Alberta is approaching 2025 with nearly a dozen legal battles against the federal government’s policies.
As 2024 drew to a close, the province stated its intention to challenge Ottawa’s clean electricity regulations, despite the postponement of the target date for decarbonizing electricity grids from 2035 to 2050. Alberta, heavily reliant on natural gas for energy generation, argues that the federal regulations encroach upon provincial jurisdiction.
However, Alberta is actively pursuing several other legal disputes against the federal government.
Four cases are related to Ottawa’s environmental policies. The province asserts that it is contesting interference with its jurisdiction, while the federal government claims the authority to create policies on issues of national concern such as climate change.
The remaining challenges concern Alberta’s stance on protecting Charter rights, particularly the federal ban on specific firearms and the province’s objection to Ottawa’s utilization of the Emergencies Act in response to the Freedom Convoy protests.
Alberta’s Justice Minister Mickey Amery disclosed the current count of active cases as 10 during a Nov. 28 press conference, with multiple judicial reviews involved in some files. He acknowledged that these numbers fluctuate due to various factors such as case resolutions and combinations.
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If these cases remain unresolved, the number of ongoing legal challenges is likely to rise. The province has declared its intention to challenge Ottawa’s oil and gas emissions cap regulation once it becomes law, while also planning to contest the proposed clean electricity regulations.
Here is an overview of the legal challenges that Alberta is currently pursuing against Ottawa.
Impact Assessment Act
Alberta announced on Nov. 28 that it would take Ottawa to court for the second time over Ottawa’s failure to address concerns about the amended Impact Assessment Act within a provided four-week deadline.
A truckload of pipes for the Trans Mountain pipeline in Edson, Alta., on June 18, 2019. Jason Franson/The Canadian Press
Previously known as Bill C-69, the act introduced federal environmental requirements for major projects like pipelines. In June 2019, it received royal assent. However, the Supreme Court of Canada determined on Oct. 13, 2023, that the act was largely unconstitutional as it infringed on provincial jurisdiction by granting Ottawa authority to impose project restrictions deemed harmful to the environment.
Following this ruling, Ottawa made adjustments to the act, claiming that the amended act, effective since June 20, 2024, offered a meaningful response to the Supreme Court’s decision. Premier Danielle Smith criticized the lack of meaningful consultation during the amendment process despite repeated requests in an announcement.
On Oct. 4, Alberta gave Ottawa a four-week deadline to address the amended act’s constitutional deficiencies raised by the Supreme Court. However, the province believed that the concerns remained unaddressed and filed a second legal challenge when Ottawa failed to act within the specified period.
Former Premier Jason Kenney first contested the constitutionality of the Impact Assessment Act in September 2019, referring to it as the “No More Pipelines Act.” Ottawa contends that the legislation provides essential environmental oversight.
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson stated, “The Impact Assessment Act established a set of better rules to ensure that Indigenous perspectives are included from the beginning of the review process, to ensure that important environmental and climate considerations are heard and addressed, and to provide clear timelines to investors and businesses to get good projects built fast.”
