Carney Smith announce agreement on future pipeline construction carbon pricing

This is the photo op. This is, as you can see. Let's listen. Well, thank you everyone and hello. Today is good day for Alberta and it's good day for Canada. It's an honor to be here with Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce major step forward in unlocking the enormous potential of Canadian energy. And I'm happy to share with Albertans that we'll be signing an agreement today that clearly sets out pathway to the construction of new oil pipeline to Asian markets commencing as early as September 1st, 2027. The proposed West Coast Oil Pipeline would transport more than 1 million barrels of oil per day. This landmark agreement builds on the collaboration between the federal and provincial governments following the signing of the Alberta Canada energy agreement which was signed in November of 2025. Our governments have agreed to make targeted changes to our respective environmental policies that will lead to tangible outcomes that reduce regulatory uncertainty and create the conditions necessary for Alberta to significantly increase its energy production and exports to Asian and other markets. Today's implementation agreement is also results in Alberta avoiding significant increase to the federallymandated industrial carbon price, saving Alberta's industry partners approximately $250 billion in compliance costs over the next two decades to 2050. Under the new carbon pricing agreement, the industrial carbon price will be substantially lower than the previous federal policy, which would have required carbon price of $170 per ton by 2030. The headline carbon price will be substantially rolled back. It'll stay at $95 until the end of this year and then it will increase to $100 for the next three years and reach 130 per ton by 2035. This gives industry the time and certainty needed to plan, invest, and deliver real emissions reducing projects without undermining competitiveness. It means that we're much closer to attaining our joint ambition to make Canada into global energy leader and trusted supplier of responsibly produced lower emissions energy in the world. We've accomplished lot together in less than six months. We've removed barriers that were holding back investment like the clean electricity regulations and the proposed oil and gas emissions cap. And we've reached key agreements with the federal government on impact assessment cooperation on methane equivalency which we expect to finalize this year. Both both governments also remain committed to working together with the Oil Sands Alliance, formerly Pathways Companies, to advance the completion of the world's largest carbon capture utilization and storage infrastructure project. At the same time, we're advancing the final submission to the west on the West Coast pipeline to the major projects office by July the 1st. We're also establishing an electricity working group with the federal government to explore new low emissions technology including nuclear, geothermal, abated natural gas, wind, solar, and hydrogen. As this work advances, the governments of Alberta and Canada remain committed to respecting constitutionally protected rights, engaging in early, consistent, and meaningful consultation with First Nations, and working with indigenous communities to support opportunities for ownership and partnership. And do want to sincerely thank the prime minister and his officials for approaching these negotiations in genuine spirit of collaboration and in pursuit of stronger, more secure, and an independent future for Canada. also want to thank people across Alberta for their patience and for keeping faith throughout this process. Thank you, and I'll now turn it over to the prime minister. Well, well, thank you. to be clear, was clapping for the premier there. want to clap for the and want to thank you premier on behalf of the people of Canada and behalf of my colleagues both in in parliament and my officials and your officials for the cooperative spirit and the hard work to get us where we are. As you said, we've accomplished lot in the last six months and we've accomplished it together and think that's the important point. you know, last week the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatty Broll, visited Canada and he spoke about the most important commodity in the world. Something that Canada has in abundance, something that we're building today, and that's trust. Trust to double the reliable and affordable energy available to Albertans. As the premier just said, drawing on all the resources of this great province, natural gas, renewables, extending potentially out to nuclear, geothermal, and beyond. We're building trust of investors that Alberta and Canada are reliable and attractive destinations where opportunities are plentiful, the rules are clear, and one project means one review. the trust of Asian countries who want our energy because they know that we are safe, stable, reliable partner in world that is anything but. Today's implementation agreement is comprehensive and it's interconnected. It covers amongst other things regulation, markets, methane, renewables, and carbon capture. It includes, as you've just heard, can Alberta's commitment Alberta's commitment to submit comprehensive proposal for Bitamin pipeline to Asian markets to the federal major projects office by Canada Day by July 1st this year and Canada's commitment to pursue the designation of that proposal as project of national interest under the Building Canada Act by the 1st of October. Now earning trust as we all know it requires more than just ambition. It requires partnership and it requires cooperation. Cooperation that respects our duty to consult and ensures indigenous economic benefits and opportunities for co-ownership exist in every project. cooperation that recognizes British Columbombians should share in substantial economic benefits from projects that impact them. And cooperation that will create tens of thousands tens of thousands of high-paying, rewarding not just jobs, but careers across the skill trades, engineering, and beyond. And today's agreement is also about creating better world for our kids and our grandkids. through major investments that will help put Canada on the path to net zero. Through methane equivalency agreement that will lower methane emissions from oil and gas by 75% below 2014 levels by and through carbon markets that work. When we signed theou in November, an over supply of credits had driven prices as low as $20 ton, $75 below the headline price. And today, as you've just heard, Canada and Alberta have agreed to create markets that deliver an effective carbon price of $130 per ton by 2040 with binding annual benchmarks. Along the way, we will also issue 75 million tons of carbon contracts for difference to support major carbon capture, clean energy, other emission reduction projects with the costs shared equally between us. In other words, we will have skin in the game so that that market actually works. We are certainty projects to achieving net zero by 2050. Renewable energy will become more competitive thanks to an expedited approval process, new federal incentives relating to inter ties as well as contracts for difference. The most competitive energy is low cost, low risk, low emissions. And that's the principle behind the oil sands alliance formerly pathways. the largest global initiative for carbon capture and storage. And the proposed pipeline depends on that alliance, which will achieve emissions reductions equivalent to taking 90% of the vehicles off Alberta roads while generating over$16 billion in GDP as part of this overall package, which can create up to 50,000 jobs in Alberta and across Canada. Which brings me to Canada. Today is also about building trust in Canada that works. Canada rooted in cooperative federalism where we build together pragmatically and ambitiously to achieve our shared ambitions. Canada where our differences are strengths to be nurtured and respected, not risk to be managed. Canada that's strong but good. Canada that's not just prosperous but fair. Not just for some most of the time, but for all all of the time. Let me finish on personal note. some of you know was born in Fort Smith, just north of the Alberta border. was almost born in Alberta. was born in Northwest Territories. but in many ways just not far from from the oil sands. So when was born, the oil sands were concept, curiosity to most, dream to but few builders. By the time was in junior high with Alex Porbay, some of you would know was in junior high with Alex Porb, junior high in Edmonton, the oil sands had been transformed already by that point to one of Canada's largest industries. And it happened because of the brilliance of our scientists, the drive of our entrepreneurs, yes, the support of provincial and federal governments, and the dedication of our skilled workers. And that's the legacy that we're building on today. carbon capture that creates an entirely new industry. An affordable lowcarbon grid that's doubled that draws on all of Alberta's strengths and lowcarbon oil pipeline that bolsters our independence. Building big, building fast, building bold again, building with trust and Alberta strong and Canada strong for all. Thank you very much. Here we go. Yes. Follow me and we're going to go through there. Now we're going to go back back to work. You have been watching key moment, good day according to the Alberta premier, the prime minister Mark Carney live in Calgary signing an energy agreement energy and climate agreement. where that where that could be the next key step in building another oil pipeline to the west coast, 1 million barrels per day to Asian and other markets. as we heard the premier say committing to new price on carbon of $130 dollars by 2040. she said we heard the premier thank the prime minister for bringing genuine spirit of collaboration. The prime minister thanks the premier on behalf of the people of Canada that lot has been accomplished since that memorandum of understanding was signed 6 months ago. and this referring to this what was signed today, this implementation agreement includes of course Alberta submitting proposal for pipeline by Canada Day by July 1st and then to the national major projects office and then by October 1st that would be deemed project of national interest that could see pipeline being built by September of 2027. So the CBC's Rafi Buji Canyon has been listening in. He joins us now live from Ottawa. So, few numbers, some key dates, but both of both the premier and the prime minister saying this is key moment in potentially another pipeline to the west coast being built. Andrew, what difference few years can make, right? mean remember when Liberal prime minister, Justin Trudeau, would visit Alberta and not really see the Conservative premier at the time, Jason Kenny, and might might have perhaps been asked by reporter, why do you think you are not liked at all in this province. remember this because asked them that question when was based in Edmonton at the time. and the former prime minister just sort of said well you know Alberta's been through lot of tough times with the energy ups and downs the markets and so the the climate that the climate that people are in with this uncertainty is understandable and now we're seeing lot of different kind of rhetoric right like we're seeing the the current prime minister Mark Carney say that pipeline might be the way out of the uncertainty that Canada is facing with the ongoing trade disputes with the US. we're seeing some commitments solidifying toward the building of one with the with the dates you mentioned. will say though that in the written materials that journalists received under embargo. there are caveats which were which were alluded to in in the speeches we just heard. To be fair, caveats like you know the pipeline could be designated project in the national interest provided that adequate consultation is conducted with first nations with indigenous groups and that both these governments also commit to continue speaking to British Columbia, which we know has had some reservations about the idea of new pipeline to the west coast. talking about how well there are the environmental concerns. there is uncertainty around who would be private sector proponent. that question we still don't have an answer to it today. we heard in an embargo tech briefing earlier today that Alberta is the proponent which is what Alberta has previously also said. but that you know they're still working on the piece of finding private sector proponent. We also know that some folks in the Liberal caucus are leerary about what's been announced today. The climate caucus is supposed to be meeting this afternoon to be discussing how these new targets might gel with Canada's emissions reductions targets overall. as you said earlier, we know both Danielle Smith and Mark Carney have media availabilities this afternoon. So there will of course be plenty of questions for them on these fronts because you know we've been reporting on this. He also said just bringing up British Columbia that British Columbombians need to share substantial benefit. so that was said by the prime minister and the whole question of routes to the north coast that seems to be there seems to be maybe don't know backing off on on insisting on that maybe accepting that southern route is more feasible. and also we should just mention Rafi this is this is different than what was proposed before in terms of car an agreed upon carbon price right? Yes. Yes. So, this is sort of kicking the can down the line because, the federal government had previously said by 2030, so just in handful of years, $170 per ton. Now, we're seeing the amount reduced to 130 and go to 2040. So, decade's delay. So, so take it that when we hear, you know, some Liberal caucus members are concerned about meeting the emissions reductions targets that that is linked to this idea that the overall number is lower and and further than what it was. it is an increase, however, from what Alberta had frozen the industrial carbon price to last year, which was $95 per ton. Rafie, thank you. The CBC's Rafi Buja Canyon live in Ottawa. Dwayne Brat is professor of political science at Mount Royal University in Calgary. He was watching this all unfold. He joins me now. So Dwayne, what do you make of this moment? think it is big deal. anytime you have the prime minister and the premier of Alberta sitting together or in this case standing together all on the same page on something like energy and the environment. That's an important step. This builds on theou that was signed in November. there were details that had to be worked out in advance of this. They had already worked out details on impact assessment by having one review process. They had made deals on methane emission reductions. but there were three sticking points. Sticking point number one is the industrial carbon tax. That looks like it's been solved. issue number two is carbon capture utilization and storage. They talked about that. They said that all the actors, Alberta