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Good afternoon, everyone.

It is my pleasure to join you here on the historic territory of Treaty Six.

I also want to recognize the Métis people of Alberta, who share a deep connection with this land.

Now, normally, I like to open with a joke.

That’s a tough task today, given one of the funniest Canadians around will be speaking to you all later…

A hero of mine, the great Rick Mercer.

You may remember how Rick loved to go Talking to Americans.

He’d interview them and hear them say things like how great it was we didn’t put Canadian seniors on ice floes anymore – yay Canada!

Though if you talk to our Prime Minister these days…

With the pressure we’ve been putting on him to get pipelines built…

It’s very possible he might want to put me on an ice flow.

Though, if the ice flow had cell service, he’d still be hearing from me.

Because without pipelines, we Albertans have been talking to Americans a lot.

Our friends to the South are basically our only customer for energy.

And while I love our American friends, I’d like to talk to other nationalities, too.

Like, oh, I don’t know…Quebecors.

Or, to be really exotic, British Columbians…

Although, to be fair, more of them are with us than not.

Because the real joke is having to take a price cut for our oil as a captive seller to one market.

And I know you’ll join me in saying Alberta’s not laughing about that.

But, more about that in a moment.

First, I want to say I am thrilled to be with all of you here today.

It’s good to be joined by many of my caucus colleagues.

Thank you to your chair, Mayor Gale Katchur, for the kind introduction…

And thank you, Gale, for all your tremendous work in making sure the Highway 15 Bridge goes ahead.

That bridge is long overdue, badly needed to keep this growing region competitive and accessible…

And we’re proud to help make it happen.

Of course, thank you to Mayor Iveson for hosting us here in Edmonton…

And hello to all of the Mayors from the Heartland and the Capital Region, who do so much to help make life better for people in this dynamic part of Alberta.

The Industrial Heartland Association is such an important part of life in Alberta…

Especially for working families in and around Edmonton.

The jobs and economic activity you create support so many families.

And that makes addressing the challenges you face even more important.

Because the challenges you face are, in many ways, the challenges our entire province faces. 

I grew up in Northern Alberta, around plenty of oil and gas development.

And over my 30 years of life…

OK, maybe 40…

OK, maybe north of half a century…

I have listened to conversation after conversation…

At kitchen tables across this province…

About how we have to do more with the resources we all own.

How we have to stop being the drawers of water and the hewers of wood so that others can finish our products and sell them back to us.

We are not a branch plant to the US economy, or any foreign economy.  

We are Albertans.

We are the economic drivers of this great country and some of the most ambitious problem-solvers on the planet. 

We are young (ish), innovative and – above all – determined.

And we don’t back down from anything.

There is no good reason why my kids, or your kids, 30 years from now, need to be sitting around their kitchen tables, wishing we had done more to diversify.

And so, in response to that persistent challenge…

I believe the time has come to dramatically accelerate energy diversification in Alberta.

And that’s what I want to speak with you about today:

About why we need to get more value from our resources…

About how we’re going to do that, through our vision for a more diversified, secure and resilient Alberta…

And, finally, quite honestly, with an election around the corner…

I would be remiss if I didn’t also talk to you about why I believe the next Alberta election is a clear choice between our plan to diversify for a stronger future...

And my opponent’s position, which would bring our diversification work to a screeching halt.  

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Here’s something my opponents and I fully agree on:

We need to build a pipeline to Canadian tidewater.

Thanks to decades of failure and inaction by successive federal governments….

We cannot transport much of the energy products we produce to markets through modern, well-regulated pipelines.

Every day we are denied pipeline access to tidewater, Canada’s economy loses up to $80 million.

Successive pipeline failures have made for a lot of very frustrated Albertans.

A lot of hardworking people have rolled up their sleeves and used our resources to build a responsible, safe, world class industry.

Just go to an oil sands operation and you’ll meet person after person with hard-earned pride in their work.

And I don’t blame folks one bit for working hard their whole lives, giving it their all…

Then looking out at the political landscape in this country and shaking their heads.

From here in Alberta, watching the pipeline conversation in Canada reminds me of when my kids were young and I’d watch their soccer games.

One kid is off picking daises.

Another is twirling in front of the net.

Another is eating their jersey.

And there’s always a couple kids who are more focused on kicking dirt at each other than anything else.

Now, it’s cute when it’s kids.

Not so much when it’s elected leaders of a country with a trillion dollar economy.

So, seeing all that, what should we do?

Should we take our ball, go home and kick it as hard as we can against the wall?

Maybe see how badly we can annoy the neighbours with the noise?

To me, that sounds pretty defeated.

And it sounds a lot like my opponent’s pipeline plan: declare defeat and throw a first-rate temper tantrum.

Now, maybe that would feel good in the moment, but we all know it will get us nowhere. 

I have no interest in it.

Instead, what I’m focused on is getting back out there and putting the ball in the net.

Channelling that anger into determined, strategic advocacy…

Advocacy that goes beyond the media cycle, beyond the election cycle…

And focuses on the project cycle.

That’s where the jobs are created.

That’s where the investors are looking.

And that’s exactly where our focus is.

As part of that, we have undertaken a major national public education campaign, aimed at making sure all Canadians know exactly why pipelines matter and why we need Trans Mountain built.

And yes, there are still pockets of protests.

But our efforts are working.

Before we started, roughly 4 in 10 Canadians agreed that we need new pipelines.

Now, that number is almost 7 in 10.

Just yesterday we saw more news, once again confirming that the vast majority of Canadians agree our lack of pipelines is a crisis and we need to get pipelines built.

That matters. We have moved the dial on this.

Even the majority of our neighbours in BC now agree with us.

That’s good for this industry and good for making sure Trans Mountain gets built.

So don’t let anyone tell you we aren’t making progress.

