By Canadian Press

Alberta Premier set to make case directly to Trudeau for more federal action

Dec 10, 2019 | 5:38 AM

OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are set to meet face-to-face today for the first time since voters in that province threw out all of its Liberal MPs.

Kenney had made the case for months leading up to the federal election that the Liberals were — at their peril — ignoring the concerns of the West but the election result brought the reality of that anger to the fore.

Now Kenney is seeking to channel it for good, bringing Trudeau a list today of five demands he says must be met to get the Alberta and Canadian economies back up to speed.

They include changes to a federal payment program that tops up provincial revenues, amendments to environment regulations and a firm deadline to get the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion up and running.

Kenney’s meeting with Trudeau will cap off a two-day trip that included eight provincial cabinet ministers all meeting with their federal counterparts and industry officials.

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He says while federal-provincial relations have been tense, he wants to be able to find common ground with the Trudeau government.

Kenney pointed to last week’s meeting of provincial and territorial premiers, and the consensus they arrived at on issues including pipelines and federal funding, as proof there is room for Trudeau to harness existing goodwill.

“Peace in the land is breaking out on some of these issues, and if I was the federal government I would take that as a pretty strong prompt, a nudge, to deliver,” he said Monday after a luncheon speech.

Kenney is nearly the last of the premiers to meet with Trudeau since the federal election.

Nearly all have come through Ottawa in the weeks since the Liberals were reduced to a minority government and Trudeau has spoken to most by telephone as well.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2019.

The Canadian Press