Alberta wants a champion, Trudeau needs a saviour. Can Chrystia Freeland be both?

One of the nagging questions looming over Trudeau as he narrowly won the federal election in October was what to do about Western alienation plaguing the country due to a perceived lack of support from Ottawa in terms of the energy industry and pipelines.

In Freeland, Trudeau has arguably his strongest minister, a trusted hand he hopes will help deal with Western Canada. The western provinces didn’t elect many Liberal MPs — Saskatchewan and Alberta elected none — so there’s little in the way of western representation in the federal cabinet.

Lori Williams, a policy studies professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said the move to appoint Freeland as deputy prime minister doesn’t hurt since she was born in the northwestern community of Peace River and got her start in small-town Alberta.

“This isn’t just some easterner coming out to tell westerners what to do, it’s someone who spent a good part of her life, not just in Alberta, but in a relatively smaller community,” Williams said.

According to media reports, Freeland’s father, Don Freeland, still resides in Alberta up in Peace Country. In a 2018 National Post article, Don talked about his daughter’s dealings with the Donald Trump government in the United States while renegotiating NAFTA.

The retired lawyer lives a life many in Alberta can identify with — he drives a combine and harvests Barley on a 6,000-acre farm in Peace River.

Freeland’s life today is about as far removed from that rural existence as you can get.

She left Alberta after attending high school for a couple years in Edmonton, then went to university overseas. After a successful career as a journalist, she wrote a book, but eventually left the world of writing to join the political realm. She became the Liberal MP for Toronto Centre in 2013 and has had an illustrious career as a cabinet minister in Trudeau’s government since 2015.

In and of itself, Freeland’s new post, which includes the intergovernmental affairs portfolio, won’t appease the angrier segments of the population out West, said Williams. It could give her a slight edge in being able to connect with some in Alberta, like rural populations and the Ukrainian community, due to her own heritage and her ability to speak the language.

While her connections may help, Williams noted that “her primary reputation is not as an Alberta politician.”

“The big reason why Chrystia Freeland was appointed to this portfolio is that, as we’re seeing today, the government wants to send a message loud and clear that they take seriously the concerns that are being expressed,” she said.

But with an unfriendly Alberta government led by Premier Jason Kenney’s United Conservatives, and several controversial policy decisions mostly pertaining to the energy industry constantly under attack from western provinces, Trudeau has had to scramble to find a way to put a lid on some of the bubbling anger.

Things have already begun to shift. Manitoba’s Liberal MP Jim Carr, the new special representative in Trudeau’s government who’s expected to help patch things up in the Prairies, has said they’re open to making some changes. Specifically, to the controversial Bill C48, which bans oil tanker traffic from a portion of B.C.’s coast and Bill C69, which changes how energy infrastructure projects are assessed. Moves like this would likely be stick handled by several ministers, and as the intergovernmental affairs lead, Freeland would have a say there as well, said Williams.

Though Alberta doesn’t tend to elect Liberals like Freeland, she’s not an unknown quantity, either. When Trudeau was first elected in 2015, Freeland was appointed minister of international trade. She then moved to minister of foreign affairs, where she successfully led NAFTA negotiations with the United States. She has also been active on Canada’s military policy and represented a prominent voice on international issues, like the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

But with her new high-profile position, her attention will need to shift back home to deal with several provinces. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have bristly provincial governments, and an electorate that mostly revolted against the Liberals in the election — except for four seats in Manitoba.

Ultimately, it comes down to what she can get done, said Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, who added that Freeland is so far removed from her links to the West that she simply won’t qualify for a stamp of approval as an Albertan politician.

“The fact that she’s got some tenuous roots to Alberta, you know, helps. It certainly doesn’t hurt, but let’s damp down that she’s an Alberta girl coming home,” Bratt said.

“I see it as: She’s the best minister he’s got.”

Image plays a role in politics and in Alberta, nobody knows that better than Jason Kenney, who famously spent many days campaigning this spring by driving around in a blue pickup truck, the vehicle of choice for many Albertans, and a nod to blue collar workers who make up much of the conservative base.

However, somewhat ironically, Kenney isn’t originally from Alberta. Born in Ontario and raised in Saskatchewan, he moved to Calgary in his 20s and eventually became a federal cabinet minister in Stephen Harper’s government. He was a Calgary MP in Ottawa for many years before returning home to Alberta in 2017 to build the new United Conservative Party.

Even though some in Alberta criticize him for spending so long wading into federal politics in Ontario, Kenney hasn’t suffered — at least in terms of votes — and his image of being a strong ally to the province’s oilpatch played a large part in his victory last spring when he ousted Rachel Notley and the NDP.

But Bratt said Freeland can’t expect that same warm welcome. She’s spent most of her life since leaving Alberta overseas and in places like New York, Toronto and London.

“You’re not going to see Chrystia Freeland in a blue pickup truck,” said Bratt.

With files from The Canadian Press