Prime Minister says Ottawa will work constructively with Alberta after sovereignty act passes

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is going to work as constructively as possible with Alberta after lawmakers passed Premier Danielle Smith’s controversial sovereignty act.

“We are not going to get into arguing about something that obviously is the Alberta government trying to push back at the federal government,” Trudeau said Thursday in Ottawa.

“We are going to continue to work as constructively as possible.”

The legislature passed the legislation overnight after stripping out a provision that would have granted the provincial cabinet extraordinary powers.

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Alberta passes sovereignty act, but first strips out sweeping powers to cabinet

Smith described the legislation during a third and final reading of the bill as a resetting of the relationship with Trudeau and the federal government.