And don’t let anyone tell you that a reasonable, thoughtful, well-informed approach doesn’t work.

And we’re not letting up.

We are also standing together and defending our energy resources from misguided federal policies.

Such as Bill C-69, which must not pass as is…

And Bill C-48, the so called “Tanker Ban” on Canada’s Northwest Coast…

Which is really much more of an “Alberta ban” than a “Tanker Ban”.

You all know these issues well.

You’re out there speaking out about them alongside us.

I thank you for that, and we need you to keep speaking up.

And in return, my commitment to you is that we will not stop fighting for you.

Now, it’s true that only Ottawa can see this pipeline through to completion…

And it’s true only Ottawa can fix those broken pieces of legislation.  

But there are things we don’t need Ottawa for.

Alberta has never been afraid to go it alone…

Grab the bull by the horns…

And get it done ourselves.

We’re using our powers to respond decisively to the punishing consequences of Ottawa’s failures…

With a plan for the short, medium and long term.

As you know, in the short term, we have limited our oil production to bring down the differential...

But we know this is very temporary.

In the medium-term, we are working to move more oil by rail, by securing upwards of 7,000 rail cars.

And in the long term, in addition to fighting for pipelines…

The second part of our long-term strategy is that we have undertaken the most aggressive energy diversification plan since Premier Lougheed.

I’m very excited about this.

Let me walk you through it.

We have put more than $3.5 billion dollars in incentives on the table to support investment in the badly needed diversification of our energy sector.

You’ve already seen some of the exciting results.

Today in the Industrial Heartland, Inter Pipeline’s Heartland Petrochemical Complex is well underway…

Being built by thousands of workers.

Many of you likely saw pictures and videos of the 820 tonne splitter moving to the facility in Fort Saskatchewan from where it was built here in Edmonton.

It was the heaviest piece of equipment to ever travel on Alberta roads.

Now, that splitter is big and the jobs and investment associated with it are, too.

That project came about because we were able to take $200 million in royalty credits and leverage $3.5 billion in private investment.

That’s a return on investment Albertans can be proud of.

But make no mistake, it’s just the beginning.

We’re going to keep leveraging smart investments like that.

Imagine taking what we’ve done with Inter Pipeline and multiplying it by more than fifteen times – that’s what our Made-In-Alberta plan means.

And thanks to the great work of companies like Inter Pipeline…

And the opportunities available in places like the Industrial Heartland…

We are seeing tremendous investment interest.

I want to pause and provide you an update:

We are in active conversations with fourteen companies.

Nine of which are located in the Industrial Heartland.

We’re going to be looking for the best projects from these groups…

And in the coming weeks, I’m looking forward to announcing more of these exciting Made-in-Alberta energy diversification projects.

More petrochemicals.

More upgrading.

And more ways to get value from our feedstocks.

Taken together, it will mean more value for you and for the energy resources we as Albertans all own.

…tens of thousands of new jobs in the Heartland and across Alberta…

….and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue to pay for the services Albertans count on.

Now, with that all said, I need to be very clear about something.

All of this is happening because we are not content to sit on the sidelines and let investment after investment…

Job after job…

Pass Alberta by for places like Louisiana.

That has happened for too long and it has got to stop.

But not every elected official in Alberta agrees.

And I believe it is important for everyone to understand the choice ahead.

Because that choice is getting clearer.

When we put our energy diversification policies to a vote in the Legislature, just last spring…

The opposition stood up and criticised the Alberta investors we were attracting, saying these Alberta investors were, quote:

“Lining up at the trough.”

Then, my opponents turned around and voted against our energy diversification plan…

Voted against the billions of dollars in investment we’re attracting…

And voted against the thousands of jobs we’re creating.

It could not be clearer:

The opposition in Alberta has no interest in diversifying our energy sector.

Think of that giant propane splitter that was just hauled out to the Heartland.

The only petrochemical splitters Alberta will see under the opposition is petrochemical investors splitting for Louisiana.

This work is too important.

Alberta needs it.

And the choice as to whether we continue to diversify or bring it all to a screeching halt…

Is in every way on the ballot in the next election.

And while we’re talking about government helping to create the environment for your businesses and communities to flourish and create jobs…

It’s worth noting that another important thing government does is provide the highways and bridges that connect your operations and your communities.

On that note, there is one other item my opponents have put on the table that I feel compelled to talk about.

Especially as we discuss creating the conditions for your success.

I’m talking about Mr. Kenney’s plan to add user fees to infrastructure projects.

He’s been clear about this…

As recently as his speech a few weeks ago to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.

It didn’t get a lot of coverage, but Albertans deserve to know that ‘user fees’ on infrastructure can mean one thing and one thing only…

Tolls.

Tolls when you ship your equipment from places like Leduc to the Heartland.

Tolls when workers commute.

Tolls on the weekend, when you head to Costco, to soccer, anywhere.

Tolls that will only hurt businesses and families in the Industrial Heartland, not help.

Which is why Mr. Kenney’s plan for tolling your bridges and highways is wrong for Alberta.

I will say ‘no’ every time to tolls.

And I say Mr. Kenney needs to come clean about what his plan to toll your roads is going to cost you, your family and your businesses.

Friends,

In conclusion, you know exactly where I stand, and that I am going to keep fighting for you, for jobs and for working people across the Heartland.

Together, we’ve accomplished a lot.

And, together, we can keep this momentum going.

The Industrial Heartland is not just a name or an idea...

It is an economic reality that underpins the incredible economic might of our incredible province.

Together, with our Made-in-Alberta energy diversification plan…

We are going to create good jobs…

Put our province on a stronger, more resilient footing…

And we are going to supercharge the tremendous work already underway in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland.

It’s been an honour to speak with you.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of this conference.

Thank you.

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