OPINION | The sudden diplomacy of Premier Jason Kenney

Well, at least the universe didn'texplode.

When newly mintedAlberta Premier Jason Kenney met with Prime Minister Trudeau in Ottawa Thursday it was the political equivalent of matter and antimatter colliding.

Kenney has a shopping list of disputes with Trudeau that include the federal carbon tax, Bill C-48, Bill C-69, and equalization.

To make the meeting even more awkward, Kenney has made no secret of his complete disdain for Trudeau both professionally and personally, once publicly insulting Trudeau as "an empty trust-fund millionaire who has the political depth of a finger bowl."

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But the two men do agree on one thing: the need to get the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project underway as soon as possible so Alberta can get more of its oil to the West Coast for shipment to Asia.

Unless, of course, Trudeau doesn'tagree.

Trudeau might not be in such a hurry to approve the pipeline expansion underway now that the Kenney-led UCP government has replaced the Rachel Notley-led NDP government.

Especially when Kenney just last month tweeted that "in the fall, we join with [federal Conservative leader]Andrew Scheer to work to defeat Justin Trudeau at the polls."

It wouldn'tbe a stretch to imagine Trudeau dragging his feet on approving the pipeline project until after the federal election in October [to win votes from environmentally conscious types in B.C. as well as in Ontario and Quebec].

And not just for petty retributive political reasons.

Trudeau gave conditional approval to the Trans Mountain project in 2016 because of then-premier Notley's climate leadership plan that included an Alberta carbon tax and a 100-megatonne per-year cap on greenhouse gas emissions from the oilsands.

Now Trudeau is dealing with Kenney who just won an election victory promising to blow up the climate leadership plan, scrap the Alberta carbon tax, and fight the federal carbon tax.

How can Trudeau possiblyapprove the pipeline project now?

That's the question you'd assume the two men were discussing through gritted teeth Thursday afternoon.

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To help win over Trudeau, Kenney has already suggested he's malleable on the oilsands emissions cap.

In fact, he's so malleable he's denying he ever made a campaign promise to lift the cap. It should be pointed out that party officials told journalists during the campaign in no uncertain terms that a UCP government would absolutely lift the cap. Kenney now says he was simply "opposed" to the cap.

And he says it's all a moot point because the cap is so relatively low it won't be an issue for another decade. He now seems to be suggesting he's willing to let the cap stay as is.

No doubt acting as an incentive are comments from federal Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi that, if the emissions cap is lifted, Ottawa would place new in-situ projects in the oilsands under federal regulation.

A familiar approach

Kenney is desperate to get the pipeline project underway. He's so desperate he looks remarkably like Notley who tied her political survival to the expansion project that morphed from personal flotation device to lead weight when the project hit a series of delays.

Kenney, like Notley, has bet his political credibility on getting the project built.

Like Notley, he appeared before Senate committees reviewing Bill C-69 (the "no more pipelines bill," as Kenney calls it) and Bill C-48, the tanker ban bill.

"Toss C-48 in the garbage. It's where it belongs," Kenney told the Senate.

Oh, wait. That was Notley when she appeared before a Senate committee in February.

"This is not just a slight against the people of Alberta, this is the culmination of a full-frontal attack on our economic prosperity," Notley told the Senate.

Oh, wait. That was Kenney when he appeared before a Senate committee on Thursday.

When it comes to fighting for Alberta's interests, the two politicians sound remarkably alike when they're sitting in the premier's chair.

During the election campaign, both were trying to outdo each other in expressing the anger and frustration many Albertans are feeling over the province's economic troubles and lack of progress on Trans Mountain. But Kenney did anger and frustration much better than Notley.

He is tryingthough, to rein in the outrage.

Kenney is even Notley-esque in his language over Alberta's Bill 12, the turn-off-the-taps legislation, aimed at cutting off oil exports to British Columbia to help get the pipeline expansion underway.

Notley passed Bill 12 last year but said she wouldn'tuse the law unless it was absolutely necessary. For the past year, and all through the election campaign, Kenney pretty much called her a political coward for not proclaiming the legislation and making it a law on the books. This week, Kenney proclaimed the law but he too said he wouldn'tuse it unless absolutely necessary.

That didn'tstop B.C. Premier John Horgan from immediately launching a court challenge that, if successful, would strike down the law before Kenney ever has a chance to turn off the taps.

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But the new Premier Kenney is trying to be more statesmanlike than the old Opposition leader Kenney. That's understandable and laudable.

And for the sake of Alberta's economy let's hope it works.

But you have to wonder when it comes to making a deal with "an empty trust-fund millionaire who has the political depth of a finger bowl," Kenney's sudden diplomacy is too little too late.

This column is an opinion. For more information about our commentary section, please read the editor's blogandour FAQ.