Alberta wants to use critical infrastructure defence law to block emissions data from Ottawa

The Alberta government says it will propose amendments to the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act that it says would act as a repellent against "unconstitutional federal overreach," but it remains unclear how enforcement of those measures would play out in practice. 

Alberta's Critical Infrastructure Defence Act was first introduced in 2020 as a response to rail blockade protesters, aiming to protect essential "infrastructure," such as pipelines, highways and railways, making it illegal to block, damage or interfere with those sites. 

The law has long been controversial amongst civil rights advocates and legal experts. The Alberta Union of Public Employees launched a constitutional challenge of the bill, though the Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed the claim in December 2021. 

Now, the Alberta government wants to clarify the act to:

• Explicitly state that it applies to the government of Canada.
• Update the definition of "essential infrastructure" to add facilities where oil and gas production and emissions data and records are held.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Premier Danielle Smith said the amendments were tied to an Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act motion, passed in December 2024. 

It's the latest in a long line of dust-ups and lawsuits between Alberta and Ottawa that some in the oilpatch have said is causing uncertainty in the oil and gas sector.

"Alberta will continue in its pursuit of doubling our oil and gas production to meet the growing global demand for energy, and we will not let Ottawa stand in our way," Smith said, framing it as a broader resistance against the federal government's environmental regulations and a warning against Prime Minister Mark Carney adopting past policies. 

"We will not tolerate the continuous, unconstitutional overreaches made by the federal Liberal government."

The intent of the Alberta Sovereignty Act is to allow the province to declare federal laws unconstitutional or harmful, while issuing orders to provincial entities to not comply with federal rules.

Oil and gas cap long contentious 

One of the most contentious fights between Alberta and Ottawa has been over the proposed federal emissions cap. In November, federal draft regulations that would require oil and gas producers in Canada to limit greenhouse gas emissions to 35 per cent below 2019 levels led Smith to signal her government's intent to table the Sovereignty Act motion.

• Oil and gas production can meet 'historical highs' under emissions cap: PBO

According to the province, the amendments proposed today are intended to assist with the implementation of the Sovereignty Act motion to address the federal government's proposed regulations.

The motion included an assertion of Alberta's jurisdiction over the "exploration, development, conservation, management and production" of non-renewable natural resources in Alberta. It also designated emissions data as proprietary information owned exclusively by the Alberta government. 

It also prohibits site visits by federal employees or contractors without provincial authorization, though provincial officials were vague on Wednesday about how or whether that would be enforced.

"We would just really hope that people in the federal government abide by … in respect to property owners and property rights," Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said.

In November, former federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault criticized the proposed Sovereignty Act motion, telling reporters at the time that the restrictions on emissions reporting would be a "violation of federal laws."

"Companies already have to report to the federal government … in terms of their emissions. There are certain thresholds. If companies stop reporting to the federal government, they would be in violation of federal laws," Guilbeault said in November.

"Something that I certainly wouldn't advise to any large companies, especially oil and gas companies."

On Wednesday, Smith was asked by a reporter whether the current emissions reporting process involves federal officials needing to physically enter private facilities. 

She referenced a 2022 incident in which the Saskatchewan government alleged federal scientists purposely trespassed on private farmland to test water samples. 

"This is already been demonstrated in the past that there have been issues, and we just are anticipating that if there are future issues, we're closing that door," Smith said.

Guilbeault has said that the Saskatchewan incident was mischaracterized.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi characterized the effort as "bad performative actions."

"There was nothing in the Sovereignty Act that did anything except for barring employees from entering private lands, which is illegal and unconstitutional. I'm reasonably sure the province hasn't even tried to do it," Nenshi said. "So again, performance, performance, performance. Let's make some deals."

Smith's government has said it is determined to protect Alberta's jurisdiction over its natural resources and says the federal emissions cap could lead to a mandated production cut.

Border in focus

Alberta also said it would combine the definitions of "essential infrastructure" in one place, having previously designated the two-kilometre "red zone" north of the Montana border as essential infrastructure through regulation in January. Today's announcement would bring it under the Critical Infrastructure Defense Act itself.

In December, in anticipation of tariffs threatened by then-U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, Alberta announced a $29-million border security plan, which included the Interdiction Patrol Team, under the command of the Alberta Sheriffs. The IPT is equipped with the power to make arrests without a warrant in the "red zone."

Earlier this month, the province said that 20 members of the Alberta Sheriffs have been assigned to the IPT, and that it had conducted three arrests related to possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, and had assisted with four northbound unauthorized border crossings.

Life along the fence: How Alberta-Montana border residents feel about new security measures

15 days ago

Duration 8:34

Southern Alberta residents living along the Canada-U.S. border have seen increased activity along the boundary since new security measures from both Canada and Alberta were implemented. The suite of measures were introduced after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on Canadian goods until the cross-border flow of fentanyl into the U.S. "stops, or is seriously limited" — a threat that has since launched a trade war between the U.S. and its neighbouring countries. Residents on both sides of the Alberta-Montana border spoke to CBC about how their lives have been impacted since this change.

Last month, CBC News visited both sides of the border, where residents in once-quiet communities voiced unease about whether the heightened security measures reflected the actual risks at the border. At the same time, officials argued that the increased border security measures were necessary to combat illegal crossings, human trafficking and drug smuggling.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data showed the agency seized 9,570 kg of fentanyl at the country's southern border with Mexico in the 2024 fiscal year, compared to 19.5 kg at the northern one. In the Havre Sector in Montana, CBP seized less than two kilograms of fentanyl in 2024, and so far in fiscal year 2025, the sector has seized less than 0.2 kg.