The Prime Minister says he will do everything possible to make sure Alberta does not withdraw from Canada’s Pension Plan.

The Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, made the proposal for the province to create an Alberta Pension Plan to send a message to Ottawa to stop taking the province’s contributions for granted.

Trudeau wrote an open letter to Smith, saying it would weaken the pension of millions in Alberta and across the country, should they follow through. He writes that should Alberta withdraw from CPP it “would expose millions of Canadians to greater volatility and would deny them the certainty and stability that has benefitted generations”.

Smith wrote a letter back to the Prime Minister saying she was concerned by his tone and the decision lies with Albertans. She says although there would some effect if Alberta withdrew from CPP, it would not be as severe as he implies.

Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau is clearly against Albertans having a referendum to decide their future.

Thankfully, this decision is not his to make.

These pensions belong to Albertans. They will decide. pic.twitter.com/p1dJD1GPNI

— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) October 18, 2023

Smith released a third-party report in September that estimated Alberta deserves more than half of the CPP’s assets. It says Alberta should get $334 billion of the CPP if it leaves the program in 2027, following a three-year notice.