Monday, March 17: Alberta Health said there were 11 confirmed cases of measles in the province, one in Calgary, two in Edmonton and eight in the north. One person was hospitalized. “This is 100 per cent preventable,” said Dr. Isabelle Chapados, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta, referring to declining vaccination rates.
Tuesday, March 18: Calgary’s Green Line LRT gets the green light from the federal government, ensuring matching federal funding of $1.53-billion. The revised provincial plan calls for an elevated line through downtown.
March 18: Premier Danielle Smith defended a $4.8-million increase in the premier’s office budget, saying it’s because the Canadian Energy Centre was folded into government. Former premier Jason Kenney created the controversial CEC, also referred to as the “war room,” in 2019 and gave it an initial $30-million budget to battle what he considered misinformation about Alberta’s oil sector. Smith’s UCP government closed the “war room” in 2024 but hired its staff. For example, Steve Rennick is being paid $430,000 over two years to do “energy advocacy” on behalf of the province, according to the government’s sole source contracts database.
March 18: Former premier Kenney joined the board of directors of Postmedia Network Canada Corp. He is also an adviser at the law firm Bennett Jones LLP and serves on the board of directors of ATCO Ltd.
Wednesday, March 19: Thousands of education support workers across the province ended their two-month strike after ratifying acceptance of contract offers by local school boards.
March 19: The Alberta Wilderness Association released a statement condemning the UCP’s proposed “Mature Asset Strategy,” which would use taxpayer money to pay for billions in cleanup costs owed by the oil and gas industry. The AWA also criticized the same companies for owing over $250-million in unpaid municipal taxes.
Thursday, March 20: Premier Smith met with new Prime Minister Mark Carney and rejected any proposed constraints on oil and gas exports to the US. She also presented Carney with a list of demands, including new “oil and gas corridors to the north, east and west,” the repeal of legislation that she says hinders pipeline development and the lifting of a tanker ban off BC’s coast. Smith also demanded the removal of an oil and gas industry emissions cap, clean energy regulations, a federal prohibition on single-use plastics and a net-zero car mandate.
Friday, March 21: Prime Minister Carney met with all premiers and territorial leaders and called for energy infrastructure to be built more quickly across the country.
