Premier Danielle Smith is continuing to issue mandate letters to her Ministers.
The letters set out the Premier’s goals and expectations for her cabinet, as well as communicating the government’s areas of focus.
Premier Smith’s mandate letter to Minister of Energy, Brian Jean, sets out an ambitious vision for Alberta’s energy sector.
Minister Jean, who also serves as MLA for Fort McMurray Lac La Biche, is being tasked with developing an investment incentive program to attract capital for large projects such as carbon capture and storage.
In the letter, Premier Smith suggests the program could be modeled on the Alberta Petrochemical Incentive Program. In addition to carbon capture and storage, the incentives would include development of projects related to ammonia, helium, lithium, geothermal energy, and critical minerals.
Minister Jean is also being instructed to work with the Ministry of Intergovernmental Relations to safeguard Alberta’s energy sector from overreach by the federal government, which has been a matter of friction between Premier Smith and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
There are several additional areas of focus ranging from attracting employees to work in the energy sector, to reviewing the mission and operation of the Canadian Energy Centre, sometimes called the Energy War Room.
In a media statement, Minister Jean expressed his optimism towards the future of Alberta’s energy sector.
