Kenney slams confidence agreement between Liberals and NDP

Premier Jason Kenney slammed the agreement between the Liberals and NDP and said it would keep "anti-Alberta policies in place for the next three years." 

An agreement between the Liberals and NDP that would keep the governing party in place through the remainder of its term is “bad news for Alberta,” according to Premier Jason Kenney.

The “supply and confidence” agreement announced Tuesday means the federal New Democratic Party will back the Liberals in all upcoming confidence votes including four budgets; meaning the Liberals could hold on to power through to 2025.

During question period in the Alberta Legislature, Kenney slammed the agreement and said it would keep “anti-Alberta policies in place for the next three years.”

“I put them on notice,” the premier said. “This government will fight to defend our economy against the Liberal-NDP coalition everyday.”

Kenney said the deal between the federal parties will also impact Alberta’s ability to promote its energy industry around the world.

“After Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the world knows now, more than ever, that we need to increase and produce more Alberta energy to displace ‘dictator oil,'” Kenney said. “We will use every tool that we can to fight the Trudeau-Singh alliance and their effort to kill pipelines and kill Canada’s largest job-creating industry.”

According to Lori Williams, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, many leaders in the oil and gas sector in Alberta have already brought forward policies that balance energy and environment.

“The reality remains that oil and gas and its future depends on balancing with the environment,” Williams said. “That could be at least an opportunity for the industry in Alberta, and potentially the Government of Alberta, to generate policies and initiatives that would be good for the industry and for the economy of Alberta.”