Nenshi’s NDP.

Meanwhile, in Ottawa, the political games continue as Trudeau used his testimony at the foreign interference inquiry to try to paint Poilievre as a villain attempting to cover up the identities of compromised MPs within his party. It serves to attack Poilievre and distract from internal Liberal party woes. While Trudeau and Poilievre joust over which party may contain more unidentified parliamentarians who have been compromised by hostile foreign powers, it becomes forgotten that we shouldn’t be tolerating the existence of any compromised parliamentarians of any party stripe. The spirit and intent of the inquiry are being lost as leaders focus on scoring points against each other rather than prioritizing the security of the nation.

Canada needs a strong, stable federal government. A minority government has been in place for too long and has created such an adversarial, partisan atmosphere that it has become nearly impossible for good policies to be crafted and debated. No matter who may be leading the nation in a year, Canada will be better off with that person leading a majority government. Policies can then be prioritized over politics, at least for a little while.

Until then, though, Canadians are forced to watch in frustration as political leaders at all levels of government neglect pressing issues within the economy, public safety, and immigration in favour of trying to tear each other down.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.


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Christopher Hyland

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