Danielle Smith announces the Alberta Next Panel

Premier Danielle Smith has launched the Alberta Next Panel, a new province-wide consultation platform aimed at gathering public input on how Alberta can better assert its constitutional powers.

Source: Facebook

Premier Danielle Smith has launched the Alberta Next Panel, a new province-wide consultation platform aimed at gathering public input on how Alberta can better assert its constitutional powers and push back against what Smith describes as Ottawa’s continued economic interference.

Announced Tuesday through a video posted to X, Smith said the panel is a response to what she called “Ottawa’s economic attacks” and a “status quo [that] threatens our province’s economic future and way of life.”

Over the coming months, the Alberta Next Panel will hold in-person and virtual town halls across the province, providing residents with a platform to engage with policy experts, government officials, and constitutional scholars.

The goal is to determine which provincial reforms should be put to a referendum next year.

Among the ideas under consideration is the creation of an Alberta Provincial Police Service, which would replace the RCMP in providing local policing across the province.

Smith’s government is also exploring withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan and establishing an independent Alberta Pension Plan that would be managed by the province.

Another proposal would see Alberta exit its tax collection agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency, allowing the province to collect its own personal income taxes—a move Smith says would increase transparency and autonomy.

The panel will also seek public feedback on the prospect of Alberta assuming more control over immigration policy, with the stated goal of protecting the province from what the government calls “out-of-control” federal immigration levels.

Additionally, the Smith government wants to pursue amendments to the Canadian Constitution to further empower provinces and protect provincial jurisdiction.

It is also seeking to reform the system of federal transfers and equalization payments.

The Alberta government says the province contributes $20 billion more each year to Ottawa than it receives in services and transfers, a gap Smith has long criticized as fundamentally unfair.

“The Alberta Next Panel gives you a seat at the table,” Smith said in her announcement, “to help shape Alberta’s road ahead.”

According to the Alberta Next Panel website, the list of policy ideas may be modified during the consultation tour depending on public feedback.

Once the consultation concludes, the panel will recommend which proposals should be put on the 2026 referendum ballot.