government, Canadian government, private sector are on the same page, but no details about the financing of of that. Mark had said before, he didn't say it today, maybe he'll say it in the press conference, that that deal over carbon capture is essential and required for an oil pipeline. and so while they may be on the same page, where they disagree is the amount that each side is paying and that's really important detail. And then on the issue of the pipeline, yeah, the government said that the submission is going in by July 1st. We know the Alberta government is going to be the lead proponent on that, but we know nothing else. We don't know who else is involved in the project. We don't know route. We don't know process. We have vision of plan. but that's not to negate, think, lot of productive stuff that that happened in the background that led to this moment and particularly an industrial carbon tax. And do want to respond to something that Rafi said about while the increase is only going from 95 to $130 ton, it's going to be phased in over much longer period of time. This is reduction from the anticipated plan during the Trudeau years of going to $170 by 2030. That is all true, but as Mark Carney emphasized, there's often been massive gap between the stated retail tax and what companies were actually paying because of whole series of credits and accounting. Likewise. So if you can close that gap even if the retail price is lower but companies are paying more you know that's that's the important point. That is an absolutely important point. What do you make of some of the timeline of all of this that this could lead to the construction beginning in September of 2027. So just 18 months from now, less than 18 months from now. that is rapid. and one of the keys is going to be around indigenous consultation. we do know that previous pipelines, the Northern Gateway ended up getting blocked because of failure to properly consult indigenous bands and the Trans Mountain pipeline was significant delayed for that very same reason. Now would hope that pipeline companies have learned from those two experiences and would do this in better way. unfortunately on an on an unrelated matter we we saw yesterday the court of king's bench quashing separatism petition because of lack of the duty to consult. This is going to cause problems think for the Alberta government moving forward on pipeline. even though they're two completely different ideas, they're still going to have to negotiate with indigenous bands and I'm not sure there's lot of trust right there right now. Good point. Dwayne, Dwayne Brat of Mount Royal University live in our Calgary studio. Thank you. And more on that breaking news from Calgary. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Daniel Smith have just announced and signed significant new carbon pricing deal. The agreement is seen as major step towards building new bumen pipeline to the BC coast. Daniel Smith is set to take questions from reporters next hour and we're expecting to hear from the prime minister later today. We will have extensive coverage on the story coming up here on CBC News Network. Heat. Heat. Hello, I'm Andrew Nichols. This is CBC News Network. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Daniel Smith were all smiles this past hour. The two leaders agreed on new carbon pricing scheme, major Trudeau era policy that was key irritant for Alberta for many years. They have now cleared hurdle that paves the way to new pipeline from the oil sands to the BC coast. Here's Carne and Smith speaking just minutes ago. Today is good day for Alberta and it's good day for Canada. It's an honor to be here with Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce major step forward in unlocking the enormous potential of Canadian energy. And I'm happy to share with Albertans that we'll be signing an agreement today that clearly sets out pathway to the construction of new oil pipeline to Asian markets, commencing as early as September 1st, 2027. Today's implementation agreement is comprehensive and it's interconnected. It covers amongst other things regulation, markets, methane, renewables, and carbon capture. It includes, as you just heard, can Alberta's commitment Alberta's commitment to submit comprehensive proposal for Bitamin pipeline to Asian markets to the federal major projects office by Canada. Heat. Heat. because as you mentioned that the timeline is certainly would appear ambitious if mean the premier did say as early as September of 2027 is when construction of new pipeline could begin. Yeah, mean there will be lots of questions still left to answer. There will be lots of people still raising concerns. Let's start with the Liberal caucus itself. We know that there was meeting last night where they were briefed by officials and ministers and some came away with questions about how does this new goal square with Canada's emissions reductions targets. We know that the mini climate caucus within the overall caucus is supposed to be meeting this afternoon probably to be going over some of these questions. we've previously heard concerns by former environment minister Steven Gilbo. He was asked earlier this week on radio Canada is there point of rupture for you if some things go too far? he said no there isn't but you know I'll have to watch and see what are the next steps right? and then of course the reason there would be consultation with indigenous groups is because some have raised environmental concerns about pipeline going through their jurisdiction. We've heard from British Columbia that they have issues along the same lines and also about how there is no private sector proponent for this yet. But of course it is different time than it was just even couple of years ago. Canada is facing lot of economic hurdles and proponents that is to say people who are pro pipeline not literally private sector proponent because there isn't one yet are saying that pipeline is way out of this economic uncertainty have listen to Martha Hall Finley herself former Liberal MP and and now professor times have changed and you know you have to be able to adapt and recognize what is in Canada's best interest and this absolutely is in Canada's best interest. mean, it's it's extraordinary. if you ask anybody who is in the international sphere or working in in global affairs, the number of countries, including so many of Canada's allies, who that are knocking on our door saying we need more of Canada's energy, and that means oil and gas. we've also heard number of times from Conservative opposition MPs that Canada is still not moving fast enough to approve pipeline. So there has been that kind of pressure on the government as well. Of course, we don't have reaction from them yet on today's announcement. It's it's very fresh right now. can't tell you that in an embargo tech briefing, journalists were wondering about, well, is there private sector proponent then? And the answer is not yet at this time, but Alberta is working on that. mean, Rafie, just just to finish that off, some would make the argument, well, the private sector needed to kind of have these agreements, understand some of the price on carbon, understand whether this is real, that this is actually collaboration that's moving forward or not. mean, maybe that's part of the equation that the private sector was was waiting for some of these moments. Sure. mean, the rhetoric we've heard from the Alberta government up to today and again today in that embargoed briefing was that they needed to be derisking the idea of pipeline in order to make it more attractive to investors. so perhaps this is step toward that de-risisking for them and they will now be going back to those companies and saying, "Well, look, we've got cooperative federal government that that's on board with this, so let's play ball here." mean, yeah, all that remains to be seen really until July or perhaps even after July and I'm I'm sure these questions will be asked of Premier Smith this hour, perhaps even Prime Minister Carney later today. So, let's see what they've got to say about it. Okay, Rafi, thank you. CBC's Rafi Buchcci Canyon in Ottawa. This carbon pricing deal is just one of the steps outlined in the memorandum of understanding signed in November and it comes during time of increased collaboration between Ottawa and Alberta. The CBC's Jason Marcusoff joins us now from Calgary. So Jason, what does this mean for Daniel Smith and the pipeline she's been working towards? Well, you saw the smiles on her face and on Mark Carney's face, but certainly she was very happy. it it's interesting they they they organized separate press releases emphasizing different things Ottawa and Alberta did in advance of this. they'll be holding their press conferences taking questions from reporters separately probably because their messages are going to be substantially different. Prime Minister Carney is talking about export markets reducing emissions. Danielle Smith is taking very different message. She is really talking about the excitement that she has, the enthusiasm that she brings at being able to potentially break ground on pipeline as soon as 2027. In that embargo briefing we just heard Rafi talking about, officials talked about having the oil pipeline producing flowing with oil as early as 2033 or 20 2034. And one of the things that gives them hope in Alberta is that that will also help them expand greatly expand oil production. The other thing that will help them expand oil production is that what Premier Daniel Smith talks about as significantly rolled back emissions targets, carbon prices. know it's some it's one thing that Mark Carney would not be talking about. He talks about them being realistic. Danielle Smith does as well. but you know she knows that there are lot of concessions that the Albert that the federal government made. it's not clear what kind of concessions Danielle Smith made to get some very good news for her in the oil sector. Of course, Jason, this comes as separatists look to force referendum this fall. mean, who knows whether that's going to happen. There has been setback given court decision. How will this affect that movement? Big big questions on that certainly still, but the movement is still there. Danielle Smith knows that it is big, you know, force to be reckoned with within her own party base. about one quarter of the Alberta populace supports it. both she and to some extent, Mr. Carney have been talking about the, you know, need to help, prove that Canada works. in his in his news briefing, Mark Carney talked about, sorry, in his announcement, Carney talked about building trust in Canada that works. Kind of echoing some of the language that, Premier Smith produces, even though it could, it's possible that next week, as soon as next week, she might call her own referendum, which could potentially prove that, you know, provide cover to those who believe they can that don't doesn't work right now. one of the challenges for the separatism movement would have been should they get question to go from 27% which is currently their their poll standing support for separatism to 50% plus one or much higher proportion to able to successfully secede from Canada. if more and more people who were opposed to separatism are seeing further proof that Canada can work that there are gains to be had within confederation it makes the separatist argument bit different bit harder. they will really rely on for their argument but for cynicism that Canada doesn't work and today Premier Smith smiles the accomplishments and concessions she got from Canada prove different argument and Jason just before let you go quickly what do you make of this know that there are five routes being looked at by the Alberta government do do you think that there's they're inching towards maybe southern route rather than the north coast because of some of the concerns that coastal first nations of British Columbia have met that that southern route could be more likely route or are we getting way too ahead of ourselves? Yeah, don't know. mean, would imagine that if they're if they if they're plotting planning to deliver proposal by July 1st that they have route in mind. That'll certainly be one of the questions we're asking Premier Smith about later today. but you know, southern route could well be concession for them. It would have bit less optimal access to Asian markets. but certainly that they just like pipeline period. Jason, thank you very much. The CBC's Jason Marcusoff live in Calgary. So we want to get to how this new energy deal is being received by those in the environmental sector. On that, we're joined by Chris Severson Baker. He's the executive director of the PIMA Institute, an organization dedicated to promoting clean energy in Canada. Chris, appreciate you taking the time. Thank you. My pleasure. So, we learned we could see pipeline construction start in 2027. What's your reaction to this news and this carbon price of $130 by 2040 per ton? Well, you know, when when my Prime Minister Mark Carney introduced the budget in in November of 2025, it came with commitment to strengthen industrial carbon pricing. Keep in mind this was after when as as new prime minister he had actually repealed number of important climate policies that the Trudeau government had implemented. and he has not delivered on that promise. So this this is weakening of the of the industrial carbon pricing regime. it nothing will happen to the carbon price regime in Alberta for the next 5 years. And then the plan calls for increases in in carbon pricing happening starting in 2030. But of course now we're talking about different federal government and different provincial government that far ahead into the future. So remain sort of skeptical that this is going to result in the kind of certainty that industry has been pleading for around industrial carbon policy in this country and the agreement between Alberta and the federal government is going to have an impact across the country in terms of how carbon pricing regimes work everywhere from coast to coast. Do you think it'll be different for Alberta than for other provinces? Is that what you're implying? No. No. it'll it'll drag down the the carbon price in in other provinces to to be aligned with with what Carney has agreed to with Daniel Smith. And so if that is the case, what does that mean for emissions targets? Well, it means that our global commitment is is not achievable. we're going to be far off the mark and the rest of the world is going to take notice of that. and you know, it it think it it there's lot of people in Canada and lot of people in Alberta that that want to see strong economic growth. they they want us to see Canada be you know, strong international provider of fossil fuels, but also meet climate commitments. and and this does not enable Canada to meet its its international climate commitments and essentially it's sort of going back to the drawing board especially for the oil and gas industry itself right so the you know the deal was that was struck many years ago between industry environmental organizations and the not