Article content

CALGARY — The Wildrose Party’s embrace of the decade-old Alberta “firewall” manifesto signals Canada will face a more assertive, independent Alberta if the challenger manages to topple the Progressive Conservatives next week.

As new poll numbers show Wildrose leader Danielle Smith maintaining a seven-point lead over PC Premier Alison Redford, Ms. Smith has been talking in recent days about her party’s co-option of many of the ideas in a conservative tract that would see Alberta aim for a level of independence once reserved for Quebec.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Wildrose's flame for an Alberta ‘firewall’ may prove problematic for other provinces Back to video

For example, a Wildrose government would consider a new police force and an Alberta Pension Plan that would benefit the province’s younger population.

[np-related]

‘Because we’re an energy superpower in our own right, there are certain things you can do when you have the capacity to do more’

“Because we’re an energy superpower in our own right, there are certain things you can do when you have the capacity to do more,” Ms. Smith said in an interview Monday. “These are the kinds of things that large provinces with robust economies have to start thinking about.”