Delivered by Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani, the speech promised Albertans that their government will “never again be reliant on non-renewable resources or federal goodwill to maintain our prosperity,” and that “Alberta’s future will be written by Albertans, not dictated by Ottawa.”

Go Ad Free

Fighting Back Against Federal Overreach

Right out of the gate, the government took a victory lap for what it called a “turning of the tide” against anti-energy policies and centralization in Ottawa.

“The world needs more Alberta energy – not less,” the throne speech declared. “And Alberta’s government intends to empower Albertans to deliver it.”

Smith’s government said it has “driven back the anti-energy movement” and built “a national consensus that Alberta’s energy resources are a national treasure.”

That declaration came with a warning to Ottawa and Washington:

“Make no mistake—the job with the federal government and the Americans is not done. There are many important issues to work through… but the tide of this nation has undeniably turned, and your government will not rest until Alberta has doubled its oil and gas production.”

Pipelines, Partnerships, and Prosperity

Alberta will move ahead on new pipelines westward and eastward; projects that were once politically unthinkable.

The speech confirmed Alberta is partnering with pipeline companies and First Nations to “end the landlocking of Alberta’s oilsands by building new oil pipelines to the west coast” and open up the Asian market, while co-owning those projects with First Nations to advance “real economic reconciliation, not empty slogans.”

It also outlined plans to work with Ontario and the Prairie provinces to secure domestic and international routes, including through Hudson Bay to Europe.

“It’s one thing to speak about economic reconciliation with First Nations—it’s quite another to actually do it,” the government stated. “And Alberta is leading the way.”

Fiscal Discipline, Not Bureaucratic Bloat

Smith’s government acknowledged a dip in oil revenues but insisted Alberta won’t panic.

“The vast majority of Albertans do not want deep and disruptive cuts. Nor do they want declarations of economic emergency used as a pretext for a proliferation of government programs,” the speech said. “They want calm, steady and smart fiscal leadership.”

Alberta will hold spending below inflation and population growth and grow the Heritage Fund to $250 billion by 2050, ensuring that “future generations will never again depend on the boom-and-bust of oil prices or federal equalization handouts.”

“Energy and Computing Power”: The New Alberta Advantage

Smith’s government laid out a bold vision to make Alberta both an energy superpower and an AI superpower.

“Alberta is already an energy superpower,” the speech read. “Alberta will now also become an AI superpower—making our province a world leader in arguably the world’s two most important commodities: energy and computing power.”

That means leveraging natural gas to fuel energy-hungry data centres and using Alberta’s universities to lead the charge in AI-driven medicine, agriculture, and technology.

Health Care: “The Days of Bureaucracy Are Over”

The throne speech didn’t pull punches about Canada’s crumbling public health care system.

“Canada’s health care systems are broken,” it declared. “They are administered by large, unaccountable bureaucracies that have centralized power and control at the expense of front-line staff and healing patients.”

The government boasted that it has already reduced wait times and increased front-line staff by “acting decisively to reform our provincial health system.”

Smith’s reforms include:

• Expanding chartered surgical centres to perform more surgeries faster;

• Shifting to activity-based funding, where hospitals are paid for results, not budgets, and

• Allowing private diagnostic and preventative care options so individuals and employers can “invest directly in their own health care needs.”

The speech ended that section with a clear break from the past:

“The days of an antiquated, bureaucratic and unaccountable health system are over… it’s time to bring that system out of the 1960s and into 2025.”

Freedom, Family, and Law and Order

Smith’s government promised to fund police, not defund them, fight real criminals, and refuse to enforce Ottawa’s firearm confiscations.

“Your government will protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners by refusing to enforce any federal seizure program,” the speech read, adding that the focus would be on “fighting real criminals and securing our borders.”

It also vowed to “remove graphic pornographic images from schools, ensure children reach adulthood before choosing to change their gender, and protect the critical role and status of parents as primary caregivers.”

And on free speech:

“While Ottawa and other governments around the world seek to institutionalize censorship, your government will forge an accelerated path in the opposite direction.”

“Sovereignty Does Not Mean Separation”

The speech closed with what might become Smith’s signature line:

“Sovereignty does not mean separation. Strength and self-determination do not have to mean national independence.”

But she made it clear Alberta will chart its own course:

“Your government will not stop until Alberta has restored constitutional balance… and provincial and federal governments work as equal partners.”

“At the end of it all, Albertans will be the ones to decide the future of our province. And they will choose what they see as the best path forward to prosperity for their children, grandchildren, and fellow Albertans.”

Smith’s message to Albertans and to Ottawa couldn’t be clearer:
“Alberta will not be denied its prosperous future.”

She’s drawing the line between a federal government that lectures provinces on “equity” while strangling productivity and an Alberta government that believes wealth, freedom, and family are worth defending.

Or, as the throne speech put it plainly:

“Albertans will not be denied their prosperous future. Alberta will remain forever strong and free.”