Sovereignty act may be used to fight 2035 net-zero electricity plan: Alberta premier

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she would use her province’s sovereignty act as a last resort to challenge any attempt by the federal government to impost a net-zero electricity grid by 2035.

Smith says achieving net-zero 12 years from now is not realistic, adding that it could lead to power blackouts because Alberta wouldn’t have a reliable source of baseload power such as natural gas.

Smith’s government is arguing for a net-zero grid by 2050, and has a working group discussing the issue with federal counterparts.

However, Smith says as a last resort, her government is drafting a motion to reject Ottawa’s deadline under the sovereignty act, which her government passed as her signature legislation when she took over as premier last fall.