government included you know an industrial carbon price that would increase over time and it would ultimately result in the oil sands industry implementing decarbonization projects to bring down its its emissions. We're not going to see that for at least the next 15 years as result of this new policy. What about when the prime minister has said in the past no no pathways, no pipelines. So he's referring to carbon storage. We heard today them saying they're going to be working together on carbon storage. Do you have hope there? don't. the the only way that we would see that pathways project happening is if if industrial carbon pricing had indeed been strengthened. It needs to rise to an effective price of $130 per ton in reasonable time frame and and industry would need to be certain that that was in fact going to happen. And that was not what we heard today, right? we we're hearing about you know that not happening until at the earliest 20 240. So we're not going to see any any movement on that project. are you is it challenging, do you think, in order for your environmental concerns and voice to be heard in this time, in this time of the war in the Middle East, in this time of energy insecurity, if you will, in in much of the world, that the louder voice is those proposing more, fossil fuel development, such as new pipeline to the West Coast. well there's lot of dimensions to that question. think that first of all like people have not in Canada and in Alberta have not are still concerned about global climate change. They still recognize that for being the existential threat that it is. Other concerns have have risen to become even higher than that concern. And and so think, you know, that's where we find ourselves today. And the the the the this incredible supply crisis that's happening in in in the world right now is is definitely having big impact on on energy and climate policy. In other countries, it's resulting in in in them countries dropping their plans to build more natural gas facilities because they don't want to be beholden in the future to international suppliers of of natural gas. It's it's resulting in more rapid uptake of electric vehicles and and so we're other countries are moving really quickly into an electrified future. Other countries like Canada are are seeing short-term opportunity to take advantage of these high prices. But we also want to be competitive in that future world of that is largely powered by electricity and demand is electrified. And we're going to start to we already are feeling it and we're going to feel it for very long time. Higher prices for gasoline, diesel and natural gas as companies in this country increase export capacities, right? exposing us more and more and more over time to those very high international prices. And so there's going to be strong drive in the not too distant future to to really try to move away from using fossil fuels in every part of our day-to-day lives. And that's probably, you know, and that will drive emissions down. But but for for today, you know, we're we we're sort of what we're experiencing right now, think, is is reset when it comes to the the the climate policies that affect the oil and gas industry and something else is going to have to be put in place if we want to bring those emissions down. Chris, thank you. Chris Everson Baker is the executive director of the Pemba Institute. As we've been reporting, the signing of this deal between Ottawa and Alberta seemingly clears the way for the construction of bumen peline pipeline to the BC coast. Let's bring in the CBC's Lean Young who is in Vancouver. So Leanne, we have we heard anything yet from British Columbia on this deal. Well, Andrew, the request is into the premier's office. we haven't heard back from him quite yet, but you know, this is an issue that he's been talking about for several days now. just this idea of this pipeline and this latest news about the carbon pricing, something that he's been questioned about earlier in this week. but I'm sure it's something he's watching very closely along with everyone else in Victoria asking the question, what about us? What does British Columbia get out of it? You know, as we heard the prime minister say that there should be significant economic benefits for British Columbia, but we just don't have the details of exactly what that means at this point. So news of this deal has been reported for several days now, you know, on your show across CBC and other media. And BC's premier has been asked about it, and he says he's been pretty consistent with his response. What he feels is an unfair competitive advantage for Alberta, which leaves not just British Columbia, but the rest of the country, he says, at competitive disadvantage. So take listen to what he had to say. It seems as though there's possibility that this policy is being adjusted for single province. I'm curious about what the federal government's perspective is, if this is in fact what the plan is. we are in direct competition with Alberta on certain projects. we will not be in competitive position if Alberta has special federal carbon price the rest of us don't have access to in the rest of Canada. So, as you heard there, that was clip from Wednesday, and we heard him from him again yesterday. It sounded like that's kind of when he got some more details about this this deal. And you know, we've reached out to his office this morning. Hopefully, we will be hearing from him later in the day. And Lean, there's been plenty of tension between British Columbia and Ottawa over the past few months. Tell us more about that. Yeah, Andrew. you know this all kind of started around when thisou discussion started and Evie has repeatedly pointed out that how he felt that BC was being left out of these discussions. He called them secret and he said in no uncertain terms that he is against this pipeline, this potential proposed pipeline and at one point he called it imaginary, he called it fictional pipeline and just about at every press conference he's been questioned about it. he's pointed out the fact that British Columbia he says has 35 pipeline 35 projects which he says are very real. Meanwhile, this proposed pipeline project in Alberta he says doesn't even have proponent about it. So, he's certainly not happy and he says that BC should be getting the same level of attention and he's called this Alberta deal with Ottawa special treatment and as mentioned even with this latest carbon pricing deal that was signed that we heard about just now. It sounds like he didn't really get all of that information until really yesterday. And so perhaps that's why we haven't quite heard from him yet that he's still digesting some of that information. He did say yesterday during this press conference where energy minister Tim Hodgson was here as well. He says that he's set to meet with the prime minister again next week and hopefully flesh out some more of what these so-called economic benefits may be for British Columbia. So, we'll wait and see to see what he has to say later today and perhaps even into the next days and weeks to come. Yeah, the prime minister saying British Columbombians need to share substantial benefits from all this. That's what Mark Cerning had to say. Leanne, thank you. The CBC's Lean Young live in Vancouver. We're looking live again at Calgary. We're set to hear more from the Alberta premier following her energy deal signing with the prime minister. Danielle Smith is expected to speak in about 20 minutes. We will bring you live coverage when she does. Also ahead, we'll get analysis from CBC's chief political correspondent, Rosemary Barton. She joins us live from Ottawa next here on CBC News Network. Heat. Heat. I'm happy to share with Albertans that we'll be signing an agreement today that clearly says sets out pathway to the construction of new oil pipeline to Asian markets commencing as early as September 1st, 2027. Today's implementation agreement is comprehensive and it's interconnected. It covers, amongst other things, regulation, markets, methane, renewables, and carbon capture. The prime minister and Alberta's premier have signed on to much anticipated energy and climate agreement that includes an industrial carbon pricing system. Smith calls it good deal for Alberta and for Canada. Carney says it shows the world that Canada is place that can be trusted for major investment. The agreement clears another obstacle to new pipeline from Alberta to the BC coast. So, lots to dig into with today's deal between Ottawa and Alberta. Rosemary Barton is our chief political correspondent at CBC News. She joins us now live from Ottawa. So, Rosie, how significant is this agreement this moment? Listen, this is big deal, right? This has been the criticism certainly of the past Liberal government for the past decade was that in spite of the fact that Justin Trudeau bought pipeline with taxpayer money that that projects weren't being done quickly and that there was no desire from the federal government to allow for stability and predictability for the energy industry and and oil industry in particular. What this agreement does is lay out some of that predictability, whether it be the industrial carbon price, which Alberta has agreed to sign on to and is moving towards. Remember, it had frozen its industrial carbon price. It has now agreed to that price going up to $130 per ton, the effective carbon price by by 2040. and it also shows that there is commitment by the federal government to get this done. it is remarkable timeline. if they actually manage to achieve this, if the idea is to get the construction started on new pipeline by 2027, that really think puts to rest any questions about whether this prime minister, this government in particular, is committed to energy development. What it doesn't put to rest, and think where the questions now turn, is what is this government's commitment to fighting climate change? and on that front there are lots of questions. When we asked in the briefing we had earlier with public servants, what can you show us about the modeling for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Canada going up to 2030 2035 and that promise of net zero by 2050? They had nothing to share. would assume they have the modeling but but we simply don't know how all of this will play into the fight against climate change. So there will be people Canadians, environmentalists, progressives inside the Liberal caucus who will not be happy with this announcement today. But on the flip side, Andrew, there are people who have long believed that Canada has not tapped into its potential and its economic growth and that this will go some way to to doing that. Yeah. was was thinking about the Steven Gilos of Mark Carney's caucus. He's the former environment minister who resigned over this memorandum of understanding from cabinet. He's still Liberal MP. What does it do to people like him in Mark Carney's government? Yeah, the the climate caucus of which Mr. Gilbo would be member is is meeting this afternoon. I'm also told that MPs were briefed last night sort of on the broad strokes of this agreement. think it's think it's right to point out that it's not just this agreement, right? It is series of of steps that the government has taken over the past number of months in the past week or so. more particularly the commitment yesterday on the electricity grid which would also open things up to the use of natural gas further. the decision to put into permanent legislation some of the changes that were made under C5 which would allow the government to water down skirt around regulations protecting species at risk and other environmental regulations. It's all of those things compounded that that may cause the prime minister some headaches within his own caucus and may cause him some problems within what is still his political power base and that is Quebec. where the issue of climate change remains you know top of mind for many people and where where many Quebecers don't see that another oil pipeline is is needed where that's not really part of the conversation. So those are sort of the things think we have to watch for politically moving ahead. But again, you know, this is prime minister who is increas still incredibly popular amongst Canadians and who finds himself at moment in time where there is an appetite frankly for Canada to move on some big things. And perhaps the the hope here, Andrew, is that by moving on these things within the first year of being prime minister, he he can he can kind of put some of the criticism behind him and and move ahead. What does this mean? Because this, think, is looming large. They certainly didn't bring it up in that signing ceremony or in those brief remarks, but I'm sure there will be some questions to both the premier and the prime minister about what this means for the separatist movement in Alberta because there is link between natural resource development and the separatist movement in Alberta. Yeah, they didn't bring up separation, but but they brought up national unity and and how the federation works. That is very much part of the calculation here, at least for the federal liberals, that at time when the premier is allowing referendum to go ahead that that she is not championing any but that she is not turning away from either. that there is need to demonstrate to Alberta that this country still works and that it is interested in doing things that help Alberta further succeed and and and flourish, something that frankly benefits the whole country. Let's be honest, think it would be wrong to assume that it is only because of that. Obviously, there's whole bunch of factors at play, but for sure that is part of the prime minister's thinking here. think what we don't know, and I've heard you ask this question of others through the afternoon, is whether it will make any real difference you know, if the if the Alberta government is now appealing the court decision to allow this petition to be declared valid and the referendum to go ahead this fall, is any of this evidence enough for that group of people who believe that separation and independence is needed? Is any of this enough to to demonstrate the contrary? you and have seen this movie before in Quebec and and it's it's it's generally more than just, you know, one moment in time that is needed to convince people that they haven't been sort of let down by their federal government over decades and decades. But that is inevitably in the back of of the mind of of both the premier and the prime minister. and think, you know, maybe pushing the timeline little bit in way that we wouldn't have expected because think that is the most extraordinary part of this. It's not just that they think they can get this done quickly. it's also that the federal government is readily backing it, you know, ready to approve pipeline, ready to make it project of national interest with some some caveats, of course, that private proponent does emerge and that the path the the carbon capture and storage project, the pathways alliance still happens in order to mitigate some of the emissions. but if you wanted sign about whether the federal government wants pipeline, think today you got it. Yeah. And then and then and then First Nations consultation and it's interesting that that you know, there are some questions about whether that can happen in such an accelerated timeline and an extraordinary timeline. don't know that. Yeah, that's right. mean, we we know where the opposition lies in in BC. It's not just with the NDP government. but right along that coastline, there are lots of First Nations who are not in favor of this. not not to mention other just residents of the coast who don't want to see the tanker ban lifted for instance. So where do they you know how do they work with those communities? How do they get BC on board? because that you know that piece of it while they referenced working with BC and and First Nations, how they do that and and how they make sure they fulfill their duty to consult that was not spelled out in in terms of getting it done that quickly. So those are also serious obstacles that that will need to be overcome if if this is going to happen. Rosie, thank you. Our chief political correspondent, Rosemary Barton, live in Ottawa. And we're looking live again at Calgary. reminder, we're set to hear more from the Alberta premier following her announcement of carbon pricing deal with Ottawa. Daniel Smith is expected to speak in less than 15 minutes. We will bring you live coverage when that gets underway. You're watching CBC News Network. Heat. Heat. Here's live look at Calgary in just few minutes. Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith is set to speak after signing new carbon pricing deal with Ottawa. The agreement helps clear the way for pipeline to the West Coast. Smith has called the announcement another step towards resetting the province's relationship with Ottawa, but some environmentalists and those concerned about climate targets are frustrated by the deal. We will take you back to Calgary as soon as Premier Smith starts speaking. Ottawa's handling of natural resources remains central issue for Alberta's separatist movement. Nearly 300,000 signatures have been gathered in support of potential independence referendum. But any vote is now on hold after judge ruled indigenous communities were not properly consulted on process that could have significant implications for treaty rights. The Alberta premier says her government plans to appeal the decision. And the CBC's Trisha Kindleman joins us now with the latest on the separatist movement and what role deal between Ottawa and the province could play in all of this. There have been so many developments over the past couple of weeks every day it seems. Trisha, walk us through where things stand right now. Yeah, absolutely. So, like you said, things are sort of paused at the moment. It's unclear how today's deal could influence things. Rosie Barton kind of touched on it just before the break that this could be good indicator to some of the people who are sort of pushing this separatist the separatist movement that there is still the ability for Alberta and Ottawa to be able to work together. but like we said still little bit time to time to be time to see what that will all look like. Anyways, as we were talking about that decision came down earlier this week, pausing those efforts and it pointed to failure to consult with those First Nations communities as you mentioned. Now, immediately following the decision, we did hear from number of those different First Nations communities who they celebrated the ruling saying that it was reinforcement of their treaty rights. Now, one of those groups that we heard from was the Deta First Nation. and their chief called on the UCP government to not carry forward with an appeal. it's he said that Alberta's separation from Canada would have deeply profound impacts on the Denita First Nations Treaty rights. Danielle Smith should show she respects the rights of First Nations and the court's decision by stopping any further talk of appeal or support for separation. And now we have heard from Mark Carney leading up to this analysis has been happening who has been underscoring how important it is for Canada to remain united. We heard bit more from him in that same vein today, although he didn't talk about it specifically around separation. but here is what he said just few days ago. As someone who was raised in Alberta, proud Albertan, view that very much the best place for Alberta can is in Canada. and certainly Canada that works, which is what we're what we're pursuing in terms of any referendum. this we're democracy. We have standards and and an ability for provinces to to hold referenda on on variety of subjects. and if following the rules they hold referendums. Obviously, we support that. So now Carney has been making strides to improve the relationship between Alberta and Ottawa. Again, this today is big step forward in that. we'll continue to sort of see how this might work towards thawing that dynamic with this separatism conversation still happening in the background of all of this because what are we hearing from the Alberta government about their approach to this issue? Well, at this point the UCP government has said that they are going to be going ahead with an appeal. they wrapped up their legislative session just yesterday. So we did have chance to hear from the justice minister as well. Now he talked about the fact that it wasn't only the stay free Alberta petition. There was also the Canada Strong petition which was another petition that was collected with hundreds of thousands of petitions on that in favor of staying in Canada. So now he says that essentially it's important for all of those voices to be heard. Here's bit more from him. It is in my view irrelevant as to whether we like the question or what the topic of the day is, but rather the foundational purpose of the legislation and that is to allow Albertans to weigh in on important issues. Now, we know that some 700,000 Albertans have signed petition in one way or the other. We think this is an important question that Albertans have and we think that the opportunity to get this resolved is important. That's why we're moving forward with the appeal. Sorry to interrupt. We're just going to take you to Calgary where the premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, is speaking to reporters. Let's listen. Williams, Minister Todd Loen, Minister Dale Nally, Minister Miles McDougall, Associate Minister Muhamad Muhammad Yin, as well as MLA's Garell, Justin Wright, and Scott Sinclair. We also have Nessie Southern joining me from ATCO, Mark Poesca from NMAX. We've got Pauline Mlan from Capital Power, Candace Payton from Enhanced Energy, Mike Rose from Turmoline, Deb Edund, Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Steven Buffalo Indian Resource Council, and Dave Lamush Matei Settlements General Council. The last 10 years have been an extremely difficult time for hundreds of thousands of Albertans and their families whose livelihoods depend on strong and growing Alberta oil and gas industry. But today, we're turning corner. As announced with the prime minister earlier this morning, am thrilled to share that the agreement we signed today clearly sets out pathway to the construction of new oil pipeline to Asian markets, commencing as early as September 1st, 2027. The proposed West Coast Oil Pipeline would transport more than 1 million barrels of oil per day. This landmark agreement builds on the collaboration between the federal and provincial governments following the signing of the Alberta Canada Energy Agreement, which was signed in November of 2025. Our governments have agreed to targeted policy changes that create the conditions necessary for Alberta to significantly increase its energy production and exports to Asian and other global markets. Today's agreement also results in Alberta avoiding significant increase to the federallymandated industrial carbon tax, saving Alberta's industry partners approximately $250 billion in compliance costs over the next two decades to 2050. Under the new carbon pricing agreement, the industrial carbon price will be substantially lower than the previous federal policy, which would have required carbon price of $170 per ton by 2030. The headline carbon price will be substantially rolled back. It will stay at $95 until the end of this year and then it will increase to $100 for the next three years and reach 130 per ton by 2035. This lower carbon pricing gives industry the time and certainty it needs to plan, invest, and deliver emissions reducing projects without undermining competitiveness. These milestones bring us significantly closer to building West Coast pipeline, expanding our access to global markets, and creating jobs and prosperity here in Alberta and across Canada. Building on the landmark agreement reached in November 2025, Alberta and Canada have taken major steps to reduce regulatory uncertainty, expand market access, and advance critical energy infrastructure projects. And this work included commitment from the federal government not to proceed with federal oil and gas emissions cap, bayance on the federal clean electricity regulations in Alberta, agreement to advance an indigenous co-owned oil pipeline to Asian markets, agreement on globally competitive industrial carbon pricing under Alberta's tier system, agreement in principle allowing Alberta to continue regulating methane under its existing system while achieving 75% reduction from 2014 levels. by 2035. Impact assessment agreement to streamline project reviews, reduce duplication and reinforce provincial jurisdiction, access to West Coast port, and removal of greenwashing provisions in the Competition Act. The bottom line is that we're close to making Canada global energy superpower at time when energy security has become top priority around the world. Getting West Coast pipeline built will unlock the enormous economic opportunities waiting for us on the other side of the Pacific. and it will position Canada as the supplier of choice for the world's energy needs today, tomorrow, and for decades to come. Both governments also remain committed to working together with the Oil Sands Alliance, formerly the Pathways Group of Companies, to advance the completion of the world's largest carbon capture utilization and storage infrastructure project. This has the potential to position Alberta as global leader in the development and implementation of large-scale emissions reduction infrastructure through carbon capture utilization and storage. At the same time, we are advancing the final submission of the West Coast pipeline to the major projects office by July 1st. We're also establishing an electricity working group with the federal government to explore new low emissions technologies including nuclear, geothermal, abated natural gas, wind, solar, and hydrogen. As this work advances, the governments of Alberta and Canada remain committed to respecting constitutionally protected rights, engaging in early, consistent, and meaningful consultation with First Nations, and working with indigenous communities to support opportunities for ownership and partnership. And we'll continue to work with the federal government to keep this momentum going so that we can supply reliable and secure energy to our trading partners and deliver lasting economic growth here in Canada. look forward to sharing more in the months ahead as we continue this critical work. Thank you. And for the media, I'm happy to take your questions and we'll go into our media Q&A now. We'll be taking one question and one follow-up. And please state your name and outlet before asking your question. We'll start off at the mics before going on to the phone lines. And we'll go to our first at the mic. go ahead and ask question. Hi, Premier. Matt's case, the Global Mail. so the federal government in Alberta have both talked about the need for investor confidence to get private proponent to build West Coast pipeline. At the same time, Alberta is pursuing an appeal in pursuit of having the courts allow vote to break apart the country and your government refers refuses to rule out using its power to call an independence referendum. How do you square fighting for secession question while providing investor confidence? Well, there's often off-topic questions. So, might ask our guests if you want to take seat, I'll call one of you up if you want to if we if we get some on topic questions. Yeah, sure. Just so you don't have to stand behind me making faces. Look, mean, support sovereignty within the United. That means something. That means Alberta should stay part of Canada and continue to pursue and support and enshrine our constitutionally in invested rights and also make sure that the federal government respects them. That's what today is about. It it's it's not just saying this is the way the federal government works so we just have to accept it. It's saying you know what the country can work better and it works better when we respect our equal areas of jurisdiction and we find areas of overlap. That's what I'm I've been doing since November. is what will keep on doing every single day to convince Albertans that Canada can work and it will work and it is working in the best interest not only of us but of also of Canada. The the issue regarding the court judgment and have to say there's sort of two judgments that came out at about the same time. One judgment was saying was against the citizens initiative act altogether saying it shouldn't proceed because all questions that could potentially be asked by the by citizens would be deemed in need of some kind of of of of consent and that was rejected. So that one came out because it was overly broad. So then it was followed up by this one that that that seems to put requirement on citizens initiative to do duty of of consultation and quite frankly don't even know how that would be possible. How how are citizens who want to put petition question forward supposed to comply with that? That effectively negates the citizen initiative act. That's why I've said it's anti-democratic and we think it's an error in law. So we want to preserve the right of citizens to be able to have broad latitude to ask these questions on whatever topic they choose and we will have to to have meeting with caucus and cabinet to figure out the particulars of the the one that has been struck down. But the the the judgment itself has much much broader implications for our citizens initiative process and we think that's the reason it needs to be challenged. Okay. Do do you think though that you can get private proponent behind pipeline if there is referendum on separation hanging over Alberta for who knows how long? Well, think that what we need to do is make sure that the separatist sentiment is not as high as it has been in the last year. When the Liberals got elected, separatist sentiment went up to 42%. In our most recent polling, we've seen that it's somewhere between 33 and 35%. So, it's coming down. historically, it's been under 20%. That's where I'd like it to be again. I'd like for us to have Albertans feel such confidence that Canada is working for them that that separatist sentiment goes back to to historically low levels. We're not quite there yet. There's few more things that we need to do. But think these kinds of agreements help to get us there and that's what need to to work towards. so at the moment think that we have pretty good deal that we're going to be able to celebrate. think this will go long way towards demonstrating that the new prime minister approaches the issue of cooperative federalism in very different way than the previous prime minister has for the last 10 years. Now may not be the deciding factor for everyone but it's going to believe convince few more people that Canada is worth fighting for and it's worth working towards. Do you think we're going to have to go to our next question. We're tight today. David Winnick Western Standard. Premier, do you think the carbon tax will make it harder to find private proponent for the pipeline? Well, everybody, guess maybe should clarify because people were accustomed to the retail carbon tax. This is not retail carbon tax. You will not see this on your diesel or gasoline or or or any of your fill-up bills. You will not see it on your home heating bill that the federal government got rid of with lot of pressure from us, other provinces, and of course the federal conservatives. But this is an industrial price that has been on on industrial emissions since 2007. We actually were the first ones to put it in place. It it got what we went to court and the court determined that the federal government has the right to set floor price. That's part of the overlapping jurisdiction that we have, but it does apply to those facilities that are emitting more than 100,000 tons of emissions per year. So just keep in mind that's where we believe we can make the the biggest impact on reducing emissions and also the biggest impact on on adopting new technology and what we found is that this mechanism where we reward those companies who do best available technology and we have companies who are lagging behind paying it it has led to an incredible amount of innovation. That's why we've kept it for the the past 20 years. So is it going to be too high? Well, can tell you 170 by 2030 was way too high, which is why we froze it this year. And we'll do some more ind industry consult consultation, but the early feedback we've got from the industry is that they believe that this slower ramp up is going to be manageable for the companies that are going to be exposed to it. Okay. And do you think if Ottawa had approved pipeline years ago, the independence movement would be where it's at now in terms of momentum? Well, can tell as said, mean, it it's it's it's vitally important that this deal was signed because think there's number of decisions the federal government made that ended up eroding confidence. And it's not it's not just about getting pipeline built. It was that they took away aspirationally of us ever getting another pipeline to be built ever again. because we do have Trans Mountain pipeline, we do have Coastal Gas Link which is expanding in natural gas, but essentially staring into future where not only we would never be able to build another pipeline, but we'd have to start shutting in our existing production, which is what several independent consultant reports said, by 2 million barrels day by 2035. And all of the impact that would have on our finances, on our taxes, on our ability to pay for services that it was that combination of packages. Same thing with the with the net zero power eggs. That may in fact be the the biggest thing that came out of our earlyouou and the the the the announcement you saw the prime minister make earlier in the week that natural gas, yes, has to be part of our electricity grid in order to be able to provide stability. 90% of our our daily use of of power typically comes from natural gas. And we've already paid billions of dollars to switch from coal. We know that solar, wind and batteries are not able to to continue fueling our continued growth. So that to me getting having that limitation was also causing some of the frustration. frankly, I've also mentioned to the prime minister, people are frustrated at immigration policy that took place under his predecessor. I'm glad to see that he's making some changes there. And lot of the separatist movement is being fueled by those who are law-abiding gun owners who are going to be made criminals by the existing federal firearms bans on guns that come into effect in October. So think that this will help lot towards group of folks who were disaffected because of economic issues. think some of the changes on immigration that we're going to be proposing in the fall will also help address some of the concerns. But still think there's some other outstanding issues and in particular the gun issue think is big one. Thanks David and we'll go to our next question. Hey Tim with CTV. Yesterday you were chatting about the court ruling the judge's ruling and you you kind of hinted that maybe the notwithstanding clause was on the table here. Constitutional lawyers say that's you know out of the question. so number one, why bring it up? And number two, what what are kind of your options if you do appeal and you lose? Well, the the Constitution does give rights to pro provinces and to the federal government. And think that there's some grounds to be able to to challenge the the court decision on this in particular. because my concern is that it's an overread and an overreach on the issue of duty to consult. Duty to consult as understand it has been project specific. It's you have particular project. it has particular impact on the adjacent bands when it comes to their hunting fishing and trapping rights maybe use of water and so there's very defined project that you have to do and you have defined duty to consult have no idea how the court would expect citizens group to be able to meet the duty to consult that that was just made up in in that judgment and so that's why it needs to be challenged is because otherwise it could potentially potentially negate our citizens initiative act and it could be reachin of the court on every single bill that we could ever pass that could ever possibly have an impact on First Nations. And that is pretty dramatic curtailment of provincial rights under the Constitution. So think would encourage you to look at it more broadly that when these court decisions by are are left unappealed, it can lead to consequences like we see in British Columbia where they thought that they were passing just statements of intent and cooperation and now their entire property rights and development regime is under uncertainty because of court decisions. So we don't want to go down that path in Alberta. We think the court is overreached here. think they've made an undec undemocratic decision that isn't valid in law. It's an error in law and that's why we're going to challenge it. You you've kind of downplayed the role of the courts here and just want to know at what point what ruling needs to come down, what appeal needs to be denied before you say that's enough or do we reach point where you say, "No, I'm ignoring this and and this referendum can go forward." Well, Supreme Courts are we we honor those rulings. and that's what think we have to understand that single judge appointed in by Justin Trudeau can't override what 700,000 people in this province have said they want. think that that's if you want to be democratic government and run democratic province, there has to be some difference of the court to the democratic process. just don't simply believe that an unelected judge should should be should should be able to to run rough shod over all of these democratic provisions, especially when we've been very clear as legislature that we wanted the Citizen Initiative Act to be very permissive. We understand that if it comes to point of implementation, there's duty on us as government in to make sure that Aboriginal rights are are are respected. But it it would be impossible for citizen group to be able to to meet that standard. And so that's why we think it needs to be challenged. Thanks. We have time for few more questions. We'll go to our next at the mic. Good afternoon, Premier. Jason Maros from CBC News. you were talking in your event earlier with Prime Minister Carney about how the carbon price was rolled back significantly. there are other concessions and other things. I'm wondering in the negotiations, what would you pinpoint as the concessions that Alberta made to reach this deal? Well, can tell you that even though we have carbon price, if if had my brothers on what it would be set at, it would probably be somewhere around $50 ton. because if you look at some of the work of Ross McKitrich, he has indicated you could have actually much lower carbon price and still send the signals to to investors about and create an incentive market where they would move more towards emissions. But those are the things that we have to negotiate. the Supreme Court made decision that the federal government has the right to set floor price and so we have to make sure that that floor price is negotiated price that that is going to have minimal impact on the investment climate. So would say that was pretty big concession on on our part the contracts for difference as well like there those are can can bear the potential of some downside. know the way they're supposed to work. So for instance, the way contracts for difference work in electricity is you guarantee the price is going to be 8 cents kilowatt hour and when it's above which it was for some time at 32 cents kilowatt hour then we get paid. If it's below as it is right now about 3 to 4 cents kilowatt hour then we have to pay and my understanding is we're paying about 100 million year because our our prices are low. So we know the perils of signing on to contracts for difference because it could go either way but we were able to limit both ours and Canada's liability on that. So think that was place where the prime minister felt very strongly we needed carbon markets that worked and that was an essential aspect of it and so we we came to negotiation on that but it wouldn't have been necessarily since we've been bitten on the before wouldn't have been my my preference to have those kinds of agreements but those are the kind of concessions you need to make. few weeks ago, you ruled out the option of using the referendum act to yourself as government put the independence question on the ballot for October 19th. That was before the Justice Leonard ruling. Now we have Jeffrey Wrath and Mitch Sylvester saying that you need to do this if you're interested in your own political preservation, self-preservation to stay on the job. Can you please walk us through your thoughts on at this point the downsides and upsides of the Alberta government putting forth referendum act question itself on independence? Well, have to have that conversation first with my caucus and cabinet and there is committee that is that's assessing the Forever Canada petition right now. So, it's bit premature for me to figure out what my caucus and cabinet might want to do. Let's hear your thinking on this. well, again, my thinking is that citizens should we should be very permissive and that citizens should have been allowed to put these questions forward and then depending on what the outcome is, that's when government acts. And so, we're still analyzing what the court judgment said. As you as mentioned, we are appealing it. We're waiting for the committee to do their work and I'll be having cabinet and caucus meeting next week. And so we'll be able to walk you through it at that time after I've I've talked to them. Thank you. We have time for one or two more questions. We'll go to next to the mic. I'm Felix from Radio Canada. how about the next few step? When can we expect an agreement with Pathways and consultation with the First Nations to begin? The engagement has already begun. There's higher standard when you move from engagement into consultation. But can tell you, Minister Rajan, our indigenous relations minister, she has an entire team from British Columbia that is advising her and she's done many trips to to meet with bands. think she's going again next week as are some other senior members of our team. And so we're we're getting very close to the July 1st deadline for submitting pipeline proposal. So we've got pretty good idea right now about what the most economic routes are. And when you know that route, then you're able to identify the bands that are going to be most impacted. And so we'll be working with them one-on-one to let them know what the economic benefits might be, what the equity ownership might look like based on some of the experience that we've had here. just heard Minister Sonni talk about the nine projects that we've underwritten and they in combination are going to provide 1.5 billion dollars worth of of economic benefit over their lifetime to the bands that have signed on to those. So, there's going to be substantial life-changing amounts of money potentially for from these kinds of agreements. So, we want to make sure that they understand that as they're as we're working with them through the consultation process, but the engagement's already begun and as soon as the project submission happens after July 1st, then that triggers formal consultation which will also begin in earnest. All right. And in the ongoing negoti negotiation with the BC, is there revenue sharing agreement with BC on the table? Well, think BC has some kind of toll on each barrel that goes through TMX. think you might have to talk with with the government of Canada and with BC about what that arrangement is, but think if there was any kind of economic benefit to British Columbia, it would probably model what they already do on TMX. Thank you. We have time for one last question. We're going to head to the phones. operator, could you put through our first caller, please? Your next question comes from the line of Jack Fel from the Canadian Press. Please go ahead. so as part of the agreement today, there's some kind of talk about renewable energy in Alberta making some commitments around it and specifically like facilitating more of it. Should we take this as like shift or even like an about face on wind and solar energy for your government? you know, on the on the moratorium and the the pristine viewscape protections from guess that was last year, even the year before. Well, there is no moratorum. it was six-month pause as we worked out the viewscape and agriculture first policy and and developed some parameters around it. And we've believe been approving about 2,700 megawatts year of solar and wind projects for each of the last three years. So, we are already have more installed solar and wind than any other province. We're at 38% installed. 