How About Canada ‘Carving Out’ Alberta As A ‘51st State’ Of Trump’s U.S.A.

Premier Danielle Smith Could Be Sworn In As the New State of Alberta’s First Governor And Most Of Her Subjects, Given Her Popularity in the Province, Would Probably Love It.

A News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter/publisher Doug Draper

Posted January 17^th, 2025 on Niagara At Large

Danielle Smith, putting the interests of carbon-polluting oil industries over the greater interests of her country

At a time when it has never been more important for Canada’s leaders to stand together against threats to our country’s sovereignty and economy voiced by incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has chosen to side with the interests of her corporate masters in the carbon fuel industry over those of her our country.

Not so surprisingly, Smith, who has brandished words about Alberta remaining  “sovereign” from the rest of the country before, is insisting that the carbon-polluting tar sands operations in her province should be exempt from any tariff war Canada may be forced to engage in if Trump follows through with sweeping 25 percent tariffs on products entering his country from north of the border.

Danielle Smith with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Logo in Florida earlier this January

Smith, who also travelled down to Trump’s Mar-a-Logo palace earlier this January for what, from the photo shoots, looked like a very cordial meeting with the strongman, is  (as if the date of this posting) the only leader of any province or territory to withhold her signature  from  a “Team Canada” plan for dealing with any MAGA-related assaults on our security.

What is more, she has had the audacity to say that the rest of the country has no business doing anything or having any kind of say when it comes to petro-chemical interests in her province.

Interestingly enough, there is no record of Smith telling the rest of Canada to back off  when it comes to the countless tens-of-millions  of tax dollars  flowing into Alberta to help cover the damage and destruction caused by the ever-more-frequent, climate-related wildfires plaguing her province in recent years.

The charred remains of property from one of many wildfires that have plagued the Fort McMurray, Alberta region in recent years. Tax dollars from across Canada have always helped cover the cost of addressing these disasters with no objection from the prorvince’s premier, Danielle Smtih..

More than that, there is no record of Smith saying ‘stay out of Alberta’s business when it came to taxpayers across the rest of Canada  paying more than $30 billion to construct a Trans Mountain pipeline to transport crude from Alberta’s tar pits to ports on west coast for exportation.

Indeed, if our outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had more courage, he should have given all those billions of dollars of our money to Smith to invest in new jobs in what could possibly have been booming renewable energy industries in that province. Instead, Smith last year imposed a moratorium on renewable energy projects

There is speculation that that during her trip to Trump’s Florida place she and the president-to-be may have cut a deal to exempt oil products from his tariffs – thus sending a message to Trump that he can play and win a game of divide and rule with our country if he pushes hard enough.

Maybe Canada would be better off if Alberta Premier just galloped off to Trumpland and stayed there.

If that’s the way it is going to be, maybe the rest of Canada would be better off if Smith negotiated a deal with Trump to have Alberta join the United States. Then she – never mind Canada’s prime minster – could become governor of the 51st State.

For starters, I am sure that Smith and Kristi Noem, a fellow  cowgirl and now former governor of the nearby State of South Dakota who bragged about shooting her puppy in a recent memoir and who has been nominated to serve as Trump’s Secretary of Homeland Security, would get along just fine.

As for everyday Albertans, in any scenario where their province becomes part of the United States, the day may come when they miss – as imperfect as they are – the universal health care system and other common good services and safeguards Canada has to offer, however “broken” Smith and her right-wing pal Pierre Poilievre – that ranting, sloganeering leader of the federal Conservative Party – want you to believe them to be.

To read a related story, click on – https://globalnews.ca/news/10955870/trump-tariffs-danielle-smith/

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