Premier Danielle Smith held a news conference in Ottawa on Monday as she opened Alberta’s new provincial office in the nation’s capital.
The government said the office, which is located in Constitution Square in downtown Ottawa, is intended to increase Alberta’s presence in Ottawa and to give the province a louder voice when it comes to national politics.
Alberta and Ottawa continue to have policy disagreements on a number of issues including those pertaining to the environment, energy and pension plans.
Most recently, a suite of policies Smith proposed that will impact transgender youth in Alberta received criticism from a number of federal cabinet ministers.
The Alberta government said the province’s new Ottawa office will have three staff to support it.
“This office opening could not have come at a more important time for our province,” Smith said in a news release. “A strong Alberta means a strong Canada, but this federal government is enacting policies that hurt both.
“I am very pleased that we will have a centre for advocacy and information right here within the capital city so that Alberta’s strengths and concerns are able to be more clearly and quickly communicated.”
James Carpenter is currently Alberta’s senior representative to Ottawa. He was appointed to the role in September.
“This office will strengthen Alberta’s relationships with federal decision makers and promote Alberta as the best place to trade, invest and travel,” Carpenter said in a news release.
The Alberta government has had an office in Ottawa before. It was shut in 2015 amid a budget shortfall in that province under former premier Jim Prentice.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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