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Notley’s government, elected nearly a year ago, is facing a deficit that will top $10 billion in this week’s budget because of bargain-basement oil prices. The NDP has been pushing for pipelines so Alberta can access world prices for oil and has launched an aggressive climate change plan — including a carbon tax in 2017 — in part to win over environmentally minded opponents.

Photo by Ryan Wellicome

Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said that with even the federal NDP rejecting Notley’s efforts, the premier’s “social licence” strategy has failed and government should “hit pause” on its climate policy.

He said Notley’s government can’t separate itself from the Leap Manifesto.

“A move by the federal NDP is a move by the Alberta NDP,” Jean told reporters.

Interim Progressive Conservative Leader Ric McIver accused Notley’s government of not fighting hard enough against the Leap Manifesto at the convention.

“Every ministry in this government should have been at the microphone defending Albertans’ interest,” said McIver.

Liberal Leader David Swann said it will be difficult for Notley to disassociate herself from the Leap issue given that the federal and provincial parties are so “intimately connected.”

“Two years of debating this is not going to do her any favours,” he said.

Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark said he can’t understand why Notley would not move to separate the provincial party from the federal New Democrats.

The provincial Liberals split from the federal party in the 1970s. The federal Progressive Conservative party no longer exists, though Conservative MPs are given automatic voting status at provincial PC meetings.

Neither the Wildrose Party nor Alberta Party has formal ties with a federal party.

Ken Rasmussen, a professor at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy in Regina, said the Alberta NDP shouldn’t have to break up with the federal party, though it needs to make clear it is not bound by policy made at the national level.

Rasmussen, who has studied NDP governments in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, said premiers such as Allan Blakeney, Roy Romanow and Gary Doer had no problem being offside with the federal NDP over various issues.

“Rachel Notley should just tell the (federal) NDP to get lost,” he said.

The federal NDP is also seeking a new leader after delegates at the Edmonton convention voted in favour of replacing Tom Mulcair.

Notley said she won’t run for the federal leadership, while her chief of staff, Brian Topp, and deputy chief of staff, Anne McGrath, also took themselves out of the running.