‘I want to make you happy,’ Trudeau’s Prairie envoy tells Calgary crowd
CALGARY – The federal government’s special representative for the Prairies says he is committed to building trust in Alberta, even as he recognizes that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals face significant anger and disapproval in the province.
Jim Carr, the Winnipeg MP who served in Trudeau’s cabinet for four years, made his first visit to Calgary in his new role on Tuesday.
Speaking at a luncheon hosted by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Carr told hundreds of business leaders at the Palliser Hotel that he was under no illusions after the federal Liberals were shut out of Alberta in October’s election.
“I know that my party and my government is not popular here. I mean, you don’t have to be a genius to figure that out,” Carr said.
“The reason that we have this disconnect is that we’re not listening to each other, and me and the government of Canada have to do a much better job.”
After seeing many Albertans lose their jobs amid a downturn in the oil and gas sector over the past few years, Carr assured the audience that “the fear and the anxiety of this moment is well understood” in Ottawa and that part of his mandate is “looking for common ground.”
“What we offer is partnership to look at the resources we have, natural and human, together to build a stronger Alberta economy in a united Canada,” said Carr, who added he hoped to be in Alberta “often” to speak with political leaders, as well as those in the business sector.
“I want to make you happy,” he said, when asked about his priorities.
“The motivation is to make certain that Albertans feel as if they have avenues into the heart of government, that we’re attentive and that it’s not just a matter of listening . . . It’s also that there are tangible and measurable results.”
Carr said the federal government remains committed to both the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project and having meaningful consultation with Indigenous peoples.
Asked about the Alberta government’s Fair Deal Panel, which is studying ways Alberta can be more independent of the federal government, Carr said Ottawa is open to reforming federal policies and programs to try to stimulate the provincial economy.
“If a federation is stagnant and unwilling to change, then it becomes brittle and loses the support of people in these regions,” he said.
He noted that requests from Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney remain high on his to-do list, but that “no premier is going to get every single item on an agenda.”
“Neither is any single mayor,” Carr said.
“The government of Canada has to factor in competing demands and make decisions that are in the national interest.”
Nenshi said both Carr and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who made a stop in Calgary last week, have demonstrated that the federal government is treating relations with the province with the proper urgency.