Notley in campaign mode

Premier Rachel Notley delivered a campaign-style speech to a group of cheering supporters at an NDP Provincial Council meeting in Edmonton Saturday morning.

Featuring several jabs directed at United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, it gave a glimpse of what could turn out to be a feisty spring session beginning Thursday.

Most of the speech was directed toward the NDP’s record and the plan going forward, but Notley told reporters afterward it’s important to highlight the difference between her party and its plans, and those of the UCP.

“This is a speech to a political event and that’s the way she rolls,” she said with a laugh.

Notley told supporters that, despite the dreary weather, things in Alberta are looking brighter.

She pointed to Finance Minister Joe Ceci’s third-quarter fiscal update, which was released last week and forecasts lower unemployment, economic growth and a $1.4-billion drop in the deficit.

“But there is more work to be done,” she said.

She promised her government would continue to create jobs and diversify the economy. That will put all Albertans — the vulnerable and the wealthy — on the path to recovery, she said.

That also means keeping a close eye on what is going on with British Columbia and the Trans Mountain pipeline.

The decades-long failure of Canada to build a new pipeline to the West Coast and diversify the export markets is costing everyone, she said.

Notley also said her government wants to make sure it builds an economy to last, and accused the UCP and Kenney of wanting to give tax breaks to the rich, privatize health care and make education expensive.

“Jason — the 1990s are calling,” she said. “They want their failed ideas back.”

She also took a jab at former UCP MLA Derek Fildebrandt, who has been banished from the party.

“Brad Wall banned Alberta licence plates — we fought back ... and Alberta won,” she said. “B.C. tried to ban our oil — we fought back ... and Alberta won. And Jason Kenney banned Derek Fildebrandt — no one fought back ... and Alberta won again,” she said to laughter.

Notley said her government will run in the 2019 provincial election on its record of fuelling the economy and job creation.

EMMA GRANEY Alberta Premier Rachel Notley delivers a speech in front of a crowd of cheering supporters at the NDP Provincial Council meeting at La Cite Francophone in Edmonton on Saturday.