A pipeline to take Alberta crude to tidewater is a national priority, says Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci in advance of a meeting with his federal and provincial counterparts this week.

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau is meeting with all of Canada's federal and territorial finance ministers in Ottawa Sunday and Monday.

Ceci believes the Energy East and Trans Mountain pipelines could help expand Canada's gross domestic product.

"It helps all of Canada because it assists us in our energy security as a country; assists provinces with their own GDPs if they see more people put to work building pipelines; and creating that value that will then create better value for our energy exports," Ceci said in an interview with CBC News.

Ceci is also interested in learning how the province and Alberta municipalities can tap into promised infrastructure funding to help build social and affordable housing.

Enhancements to the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) are also up for discussion. Provinces are split over the changes, but Ceci is supportive of them.

Minister of Finance Bill Morneau plans to discuss CPP, infrastructure and provincial and territorial priorities at the meeting in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

"Everybody wants people in their retirement years to have adequate incomes so they can live comfortably and that's what enhancing the CPP would be all about from my perspective," he said.

The federal government is expected to announce the amounts of equalization amounts the so-called "have not" provinces will receive.

Alberta has never received funds under the program which transfers money to provinces that aren't doing as well. Despite current economic hardship caused by low oil prices, Ceci says Alberta's status won't change.

"Alberta will continue to remain a have province compared to other provinces for a great deal of time in the future," he said. "When you look at our average earnings and compare that to the rest of the country's average earnings, we are actually doing well."

Ceci is heading to Ottawa just as Standard and Poor's downgraded Alberta's credit rating to AA+ from AAA.

The ratings agency cited concerns with Alberta's weak revenue forecasts and growing debt. However it still thinks Alberta is one of the most reliable borrowers.