Optimism surrounding the future of Alberta's energy industry is high, author and Western Standard columnist Cory Morgan told Rebel News this week at the Global Energy Show in Calgary.

But that optimism comes with a catch, he explained.

“We're always hearing if Carney follows through with what he's promising, if they're going to do what they're saying, things look really good,” he says regarding opinions of Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government at the event, describing the mood as “tentative optimism.”

Once critical of Alberta's energy sector, some views are starting to shift as the reality of demands needed for artificial intelligence settle in.

“The realities are that the alternatives never came about,” Morgan said of the increasing demand for conventional energy. “There's an understanding that oil, gas, those sorts of conventional energies are still going to be in demand. We just want to get more efficient in extracting them.”

The Sovereigntist's Handbook author said Premier Danielle Smith has continued to “draw lines in the sand” with the federal government, but said he hoped the premier realizes she'll need to follow through on a threat to force action from Ottawa.

“Part of what she has done, as we've seen, is empowered Albertans” through amendments to the provincial referendum legislation. With a potential referendum in a year, “it will be the citizens themselves” who brings about the consequences of inaction.

A prominent display at the Western Standard's booth at the Global Energy Show was a cardboard cutout of Steven Guilbeault, Justin Trudeau's former extremist environmental minister who remains in Carney's cabinet, now shuffled to the heritage department.

Aside from the cardboard Guilbeault, “there's no federal representation” at the Global Energy Show, Morgan said, a concerning issue given the presence of global powers like the United States and China at the event.

“The energy minister isn't here,” he said. “I don't see a single Liberal member of Parliament here. This is one of the biggest energy shows on the planet, and they haven't taken the time to send a representative to it,” something he said lowers the likelihood of Carney following through on his promises.

Ultimately, Alberta is going to “get it done, with or without the federal government,” Morgan said.

Please help Rebel News stand up for the West!

Ottawa’s been screwing the West for decades — Trudeau's carbon taxes, Carney’s smug elitism, and laws like Bill C-69 that sabotage our prosperity. The message from the East? Shut up, pay up, and stay in your place. We’re done with that. And we think you are too. That's why Rebel News is launching a campaign to give Albertans and the West a voice — and we need your help to kick it off. Please help us fund a province-wide poll on Alberta independence, emergency townhalls, and fearless journalism that tells the truth about how badly Ottawa treats the West. If you're fed up with being trampled by the Laurentian elite, chip in now. We’re not taking it anymore!

Optional email code

Amount

$25

$50

$75

$100

$250

$500

$1,000

$2,500

Other

$

One-time

Monthly

DONATE