🇨🇦 Smith begs Ottawa for scraps after doing their pipeline work

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith hopes the Trans Mountain expansion will earn her province more accommodations from Ottawa. Translation: after Alberta built the pipeline federalism strangled for a decade, maybe Trudeau's successors will be slightly less hostile. This is what passes for victory now—groveling for basic respect after spending billions to move your own resources through your own country. Smith confirmed she's banking on goodwill from a government structure designed to exploit the West.

Ottawa didn't accommodate Alberta when it mattered. They obstructed, delayed, virtue-signaled to coastal elites, and left the province holding the bag. Now Smith plays nice and hopes for crumbs. This is the federalist bargain: produce the wealth, beg for permission, thank them when they stop kneecapping you. Sovereignty isn't a gift—it's taken.

🍁 Maple Chronicles