Smith tells minister to seek provincial control over immigration in new mandate letters

Smith put Ottawa on notice with new mandate letters for her cabinet, where she instructed ministers to carve out more provincial control over immigration.

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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith put Ottawa on notice with new mandate letters for her cabinet. In the letters, she instructed ministers to carve out more provincial control over immigration, protect Canadian jobs and curb the influx of temporary foreign workers.

Alberta’s Immigration Minister Joseph Schow was ordered to wrestle control away from Ottawa over immigration decisions that are within provincial authority.

“Use all legal means to secure more provincial control over international immigration to Alberta for the purpose of achieving a more sustainable level of immigration with a focus on economic migrants able to contribute to the growth of our economy,” Smith wrote in the letter.

The letter also suggested that Schow combat the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

“Our provincial immigration levels and policies should always ensure that Canadian citizens have first access to job opportunities, and that young Canadians are not losing out on employment opportunities to temporary foreign workers,” reads the letter.

Smith recently called youth unemployment trends “alarming.”

To address this, she directed Schow to address it through a youth hiring incentive for those entering the job market.

Tourism and Sport Minister Andrew Boitchenko was instructed to enforce Alberta’s new sports law.

“Ensure the full implementation of the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act using all available legal and constitutional means necessary”, the letter states.

The new legislation requires any athletes 12 years of age or older to confirm they were female sex at birth, with parental consent required for minors. These females will be able to compete in female-only sports leagues, free of intrusion by men pretending to be women.

Boitchenko was also instructed to develop a provincial bidding policy to ensure future international and national sport event bids that use a large sum of provincial taxpayer dollars are fully publicly transparent. They are to include a cost/benefit analysis and be subject to mandatory referenda for affected communities.

Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen’s mandate letter focused heavily on wildfire prevention after last year’s devastating Jasper fire.

Smith directed him to “secure an agreement with the federal government to improve wildfire mitigation across all federal lands, with a particular focus on a joint forest fire prevention management and response strategy for Banff, Jasper and Waterton National Parks”.

The letter also calls for expanded FireSmart programs, fuel reduction efforts, and investments in firefighting equipment.

In addition, Smith told Arts, Culture and Status of Women Minister Tanya Fir to expand Alberta Day and promote the province’s flag and motto more prominently.

Her mandate letter instructs her to “continue to promote and celebrate Alberta’s unique cultural identity and heritage, including identifying opportunities to more prominently display our provincial flag and motto across the province while significantly growing the size and scope of Alberta Day celebrations”.

Smith framed all four letters as part of her government’s wider economic and cultural agenda.

“Albertans have entrusted us with a clear mandate: to deliver results, strengthen our communities, and build a future rooted in prosperity, opportunity, and responsible governance. Our government was elected to get the job done – and that is exactly what we will do,” she wrote in each of the directives.