It’s official! The Trudeau Liberal government’s “Just Transition” plan to kill the oil and gas industry is going forward! 

What is “Just Transition”?

While the details of Liberals‘ plan are few, Trudeau’s “Just Transition” initiative confirms his plan to kill the oil and gas sector and is now focused on “helping” to shift workers away from “carbon intensive” jobs in the oil and gas sector into “green energy” jobs. 

According to Trudeau’s Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, “This is really about looking forward to a future which will involve a transition to a lower-carbon economy and trying to ensure that every region of this country has an economic strategy that will result in good jobs and economic development and prosperity."  

In other words, good-bye to the hundreds of thousands of jobs in Canada’s oil and gas industry. He couldn’t have been any clearer!

To be extra clear: the “transition” in “Just Transition” really means they are working on  “transitioning” our economy away from fossil fuels altogether and shutting down the oil and gas industry.

Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith sees right through this Agenda and won’t have any of it. Since it was first announced Smith has come out swinging against this industry-killing, economy-killing proposal. 

“We are not going to be shutting down our oil and natural gas industry. We are not going to be transitioning our workers, who are in good, high-paying meaningful, important jobs, into installing solar panels, which is the idiocy (federal Green Party Leader) Elizabeth May was first proposing when this kind of thing came out,” Smith told listeners during one of her morning radio shows.

And Smith hasn’t backed down. Smith has taken this challenge head on and has demonstrated a real willingness to fight for Alberta and the industry that is the bedrock of its economy and a major contributor to Canada’s GDP.  

In an open letter to Prime Minister Trudeau on January 25, Smith reiterated her opposition to Just Transition: 

“I am writing to once again raise Alberta’s serious concerns with the proposed federal ‘Just Transition’ legislation. The world needs more Canadian energy, not less. It would be premature and ill-advised to signal the end of a vibrant, thriving industry that has the ability to reduce Canada’s and the world’s emissions through technological innovation and increased exports of LNG and other clean burning fuels the world so desperately needs. It is also critical to the security of our nation and allies to lessen dependence on fuel sources from unstable, undemocratic and dangerous countries with atrocious environmental records.” 

You can read the letter here.   

She goes on “Simply put, the world needs more Canadian energy and technology, not less, and as the owner of the world’s third largest oil and gas reserves and the most advanced environmental technology on the planet – we need to signal our intention to provide substantially more of both.”

I applaud Premier Smith for her leadership on this. Smith sees clearly the damaging impact this proposed plan would have not only on Alberta, but on Canada as a whole. 

Remember this isn’t simply an Alberta problem. This is a Canada problem. And if we want to continue to enjoy the high standard of living that we have in Canada, we should be investing in and supporting our oil gas sector, not trying to shut down.

If you want to read more about Just Transition, check out my previous blog posts on this here, here, and here, and here