Article content

Premier Scott Moe plans on “engaging” in a discussion with Jason Kenney over his threatened referendum on equalization payments.

“If there is an opportunity for that, to actually force the federal government into an equalization conversation, I think we would be in favour of that,” he said in the wake of Kenney’s victory in Tuesday’s Alberta election.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Moe open to joining forces with Alberta on threatened equalization vote Back to video

Asked if that would mean Saskatchewan joining in and launching a similar referendum in the future, Moe said he “wouldn’t rule it out.”

The federal equalization program distributes funds to provinces that lack the fiscal capacity to provide similar services at similar tax rates, compared with wealthier provinces. Moe has previously pitched a change to distribute half of the funds on a per capita basis.

During his election campaign, Kenney said it’s unfair for provinces like Quebec to expect money contributed by Alberta taxpayers when they oppose pipelines that create wealth in Western Canada. He promised a referendum on removing equalization from the Constitution if pipelines remained blocked, saying it could force Ottawa to the negotiating table.