Alberta Premier Smith meets Prime Minister Trudeau; awkward handshake ensues

Common ground is what Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wants after a brief meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa Tuesday, which also featured a very awkward handshake.

Smith and Trudeau met to discuss shared aspirations and concerns over pending federal legislation aimed at helping Canadian workers adapt to the global move to increasing reliance on renewable energy.

The short meeting began with Trudeau reaching down to shake hands, with Smith offering a hesitant palm-down hand in return, prompting Trudeau to take it and hold it in place with his thumb on top as the cameras clicked and whirred.

After the photo opportunity was complete, the two gave brief statements about their discussions.

“We’ll also talk about Albertans and how we can make sure we’re supporting them and how certain energy workers and workers, in general, have been extraordinarily important for the success of Canada over many, many decades. We need to make sure they continue to be strong into the future as well,” Trudeau said.

Smith says the two can find “common interests” in the meeting that will delve into her concerns regarding “Just Transition” and other areas in the energy sector.

“I did write a letter to the prime minister a couple of weeks ago, expressing concern about what’s going on the major initiatives that have been announced. Without much consultation with Alberta, that is said to have a huge impact on our province,” Smith said.

---

Related Stories:

• Alberta Premier Danielle Smith opposes assisted dying expansion as Ottawa eyes delay

• Alberta Justice spokespeople deliver duelling statements on prosecutor email review

• Oilsands execs say a ‘just transition’ isn’t a worry – it’s their next big ‘boom’

---

Smith, in Ottawa with other premiers for talks on health-care funding, faces an election this spring after successfully harnessing party anger with Trudeau to win the UCP leadership race to become premier.

She has disparaged Trudeau’s government as not a true national government and passed controversial legislation granting her government power to direct provincial agencies to ignore federal laws.

She has accused Trudeau of trying to decimate Alberta’s oil and gas industry with his green transition legislation, but now says she wants to at least try to work collaboratively.

“With any luck, we’ll find some common ground on some of those issues today, because I think it’s going to be important for all of Alberta and for all Canada that we need to find common ground,” Smith said.

“The (promised federal) Just Transition legislation gives the impression that the energy sector is going to be phased out. It’s not going to be phased out.

“We’re transforming away from high-intensity emissions to lower emissions and I think we have some shared priorities on that.”

Smith said she’s also concerned about the proposed emissions cap on oil and gas emissions.

“We’ve said very clearly that an aggressive emissions cap such as was initially proposed would really be a production cap because there isn’t a feasible way for us to achieve that within eight years.”

Trudeau nodded in agreement that the solution lies in collaboration.