23% generating power over the course of of year. But what we've said is we need responsible amount of wind and solar to come on. When when came in, we had zero projects for natural gas that provide the backup. You you you can't add wind, which only works 30% of the time, without having some backup. you can't add solar which only works 10% of the time without having backup. And so that was the net zero power eggs were impairing the success of our ability to bring those both on at the same time because our our natural gas producers our power providers were told that if they weren't 95% abated by 2035 there'd be the potential of jail time. So we weren't getting the the balance that we needed. So, we've always been supportive of having responsible amount of intermittent fuels come on, but we're moving to reliability market. And what that means is that there always has to be backup, whether that's water battery, an actual battery, or peaker plant or something else. But am particularly encouraged by geothermal. went and visited the Ever site when was in in in Germany where they are providing power heating to 36,000 homes and they're engaged with us on our our drilling accelerator so that they can get to depth think of 10,000 to 15,000 meters so that they can hit pocket that's hot enough to be able to provide secure power. So if they can do that then that and and master that then we can roll that kind of technology out not only all over Alberta but also all over the world. So we think geothermal is is is perhaps more consistent with our geology with our native talent around drilling and with our the expertise that we've already been able to develop. And it's also reliable power. So I'm I'm agnostic on on the type. They just have to be reliable and as long as they can fit into the into that model, you'll you'll see that we'll we'll be very encouraged by it. The big thing that the prime minister was interested in was nuclear and we've just finished our nuclear consultation. we've re headed by MLA Shantel Dong. we're we we either have or or will soon release the recommendations from that, but we re received very positive feedback through the consultation and figuring out how to bring that onto the grid is going to be something collectively that we'll work with between Saskatchewan and British Columbia with the enhancement of interies. So that that agreement is yet to come, but we've agreed to another working group that will establish that by January of 2027. And then you said bit earlier how you know this this agreement in the MOU as whole you know it's not going to completely take out the separatist movement and and yesterday the prime minister said he was asked you know will pipeline restore or kind of maintain national unity or was he building one to maintain national unity and he said no. my my question for you is do you think that Alberta Forever now will just actually have like kind of like this hardcore group of of of separatists and there's really nothing at all that anyone like any elected official can actually do to you know restore their faith as you say. Well, think that what people should take from the process that the prime minister and went through over the last six months is that that's how cooperative federalism should work is that if you have disagreement on policy about how you should proceed and especially if it's one that enters into provincial jurisdiction or significantly impacts our our resource development that that shouldn't be done unilaterally as it was done for the past 10 years with the previous Trudeau regime. think what saw over the past six months is that prime minister who maybe because he lived in Europe understands cooperative federalism understands that there's certain things that you do at the central level and there's certain things that you've got to let the province do and then there's other things that you got to get to table and and sort out and think that he even talked about cooperative federalism and and think this is demonstration of that. So what would expect is that as these issues arise hope there's not going to be whole lot more of them. I'd mentioned couple that are still causing some friction, but as those issues arise, would expect just from what I've seen out of the prime minister that that's how we would deal with them. And think that's what Canadians would expect. think that's what Albertans expect. think other provincial premers appreciate that kind of approach. And just wish that it hadn't got to this point. And just wish that this is the way that cooperative federalism had worked for the the previous 10 years because we might not have have seen that anger and frustration and despair build up the way it did. So we're we're trying to win people back decision by decision to understanding that the country can work and think this is good day for us to have done that. It's good day for Alberta and it's good day for Canada. Thank you. That'll conclude today's press conference. Thanks everyone. And you have been listening to the premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, speaking to reporters about an agreement that the Alberta government and Ottawa signed today. The prime minister in Calgary, who is also going to be speaking this hour, saying that the last 10 years under the previous Trudeau government has been extremely difficult. Today, we're turning corner. We're close to making Canada global and energy superpower. she was asked questions about Alberta separatism. She says she supports Alberta sovereignty within United Canada and that Alberta should stay in Canada, but she was critical of court judgment, court ruling just the other day against petition against an initiative by an Alberta separatism group to hold referendum on Alberta leaving the country calling that decision anti-democratic and error in law that there should be more difference to the people who signed those citizen initiatives, those petitions that you the court can't just run roughshod on the people. The CBC's Sam Samson has been following along and she joins us live from Edmonton. Sam, just some key takeaways for you from what we heard there. Well, let's start with exactly that, that court ruling that came down earlier this week. if you're watching at home and you're like, "What the heck? thought we were talking about pipelines and now we're talking about separation." It's all kind of wrapped up in one here as you heard from the premier. Though that court ruling by Justice Shaina Leonard earlier this week noted that Elections Alberta should not have given the separation movement the okay to start petition to get separation question on referendum because there was no consultation previously with First Nations. And she wrote in her decision that secession without consultation with First Nations could affect treaty rights. And so that petition has since been quashed. You heard the premier there say couple of times that she doesn't doesn't understand how citizens would be able to properly consult with First Nations. In fact, it would be the province's responsibility to do that consultation. So, just wanted to clear that up there initially. That's why we're talking about separation. That's why one of the first questions was how could you expect to get proponent if there's potential separation question hanging in the air? On the proponent note here, it's important to note there is still no private proponent for the potential pipeline that could break ground according to this agreement that was announced today next September, which means that Alberta is still the proponent on paper until private company says, "Sure, we'll sign up and we'll help pay for this." So, that is big question mark that lot of people that we've already spoken with about this agreement have, particularly about the new energy agreement here. as well you heard cooperative federalism in terms of the separation agreement. This pipeline announcement, the hope here, the plan essentially is being touted as way of this is how Canada should work. This is how we can make things better. And you heard the premier say it herself. She hopes that this actually tampers down the separation movement. She said that it was at an all-time high during the last Liberal government's being in power and now that she hopes that because these supporters of independence can see that Alberta is getting something here, pipeline potentially that maybe that movement will be calmed down little bit. last thing want to note here is of course first nations consultation came up here. The language is an indigenous co-owned pipeline to Asian markets. It's unclear what that means at that point. The premier said that engagement has happened, but formal consultation will be triggered once the province's application comes down and that deadline is July 1st. So, we will see what that actually looks like. Remember, consultation doesn't necessarily have to equal agreement and many different communities might have different opinions about this pipeline. We'll see what different communities have to say. Sam, appreciate your reporting. Thank you. That is the CBC's Samson live in Edmonton. want to bring in Marg McQuade Boyd in our Edmonton studio. She is senior adviser in council adviser with council public affairs. Before that, she served as Alberta's energy minister in Rachel Notley's NDP government. Mark, appreciate you taking the time. Thank you. Thank you. So, you were listening to the premier. What's your main takeaway from her remarks particularly in the question and answer portion of that? think it was great announcement today, not just for Alberta, but for all of Canada. And am glad to hear that it seems like there's lot of cooperation between our government and the federal government. And so I'm I'm overall excited and look forward to the plan in Jul on July 1. So So you think this is this is good day for Alberta. It's good day for Canada. Tell me why. well, it shows some progress. you know, as mentioned, there isn't proponent yet, but would suspect there's been lot of work going on both in the indigenous consultation space and and with industry. And today's announcement gives some certainty and durability to theou and now companies can go back and do the math and know what they're working with to see if it's economically viable for them to join in the project. What's your sense of that? Is it economically viable? We know now that it would be $130 per ton by 2040, you know, kind of going gradually up year-over-year. you know, guess that's for the industry to to answer, but think it's step in in the direction that we're willing, you know, the government governments are willing to work with industry to see what makes sense. and think you know some of the other things they announced like the 75% reduction in methane is good for people who are concerned about the environment. So it looks like whole package and and lot of pieces of the puzzle are coming together still lot of work to be done. are easy to sign but now the work begins to make it reality. What about potential route to carry oil to the coast? How has that discussion been evolving? it was all about it needing to be to the north coast. think that I've started to hear little bit of softening or suggestion that there could be other routes. I've heard the same and I've heard, you know, more than once people talking about maybe southern route, you know, maybe along TMX, which would make some sense because they've done lot of the work in TMX, lot of consultation. clearly people along that route are in favor of pipeline construction and that kind of thing. So it would make some sense to me that they maybe go south first. Mark, what do you make because it's all kind of tied together about what the what the premier had to say about the separatist movement about this court decision quashing this petition to hold referendum on separation because there wasn't proper consultation of First Nations. What do you make of of her response to that? Calling it anti-democratic saying there needs to be more deference to the people. The court can't run roughshod on the hundreds of thousands of citizens that signed these petitions whether to stay in Canada or to leave. well, I'm not sure I'm in agreement totally with with her rationale of of appealing it, but can highlight that indigenous consultation is key to any project going forward. So, not sure about how it fits in with the separatist so much, but it it's super important. It's the number one thing that has to get done if this project is going to see some progress down the road. Is this project is this pipeline important to national unity? Getting this pipeline built, is it important to national unity? believe it is. you know as you have remarked or other people have remarked over the last while our world has changed lot and we need to pay attention more to our energy security and this has really been highlighted the last year so think as said earlier it's not just good for Alberta but it's good for Canada in general and think it's huge step towards us having some energy sovereignty is it good for the environment because there are those that have been very critical about this not being good for for the environment that this is real pullback from some of the the carbon pricing schemes that the previous government had initiated. Well, think like anything there's tradeoffs and and some of the trade-offs were announced today. You know, the 75% reduction in methane some support. They haven't described what that would be to CCUs and in particular the Pathways Alliance. So, think it's going to be trade-off as in anything. you know, to say we're going to address some climate issues, but we also need to address economic issues and come up with durable set of policies that are going to serve us well economically in the future. Marg, thank you. Margqu Boyd is former Alberta energy minister. You're looking live again at Calgary. We're set to hear more from the prime minister following his announcement with Alberta Premier Daniel Smith. Mark Carney is expected to speak any minute now and answer questions from reporters. We'll bring you live coverage when that gets underway. Also ahead, we'll get analysis from CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton. That's all ahead here on CBC News Network. Here's live look at Calgary this hour. Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to take questions from reporters after signing deal with Alberta about next steps in their energy agreement. We will take you there live when the prime minister begins speaking. The two leaders agreed on new carbon pricing scheme, major Trudeau era policy that was key irritant for Alberta for many years. They have now cleared key hurdle that paves the way to new pipeline from the oil sands to the BC coast. But critics say it further erodess Canada's climate policy. Here's Carney and Smith speaking short time ago. It's an honor to be here with Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce major step forward in unlocking the enormous potential of Canadian energy. And I'm happy to share with Albertans that we'll be signing an agreement today that clearly sets out pathway to the construction of new oil pipeline to Asian markets, commencing as early as September 1st, 2027. At the same time, we're advancing the final submission to the west on the West Coast pipeline to the major projects office by July the 1st. Today's implementation agreement is comprehensive and it's interconnected. It covers amongst other things regulation, markets, methane, renewables, and carbon capture. It includes, as you just heard, can Alberta's commitment Alberta's commitment to submit comprehensive proposal for Bitamin pipeline to Asian markets to the Federal Major Projects Office by Canada Day by July 1st this year and Canada's commitment to pursue the designation of that proposal as project of national interest under the Building Canada Act by the 1st of October. Let's bring in the CBC's Rafi Bujukani. He joins us live from Ottawa. So Rafie, tell us more about what's in this agreement and what certainly sounds like an ambitious timeline. Indeed, Andrew. So there were those two dates we just heard the premier and the prime minister mentioned, July 1st for Alberta to submit their proposal, October 1st for Canada to designate it in the national interest. And then there's also September 2027, which is by which point we would expect to see groundbreaking for the construction of new pipeline. Couple of caveats, though. the idea that Canada would approve the project in the national interest hinges on meaningful consultation with first nations with indigenous groups and also continued talks with British Columbia the jurisdiction through which this pipeline would have to go through. there is some other stuff in the agreement as CBC News had reported earlier this week. Alberta and Ottawa are agreeing to raise the industrial carbon price to $130 ton by 2040. This is indeed an increase from what Alberta had frozen it to last year, which was 95 bucks. However, it is less ambitious target than what Carney's predecessor, Justin Trudeau, had set overall, which was $170 per ton and way sooner by 2030. Yeah. And interesting to hear the premier of Alberta saying if she had her way, it would be $50. so, you know, compromise, if you will, between the prime minister and the premier. How could this agreement play out in the months and years ahead? Rafie? Yeah, it's funny. Danielle Smith certainly called that concession that she had to make to get to pipeline. We know that there is, you know, little bit more momentum toward one, little bit more willingness in this country, but there is also still some opposition. We know for instance the Liberal caucus was briefed last night by ministers and officials about what would be in today's announcement. Now, it's not abnormal for governments to brief their caucuses about what's just ahead. However, will say, one can imagine there was little bit of caucus management going on there. As we know, there is some discontent among the more environmentally minded Liberal MPs. In fact, the kind of mini climate caucus is supposed to be meeting this afternoon to hash over some of these details with concerns that Canada may no longer meet its emissions reductions targets with these new goals. And then of course you have the First Nations that Alberta and Ottawa are committing to consult who have some environmental concerns. British Columbia has that as well. They previously talked about the lack of private sector proponent and that is still the case today. Alberta says we're the proponent and that they're looking for one for private sector company to step in to help them build this thing. But in the meantime things have changed in this country. there are folks actively arguing that this pipeline is the solution to economic uncertainty. Have listen. Times have changed and you know you have to be able to adapt and recognize what is in Canada's best interest and this absolutely is in Canada's best interest. mean it's it's extraordinary if you ask anybody who is in the international sphere or working in in global affairs the number of countries including so many of Canada's allies who that are knocking on our door saying we need more of Canada's energy and that means oil and gas. We're starting to see some political reaction from opposition parties. The federal conservative leader PV has not posted his thoughts yet, but we've heard from one of his MPs, Shannon Stup, saying, "Look, there is still no private sector proponent, and Mark Carney's behind on his promise to get this thing done. we're seeing post from NDP leader Avi Lewis. We'll put that up on your screen as read it to you in part. He says, "By gutting carbon pricing to the point of irrelevance, it has dismantled the last federal climate measure standing. We now have federal government no longer. Sorry, should wrap you up? Is he starting to speak? Okay. Listen to the prime minister in Calgary. May 24, but the long weekend. It's good to see the snow was coming in Calgary. It's some things some things never change as recall. and want to thank my parliamentary colleagues, Minister Olesvski, Matt Generu, and Cory Hogan, joining us here today, MPs for Alberta, and, this is great day. it's great day for Alberta. It's great day for Canada. but want to, just explain for moment before take your questions. why we're here. because none of this and lot of great things are going to happen, but none of this is going to happen without skilled workers. and we're here at UA496 union that represents has has more than 2,000 members, 2,000 members. of course the the journeymen, the pipe fitters, the plumbers, of course and other unions, electricians, carpenters, others across this great country are going to build Canada strong. And one of the things that the government the federal government has been focused on is the scale of what we're building and what we're going to build is going to mean that we need literally hundreds of thousands of more skilled trades people. and so few weeks ago we announced $6 billion program to flow through the unions to flow through the technical colleges say for example here in Calgary so that we can train more apprenticeships so that those individuals who make that decision can flow seamlessly through that they're supported financially as they go through so they get completion bonuses when they finish and so they can get out directly onto the job sites. that's what's going to help build this country. and when you look at just even in the last few days, what we've announced is the scale of those new job opportunities. Yesterday we announced electricity strategy. The federal government going out to consult on this, working with the provinces, other stakeholders, doubling the size of our electricity grid over the course of the next couple of decades. That's hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be created just in the process of building that. Of course, many more in the businesses that use that power. And then today with the accord the implementation agreement with Alberta, the government of Canada 50,000 jobs across wide range of activities doubling the grid here building an entirely new industry in carbon capture building lowcarbon pipeline to Asia which makes the country more independent, more resilient, more sustainable. this is Canada working. This is Canon Alberta working together brighter future for those apprentices in the other room. those hope if you're watching this who are thinking about going in the trades, thinking about coming becoming engineers, thinking of working building this great country, this great province, now is the time to sign up because we are going to build this country strong. We're building it strong for all. this is great day for my province of Alberta and for Canada we said today Premier Smith and myself with our colleagues that Canada works Canada works for all Canadians across the country for all Albertans and as part of the process We will be creating thousands and thousands of good jobs and good careers for Canadians. On that note, thank you. Good for Prime Minister. Emigraaney from the Globe and Mail. want to ask you, you just said it's Canada working, but what about BC consultation specifically around the pipeline? mean, you're looking at conditions document September 27 first or potentially 2033. That's extremely quick. So, how are you going to get them on site and conduct sufficient consultations when you don't even have route or anything till October? Well, thank you. Thank you for the question and had regular speak with Premier EIE. he and had good conversation yesterday about range of subjects including aspects of what we announced today. I'm looking forward actually will be seeing the premier in Vancouver next week. and we will address series of issues directly in the interests of British Columbia as well as issues in partnership with the government of Canada, government of Alberta. if aspects of this or as aspects of this agreement move forward. So how do we how do we do it which was your question. We do it as we did here through cooperation, through open dialogue, working together, making sure as said in my remarks standing alongside Premier Smith few hours ago that the people of British Columbia benefit from projects that touch them. And of course before all of that and fundamentally is we respect and fully fulfill our responsibilities for free prior informed consent standard consultations with indigenous partners. Thanks. Next question. Robert Tuttle Bloomberg. just wanted to ask you the document says Canada will update its federal carbon pricing benchmarks to ensure it's consistent with the Alberta agreement. Yeah. So, does that mean that the the timeline and pricing will apply to all provinces as well? The rest of the Yeah. Thank you, Robert. it's an important question and in essence yes is the is the short answer. Obviously, we we consult with the provinces as part of that process that process of indication to the provinces has has begun with prior just prior to the announcement of the actual agreement. and we'll consult with the provinces and there'll be consistency with the intention of having consistency across in terms of the federal as you know but the federal backs stop for others just to be clear they're very different structures of carbon markets across the country and Alberta's is unique this tier market is it's called is unique in that it's intended to be fully functioning market think one of the things would take away from today's agreement there's lot of aspects to the changes of the car market is that this is to make that market fully function to function as market trading price to move and in order to do that we need to move and this will be my last part of my answer move through period of absorbing an excess of credits you know over the course of the next several years and then move into that that market. Thank you. Hi Amanda Stevenson Reuters. are you completely confident that private sector proponent exists for this pipeline? And and if so, when would you expect to see commercial open season or some other formal expression of interest from the private sector? So thank you. that that first first point is just in terms of the dynamics here is of course Alberta is the one proposing the pipeline or bringing forward private proponent for the pipeline. So, that's that's process that's underway with them. will leave it more to them to be more explicit in terms of the answer, but certainly their expectation and and it shows in terms of the effort that's been put into the agreement, the specificity around the agreement, the timelines for the agreement, the expectation is that that will be the case. and and then what follows from that is there's sequencing regulatory well there's consultation sequencing with indigenous peoples. There's work with the province of British Columbia moving through those and moving to that October date. And just want to be very clear to everyone. You have moving towards designation if various things are met designation by the major project office as nation building project. But then there's process of consultation to determine the conditions around that project as well. And to answer your question, through all of that, private proponent can be building out the the open season, if you will, the backs stop of of the barrels associated with that. Okay. Adam McK with Global News in Calgary. If could get response in English and for our friends in French as well, if you were still in the private sector, Prime Minister, would you invest in this pipeline given the uncertainty around the separation referendum and its dependence on pathways? That's good question. And first of all, want to thank you for asking your question in both official languages. But basically, this is matter to be determined by people in the private sector. When was next to Premier Smith this morning, we were saying that we would like to see this agreement between Alberta and Canada lead to Canada that works, where the rules are clear and predictable, where we can create true carbon market and major opportunities. when it comes to energy, low emission energy, low cost energy, and lowrisk energy. will switch to English and I'll start where ended. if you look at the older the sorry the overall picture and see this in when when meet people in in Asia, leaders in Asia, business people in Asia on behalf of Canada. how are we viewed? We are viewed as reliable country in world that's anything but. We're viewed as country that when we sign something, we honor it. We're viewed as country that is now on the move. the country with ambition, with confidence moving forward, country that intends to build big. We're viewed as country that is both an energy superpower and believes in addressing climate change. And so the ability to combine all of that is very very attractive to to Asian partners. Now another component of sorry just in the translation but of my my answer but it's it's fundamental to your question is what does today's accord or implementation agreement as it's called what is what does it tell us it's that the country works the government of Canada the government of Alberta coming together challenging issues but coming together with common solution country with clear rules predictable rules carbon markets that's going to function contracts for differences and other support and incentive mechanisms that are put in place and it's moving forward. So all of that if were in the private sector and I'm never going to be in the private sector again. but if were those are the that's those are the components that get you interested and think there'll be lot of interest here. Would you answer that question about if you were in the private sector? Well, already answered partly in French. Okay. Cormarmac Mcwin with City News. I'm wondering if you could tell us what in terms of figures are the actual emissions reductions you expect out of today's deal. And then what is your message to environmental groups who have long list of releases right now calling this deal today betrayal, bulldozing of environmental protections, gutting major climate tool, harming our future, and abandoning international commitments. and putting net zero by 2050 firmly out of reach. well, first let me start at the end and let me go through it. what you had today, what we have today is an agreement between the government of Canada and the government of Alberta committing to net zero 2050. Both of us committing to