Guilbeault says Alberta ‘not a reliable partner,’ blasts Smith over demands

Guilbeault used a televised interview on Sunday to criticize Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, days after resigning from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet.

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Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault used a televised interview on Sunday to criticize Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, days after resigning from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet over the federal government’s new energy agreement with Alberta.

Appearing on Tout le monde en parle on Sunday evening, Guilbeault said Alberta’s premier “will never be satisfied” and accused Smith of hurting the province’s renewable sector, calling her an unreliable partner as Ottawa and Alberta negotiate the path toward a future west-coast pipeline.

Guilbeault resigned Thursday as minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and as Carney’s Quebec lieutenant, saying the federal–Alberta memorandum of understanding (MOU) on major projects and energy development was “the last straw.”

He remains a Liberal MP and said he would support Carney in an election. He also pledged not to vote against the government on confidence measures, arguing that “Pierre Poilievre would be worse.” But the Quebec MP said he could no longer defend what he described as a decisive shift in the government’s climate posture.

Guilbeault said the MOU signalled a pivot to a “pro-market” approach at the expense of key climate regulations he had championed, particularly the clean electricity standard.

He argued the standards were necessary to reduce Canada’s reliance on fossil fuels, noting that provinces such as Nova Scotia still generate “about 60 per cent” of electricity from coal in 2025.

During the broadcast, Guilbeault also launched pointed criticism at Alberta’s handling of renewable energy. He accused Smith of imposing last year’s moratorium on new renewable projects “for ideological reasons,” saying the move stalled billions of dollars in investment and resulted in “5,000 to 10,000 jobs” being lost “almost overnight.”

“In my opinion, she is not a reliable partner in this negotiation,” he said, predicting that in “two or three months, she will want more.”

Guilbeault linked his resignation to concerns that Ottawa is rolling back climate measures “to please Alberta.”

He questioned what Ottawa received in return for the concessions made in the MOU, saying: “In exchange for what? Because I looked at that agreement and I don’t understand why they did that.”

Guilbeault said the clean electricity rules and emissions caps were designed to phase out coal and natural gas in favour of renewables, arguing the country had been making progress before the shift.

The former minister said he will continue to advocate for climate policy from within the Liberal caucus but could not “be the spokesperson for decisions I do not believe in.”

On Monday, Mark Carney promoted long-time Trudeau-ally Marc Miller to replace Guilbeault in his former cabinet position.