Kinew, Smith score points by jousting over referendum: observer

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called out Premier Wab Kinew after he publicly criticized her for calling a referendum on Alberta’s place in Canada without first consulting First Nations.

“I would say rather than lecturing Albertans about what they should and should not do — and should believe and shouldn’t — I would like to see other premiers give – as I am – reasons to feel confident in the western partnership and reasons to feel confidence in Canada,” Smith said during her weekly open-line radio show on the weekend.

“I think that the best thing that those premiers could do is work with us on getting pipelines built,” Smith said before reminding listeners that unlike Alberta, Manitoba is a “have-not” province that relies on equalization payments from “have” provinces such as hers.

“I know that Premier Kinew has said that he wants to get a Churchill pipeline built,” the Alberta premier said on the Your Province, Your Premier broadcast.

“He’s said, ‘move a few Alberta barrels.’ I think that’s a really good message. He wants to talk about LNG (liquefied natural gas) export, which would also benefit us, and it would also benefit him because if he had new sources of revenue, it would reduce Manitoba’s reliance on equalization. They get about $5 billion a year in equalization payments,” Smith said.

Prof. Christopher Adams, of the University of Manitoba political studies department, said it’s not surprising Smith clapped back at Kinew after he criticized her at the western premiers meeting last week in Kananaskis, Alta.

“She’s smart to make that reply and also to not have Wab Kinew having the last word,” Adams said Monday.

At a May 26 news conference with the western premiers, Smith said a judge had erred in ruling that her government neglected its duty to consult with First Nations before announcing a referendum asking Albertans if they want to stay in Canada or have a referendum on leaving it. The populist premier has repeatedly said that more than 700,000 Albertans have signed petitions calling for a sovereignty vote.

Smith said it’s a mistake to expect consultations to be done in relation to citizen-initiated petitions calling for a referendum, which prompted Kinew to speak up.

“That is not correct, a lot of what you just said there, Premier Smith,” Kinew said. “It is not up to the petition gatherers to fulfil the duty to consult.

“It is up to you, as the Alberta government, to fulfil the duty to consult,” the Manitoba premier said, drawing national headlines. He called for national unity and asked for a delay in holding a referendum for a year or two so that some pipelines could get built.

Adams said he thinks Kinew said what many Manitobans think about national unity.

“You look at the polling data and the vast majority of Canadians want Alberta not to separate,” he said.

“They see it as a threat to the survival of this country.

Even in Alberta, the polls are showing — unless you’re a United Conservative Party member — supporters of other parties are very, very much against separatism,” Adams said.

“Wab Kinew doesn’t lose anything by standing up on this issue,” the adjunct political studies professor said.

“He’s usually above 50 per cent in favourability ratings in Manitoba, and it’s hard to believe that he could go much higher,” he said.

In March, a Free Press-Probe Research poll of Manitobans showed the NDP and Kinew — the most popular premier in the country according to national polls — have the support of 60 per cent of Winnipeggers, up a hair from 59 per cent in December.

“He’s solidifying his reputation both within Manitoba and nationally,” Adams said. “But I don’t see him climbing the ladder any further in the polling numbers,” he said.

“I think he’s speaking straight from his beliefs. Even if he thought that he’d lose a little bit of popularity, I think he would still speak his mind on these issues,” Adams said.

Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan said Smith is right to point out that Manitoba is a “have-not” province.

“It will continue to be that way under the NDP, where we are getting a historic, record-high level of federal transfer payments,” Khan said Monday. “That’s how Wab Kinew has run this province.”

Khan noted that Kinew didn’t sign a memorandum of understanding last summer with Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan to bring critical minerals and Canadian oil and gas to new markets. In the fall, Kinew set a target for Manitoba to become a self-sustaining “have” province by 2040 that no longer relies on federal equalization payments.

More recently, Kinew has talked about Churchill having an LNG terminal by 2030, which Khan dismissed, saying the construction of a pipeline to the port would take a minimum of seven to 10 years.

“It’s all fake announcements,” the PC leader said.

Kinew was not made available for an interview Monday.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca