Pedestrians walk past the Bank of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. — AFP
OTTAWA: Canada will face rising economic uncertainty if the province of Alberta carries out a threat to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says.
Freeland made her remarks at a press conference after a phone call with regional finance ministers to discuss the issue last Friday.
Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner later last Friday said the province would not leave fellow Canadians without a stable pension and its associated benefits.
“For the past several weeks, Alberta has been having an open discussion about the possibility of establishing an Alberta Pension Plan that will benefit our seniors and workers,” he said. “This will only happen if Albertans vote to do so in a referendum.”
Alberta, a right-leaning province, has had a tense relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s three consecutive Liberal-led governments since he took power in 2015.
Alberta premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party government has launched a consultation process to ask whether the oil-rich province should consider an exit from the CPP, which manages C$575bil on behalf of more than 21 million contributors and beneficiaries across Canada.
Smith has said she plans to follow the consultation with a possible referendum in 2025. — Reuters
