Federal liberals in ‘honeymoon' with Alberta — for now
Article content
Executives in the oil and gas industry are waiting to find out if the Carney government will fast-track a new pipeline as part of its nation-building agenda.
Article content
Article content
Until they get that clarity, they are still dealing with significant policy uncertainty from Ottawa, according to the Business Council of Alberta, which outlined potential actions to improve investment in a recent report.
Article content
Article content
'There (are) still lots of concerns and lots of issues to deal with, but there's more reason to be hopeful now than we've seen in a long time,' said Mike Holden, the council's chief economist.
Article content
A federal bill that would speed up natural resource and infrastructure projects that are deemed in the national interest has drawn cautious optimism from the energy sector, amid concerns from Indigenous peoples and environmental groups.
Article content
In its wish list for Ottawa, Holden's group wants the government to repeal or reform policies that have held back investment in the oilpatch, including a tanker ban on the West Coast and a proposed oil and gas emissions cap.
Article content
Article content
However, there is hope among many businesses that Ottawa could fast-track major projects — namely pipelines — by overriding some of these controversial policies.
Article content
Article content
'I think this is the honeymoon with Carney,' Holden said.
Article content
Industry and the federal government are having important discussions about increasing Canada's ability to export and develop natural resources, according to Deborah Yedlin, chief executive of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.
Article content
'There's a sense of optimism that I have not sensed from an energy standpoint in 10 years,' Yedlin said.
Article content
Federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson has met regularly with those in the energy sector since he was sworn in, she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edmonton Journal
37 minutes ago
- Edmonton Journal
What is Edmonton's Youth Teepee Summit all about?
Article content Now in its fourth year, the Youth Teepee Summit has become a growing annual tradition in Alberta — one rooted in culture, connection, and empowerment for Indigenous youth. Article content Hosted by the First Nations Health Consortium, the 2025 summit takes place July 29-31 at the Northeast River Valley Event Centre in Edmonton, gathering more than 500 First Nations youth from across the province. Article content Article content Article content The event is aimed at youth between the ages of 12 to 17, representing Treaty 6, Treaty 7, and Treaty 8 nations, as well as urban and rural communities. Article content Article content 'The Youth Teepee Summit is a gathering for Indigenous youth across Alberta,' Lorraine Muskwa, First Nation Health Consortium's chief operating officer, told Postmedia in an interview. 'The message we're trying to share with these youth is about building on their dreams, empowering them, teaching them about cultural identity. It's already been an incredible session today.' Article content According to Muskwa, the programming is shaped by youth input from previous years. Article content 'We did an evaluation last year, and really, it was about these kids telling us what they wanted to see at this year's summit,' she said. 'They wanted more interactive sessions.' Article content Article content Article content To bring those dreams to life, the summit features workshops on syllabics, smudging, teepee teachings, ribbon skirt-making, among others. The second day shifts to breakout sessions on entrepreneurship, aviation careers, and future job paths, Muskwa said. Article content 'We tried to get facilitators who could explain even simple things like hairdressing — what's available to these kids in terms of possible future businesses. What does it mean to get into certain fields of work?' she said. Article content 'We're trying to focus on topics of interest for future careers and what kind of education they'll need to support those dreams, showing them there's hope and so many career options out there. It's about building those skills within these children.' Article content Talent and cultural performance Article content Cultural connection remains at the heart of the event, Muskwa said. The opening day includes hands-on cultural teachings, followed by a talent show. Day two ends with a round dance and, throughout the week, youth are encouraged to express and explore their identities through storytelling and ceremony.
Calgary Herald
2 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
‘Akin to Lego': Homes built in a factory may be ‘next frontier'
Article content Still, she said the federal government deserves credit for programs that support both non-profit housing and private involvement in constructing more purpose-built rentals. Article content Carney also pledged to create a federal entity to oversee the development of affordable housing in Canada. The plan could provide more than $25 billion in financing to prefabricated homebuilders. Article content Article content Modular houses are built in a factory and transported to the site. They're making up an increasing part of the overall housing mix. Article content 'We're going to see more and more, if not completely manufactured units, component manufacturing of housing that gets kind of assembled on site, akin to Lego,' Hahn said. Article content Still, Hahn cautioned against the government playing a major role in the private sector, which he said is already building housing at a rapid pace in Alberta. Article content Alberta could, for the first time in over 40 years, top Ontario in new home construction, with the western province being on pace to build nearly 60,000 homes by the end of 2025. Article content Article content According to Tsenkova, modular houses have the advantage of being delivered quickly — and, in some cases, assembled on-site overnight. Article content In contrast, another apartment building across the street, which Attainable Homes built with traditional methods, took more than twice the amount of time. Article content When fully assembled, the apartment units will have rents below market rates, at around $1,100 including heat, water and electricity. Article content In contrast, the average rent for a studio apartment in Calgary is $1,433, according to RentFaster. Article content Article content Article content Income eligibility requirements are set so that clients spend about 30 per cent of their gross income on rent, or have a target income of around $44,000. Article content 'My personal dream would be that everyone has access to a place they can afford that's (a) dignified shelter for them,' Tait said. Article content ATCO has worked on other housing projects throughout the country, including seven for BC Housing, the City of Toronto and more. Article content Although modular isn't the only solution for the housing crisis, Beattie argues it has to be a bigger part of it.
National Post
3 hours ago
- National Post
John Ivison: Canada's best strategy is patience, not elbows
My suggestion in a column last week after Japan struck a trade deal with the United States — that it might be better if Canada didn't settle with President Trump just yet — was ridiculed in certain quarters. Article content Canada is a mouse fighting an elephant and is going to get crushed, said one correspondent. Article content Article content ''Elbows up Carney' will be left in the dust when he caves to Trump,' he said. Article content Article content But Canada is not without leverage – it just has to be creative … and patient. Article content Article content The agreement that the European Union signed last Sunday reinforces the point that Ottawa should take advantage of the fact Trump's attention is elsewhere. The president acknowledged as much ahead of his trip to Scotland last weekend, when he said: 'We haven't really had a lot of luck with Canada … (it) could be one where they'll just pay tariffs, not really a negotiation.' Article content That should suit Canada just fine. The strategic challenge is that the status quo is working better for this country than for anyone else. We want to maintain that, without drawing too much attention to it. The effective tariff rate that Canada is paying is around 6 per cent, including section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos — much lower than the effective rate the rest of the world is paying (the Budget Lab at Yale estimates that at 18 per cent). Article content This is not the time for 'elbows up,' even though Canada would like to get those sectoral tariffs reduced from the unsustainable levels currently being levied. Canadian steel and aluminum producers are currently paying 50 per cent tariffs, effectively killing the export business to the U.S. Aluminum exports have held up relatively well because of the lack of alternative sources of supply. But steel exports to the U.S. have fallen by more than 30 per cent since tariffs were introduced. Article content Article content The impact on the auto industry is just as grave, as General Motors pointed out when it said tariffs cost it more than $1 billion in the second quarter of the year. Duties on finished vehicles exported into the U.S. are 25 per cent (or 12.5 per cent if the vehicle contains 50 per cent U.S. content). Article content Article content If negotiators can make progress in reducing those tariff levels to more stable levels, then concessions can be made elsewhere. Article content It matters less what headline tariff percentage level Canada signs up for (Japan and the E.U. were forced to agree to blanket 15 per cent deals that were more something for nothing, rather than quid pro quo). Article content It would be manageable if Canada agreed to a 20 per cent tariff, as long as the 90 per cent of exports remained exempt under the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement and that agreement was extended to cover autos, steel and aluminum.
