Throne Speech Analysis

The Personality of a Government

Throne speeches tell us the personality of a government. They indicate motivations, aspirations, and priorities. That sets a throne speech apart from all other official government communications. The throne speech, especially a first throne speech, lays bare what’s important to a premier and those closest to her or him. It lets us see how a government intends to move forward, which makes it a useful guide to understanding how decisions are made thereafter. It affords us a glimpse of the values that drive the policy and politics that follow. This is true of Premier Danielle Smith’s first Throne Speech read today by Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani in the Alberta Legislature.

The speech was short and businesslike, mostly focusing on the issues that the polls say matter most to Albertans: offsetting the impacts of inflation, providing timely healthcare services, and protecting jobs and creating new opportunities for Albertans. This will hearten many in her caucus who worried that she catered too much to the United Conservative Party base at the expense of popular support, especially in Calgary and smaller urban areas. But the premier still has an element of the firebrand about her. Her values were on full display. In language that was surely the premier’s own, the speech reminded Albertans of the constitutional division of powers and reiterated the Premier’s longstanding complaint with the federal government, that “we’re combatting unprecedented interference and overreach from the federal government in Ottawa.” In today’s Throne Speech Premier Smith put Ottawa on notice, she will hold them to account when they try to dictate terms to Albertans.

Affordability

The section on affordability reviewed the already announced measures designed to offset the impacts of inflation, including reindexing Alberta’s income tax brackets and ensuring that benefits for Albertans with disabilities are indexed to keep up with inflation.

Healthcare

The speech echoed the concerns the premier and officials have been hearing about waiting lists for surgeries and slow response times from ambulances and it lauded healthcare workers, a large voting block, for their devotion and service. It also noted that Minister Copping had already initiated the health reform action plan with the AHS Official Administrator, Dr. John Cowell. The challenge will be in the implementation.

The speech proposed several reforms including increasing the number of surgeries through charted surgical facilities, using non-emergency vehicles for inter-facility transfers, and using other healthcare professionals in emergency rooms to provide care to patients with non-life-threatening conditions or needs. It also touched on mental health, noting it’s treatment first approach before committing to “double down on our success on this issue; and the government will do so.”

Notable for not being mentioned was senior’s care or any mention of Covid-19, restrictions, or vaccines.

Jobs and the Economy

Here the speech emphasized job-creation and diversification while shining the spotlight on energy and, especially, agriculture. “The government will work to reduce inter-provincial trade barriers, work towards new customs pre-clearance for agricultural exports, and expand and improve Alberta’s irrigation network.”

Minister Horner will be busy. He will also be fighting Ottawa’s initiatives to limit nitrous oxide emissions from synthetic fertilizer. The speech commits to using made in Alberta solutions to reduce emissions but does not specifically mention Ottawa’s contentious emissions cap.

The government will also innovate and diversify, claiming that it will “do that through the development of a technology and innovation strategy, a new digital media tax credit, and the expansion of high-speed rural broadband services to attract new investment and change-makers to all parts of our province. This also means continuing to lead the way when it comes to harnessing the power of our natural resources such as hydrogen, helium, liquified natural gas and geothermal energy while exploring new economic corridors.”

This is a highly ambitious agenda for a government with a six-month shelf life before the next election. Which then of these proposals will make it through before the policy window closes?

Standing Up to Ottawa

Here we can imagine the premier writing furiously as she devotes a section of the speech to steps her government will take to defend Alberta’s interests, starting with her Sovereignty Act which she says will be used as a “constitutional shield.”

Upon closer examination of the legislation itself, it’s clear that it has the potential create conflict here at home with its provision to delegate authority to amend other relevant laws from the Legislative Assembly to Cabinet, with the government forced to issue a clarification less than 24 hours after the Bill was tabled. It will be interesting to see how debate on the Bill unfolds and whether Premier Smith will stay the course despite the storm of controversy that will certainly come over the next few weeks.

For those worried about driving out investment, the speech assures “this legislation will never be used to undermine the rule of law or the unity of our nation. Just the opposite – it will be used to uphold and restore the intent of the most foundational document of our law – the Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights.” Nevertheless, relations with Ottawa will almost certainly be rocky in the months ahead.

That may be just fine with the UCP base. It’s much less clear that Albertans have any interest in hearing about the constitution in such uncertain times.