Premier Rachel Notley didn’t pull any punches speaking about her opposition at an event at the University of Calgary Saturday.
Speaking to her supporters at MacEwan Hall, Notley said her government is unafraid to take on big tasks — something she said previous governments didn’t do.
“We’re taking on big issues and putting families first,” Notley told the crowd. “[It’s] a sure-fire way to make our opponents howl — and wow, they are howling.”
Notley said the “howling” coming from the opposition is often criticism of her policies and government — and she said she thinks they will criticize no matter what she does.
“I’d be more willing to let this behaviour slide if it wasn’t for the fact that they always, always, always act like this,” she said. “They will do anything to score cheap political points — even if it means talking Alberta and Albertans down.”
She also said the opposition is posting messages on social media criticizing her government’s policies, but didn’t do nearly enough in their decades of power.
“It’s become pretty clear why our opponents never did much when they were in government — it was because they were literally terrified of everything,” she said.
With the federal Liberal government approving the Trans-Mountain and Line 3 pipelines, Notley said her government`s work on the projects shows its commitments to making real change in Alberta. “Working families shouldn’t have to choose between their jobs and the environment,” she said.
“How did we get those approvals [for the pipelines]? We didn’t sling mud, we didn’t throw temper tantrums, we didn’t take the low road. We’ll leave that to the opposition.”
As for whether that opposition unites itself, Notley said she isn’t concerned about campaigning two years before the next presumed election.
“No matter how they sort themselves out, we’ll be ready,” she said. “And we’ll be ready because we know where we stand and we know where they stand.”