net zero 2050. Not committing in speech, not committing rhetorically, committing with series of investments and commitments and market frameworks that are going to move the province, going to move the country towards low emission and and to net zero. net zero the the environment respects or is function of emissions. It's it's physics. It's what's actually happens. And in order to change what actually happens, you have to go out in that room. You have to get some of those apprentices when they get their red seal trades. You have to go to job site. You have to build things like the oil sands lines pathways project which is going to take 16 megat tons of carbon out of the atmosphere every year. equivalent of 90% of the cars coming off the road in in Alberta every year. Once you take 90% off, you can't take another But you get the point. the it's moving to carbon market that functions. Let's put this in context. Before we started these negotiations, before theou the carbon price trading in the tier market was $20. Okay. not the 95 now $110 of the headline price $20. That was the actual price. That's the actual price that determines the investment decision of businesses. now what are we doing? We're putting in place frameworks changing the way the market works floor price contracts for differences. skin in the game from the government of Alberta, skin in the game from the government of Canada so that we have functioning market. We have an effective price 20 240 that's 6 and half times that price that it was before the MOU. I'll tell you something else which is that the fact of theou fact that we're making progress the fact that the government of Alberta the government of Canada are both committed to developing real carbon market has moved the carbon price up. It's $40 now. Right. It's not this is not just correlation. It's actually consistent with the market moving forward. So when you look at the and and I'll give you one last Cormack one last thing in answer your question which is that the pipeline to Asia as we know the the process of of of bringing oil out of the oil sands process other processes and shipping creates emissions so-called scope one scope two emissions we this deal more than compensates for those emissions send that negative on the thing. That's how you make progress. I've been an environmentalist you know my career UN special envoy on climate action. Those last two words, climate action. This is climate action. This is investment. This is moving forward. We're just coming out of time. So we'll do question here and then one question in French. Hi Prime Minister Mark Fani with CTV Calgary. chiefs from Sturgeon Lake Cre Nation and Mckissu Cree First Nation. They put up an open letter today. They say Ottawa has failed to respond to their concerns about Alberta separatism and treaty rights. Just wondering what's your response to their call for the federal government to more forcefully defend Treaty number eight and national unity as well. Well, I'd say couple of things. Obviously, we fully respect treaty rights and and with respect to to today's announcement and the aspects of today's announcement underscore our commitment for free, prior informed consent, full consultations on all aspects associated and more than that too, I'll get to your question, but more than that which is economic participation, proper and full economic participation including ownership that the federal government would would facilitate. So that's first just in terms of this in terms of in terms of the referendum if not news you it would have been reported on CTV as well as all other outlets the legal challenge we were aware of the legal challenge with respect to the treaty treaty rights that had been brought including by sturgeon and and and and that we you know that process unfolded as it is there's subsequent the government of Alberta has indicated intention to appeal there subsequent determinations we and and I'm as prime minister I'm very conscious of respecting legal processes particularly those that are underway. when there is under the clarity act referendum around separation, we as parliamentarians have direct responsibility and we have responsibility to judge the clarity of of of the question that meets those standards and other standards. think what is what is crucial is that all rights are respected through this process any process any democratic process the right to privacy indigenous rights clarity of the the question and full understanding of the federation but what today is about today is about Canada working cooperative federalism coming together making an agreement moving forward creating better future for our kids and grandkids including very much strongly going to stress this including with respect to the environment because this is climate action alongside providing energy security and bright future for our kids capture project. So are you saying that without private proponent there will be no pipeline? Well, first of all, want to repeat that there will be no pipeline without Pathways. And as said few hours ago, all of this is connected, all the aspects of this agreement are connected. methane reductions, changes to the carbon market to create market that works and the contracts for difference. megaton. We're talking about 75 megat tons only in the contracts for difference and change in the market for renewables in Alberta. So these are major changes but as say everything is connected and including the fact that there needs to be prooment proponent private proponent And that is the responsibility of the province of Alberta English. In English, everything's connected. The question was specifically about private sector proponent. and that's the responsibility of the province of Alberta. the point was making is that because the introduction of the question raised the connection between pathways and and the pipeline and it's been clear from the start as as requirement that no pathways no pipeline and and and that's very clear in the agreement. But think there's more fundamental point which we agree on to be clear. this is this is Alberta and Canada coming together. It's about having carbon market that functions. So that aspect of the agreement. It's about the methane reductions. It's about series of changes in the renewable market here which will help that come in as compliment. It includes the changes to the clean proposed changes to the clean electricity regulations which which are referenced and all of which puts together package and I'm will repeat in French if you wish. puts together package that creates opportunity, creates energy security, reduces emissions, and is affordable for Albertans and Canadians. Affordable today and affordable tomorrow. So everything has to has to fit together and and and and the combination here does. which is why we're very proud to to have this agreement and we will do everything we to implement it. And finally in French, ultimately this is question of affordability for Canadians, all the changes, the emissions targets and the changes that are being proposed to regulations. All of that will create reliable energy transition and one that is affordable. Thank you very much. Prime Minister Mark Carney answering questions from reporters on this new agreement, this climate and energy agreement between the government of Canada and the government of Alberta, saying it's great day for Canada. also talking about British Columbia, how he'll be going to meet with the premier of British Columbia next week because this pipeline will go through British Columbia to the west coast. he said this agreement tells us that the country works. He also said this is climate action. he talked little bit about Alberta separatism as well and he said that that the standards of the clarity act will be important to be met making sure the question is clear if there is referendum that privacy rights are expected indigenous rights are expected as well and then he said at the end getting back to some of the environmental concerns that people have raised he said no no pipeline without pathways and that is carbon capture and storage plan project. The CBC's Rafi Buja Canyon has been listening and joins me now from Ottawa. So Rafi, some takeaways for you. thought it was funny when he, you know, doubled down on how they will meet this net zero by 2050 goal and he said, you know, it's goal. It's not just rhetoric. It's not just speech. And it almost felt like little bit of veiled shot at at his own predecessor, Justin Trudeau, who had set that goal in the first place. But of course there have been critiques that Canada was not doing enough toward reaching that target and and might be interesting to for the viewers who who are catching up to everything going on today to highlight why Carney is facing these concerns today. And that's because with the agreement with Alberta now in place, they have moved the they've raised the industrial carbon price to $130 ton, but they have moved that to 2040 and under his predecessors policies, that would have been way sooner, 2030, and it would have been higher amount, $170. some other stuff that stood out to me, Carney was fielding questions about, you know, if he were private sector proponent, would he back this project? And he answered that one by saying, well, you know, Canada has this reputation for being good on its word essentially, right? He said, when we sign something, we mean it. and that should provide certainty to private sector proponents. He he didn't quite say what he would do, but you can sort of read between the lines to to to imagine what what he meant by saying that. and yes, he fielded questions about Alberta separatism and if the federal government is doing enough to quell that. thought there was an interesting parallel there with Danielle Smith. She was asked that question too and about what her government is doing because of course it's appealing this judgment against the recent referendum and she said that you know this very project is way of uniting Canadians. don't know that heard Mark Carney go quite that far in his response, but as you noted, he did talk about how it's important for Ottawa to make sure that everyone's rights, first nations treaty rights are respected in this process. And and Rafie, as we've been speaking, the premier of British Columbia has reacted to this. so I'm just going to read this and you know, we'll see where this goes. But this is statement from the premier David Eie on the MLOU between Alberta and Ottawa. As country, it's time to stop rewarding bad behavior. It cannot be the case that the projects that get prioritized in Canada are those where premier threatens to leave the country. So Rafi, the interesting kind of reaction from David Heie. He is meeting with the prime minister next week. But clearly you know national unity can be challenging and and there you go. He's he's clearly wanting to set the tone for that meeting, right? Like imagine that statement was drafted knowing full well that that there is this meeting in few days. remember last year at the premier's meeting in Saskatoon lot of people were remarking how David Eie did not show up. He sent his environment minister and that was bit of symbol, right? And and the environment minister was the one who said, yeah, there's no private sector proponent for this, so why are we talking about it? And mean, here here we are now year later and there is still no private sector proponent for it. Though the prime minister and the premier seems certain that that will happen though Carney also said, you know, that is Alberta's responsibility. So much to watch for, Rafie. Another busy Friday. Every day is busy. Rafi, thank you. CBC's Rafi Bujukanyan live in Ottawa. The federal government's handling of natural resources remains central issue for Alberta's separatist movement. Last hour, Danielle Smith said she hopes agreements like today's will convince Albertans that the country is worth fighting for. At the same time, her government is fighting court ruling that quashes separation petition. And the CBC's Trisha Kindleman joins us now with more on that. And so Trisha, what more did we hear from Danielle Smith? That's right. You and Rafi sort of touched on how Mark Carney reiterated that the strength of united Canada is really what we need to sort of be leaning into at this moment. Danielle Smith was also asked about this separatism question right out of the gate. It was the first question posed to her after she made her statement. now she says it's not about quashing the separatism movement, but finding ways to make people want to stay in the country, saying that separatism sentiment has been up and down in Alberta for long time, but it has spiked recently. Here's more from her. think that what we need to do is make sure that the separatist sentiment is not as high as it has been in the last year. When the Liberals got elected, separatist sentiment went up to 42%. In our most recent polling, we've seen that it's somewhere between 33 and 35%. So, it's coming down. historically, it's been under 20%. That's where I'd like it to be again. I'd like for us to have Albertans feel such confidence that Canada is working for them that that separatist sentiment goes back to to historically low levels. We're not quite there yet. There's few more things that we need to do. But think these kinds of agreements help to get us there and that's what need to to work towards. So this agreement doing lot of heavy lifting in lot of ways today. Now, we know that earlier this week, Alberta's chief electoral officer accepted court ruling which overturned his decision to authorize an Alberta group to gather signatures for that proposed independence referendum. We've heard lot about the need to consult with First Nations around today's agreement. That's also sort of what hinged on this overturning earlier this week. Now, there was one of the First Nations group in Alberta who reacted to the pause on this separatist movement earlier this week. the denata first nation chief spoke out saying that Alberta's separation from Canada would have deep profound impacts on the den first nations treaty. Danielle Smith should show she respects the rights of First Nations and the court's decision to stop any further talk or appeal and support for separation. So again, that question lingering in the air as we continue to find out more about this deal and reaction to it. We'll continue to sort of follow this vein of things in there for you today. Andrew, lots of reaction to follow. Trisha, thank you. CBC's Trisha Kindleman. More on that breaking news from Calgary. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Daniel Smith have signed significant new carbon pricing deal. The agreement is seen as major step towards building new pipeline to the BC coast. But we've heard from the premier of British Columbia he's not happy with today's developments. Both the prime minister and Danielle Smith say this is good day for Canada and good day for Alberta and sends message that Canada and Alberta are serious about expanding oil market access. We'll have much more on our top story right here on CBC News Network.