Freeland will meet with provincial counterparts to discuss Alberta's plan to leave CPP

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrysita Freeland says she will meet with her provincial and territorial counterparts to discuss Alberta's proposal to pull the province out of the Canada Pension Plan.

Freeland was asked about a potential meeting during a press conference on Tuesday, after Ontario's Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy wrote to her requesting an "urgent meeting" of finance ministers to address Alberta's proposal.

Freeland said she spoke with Nova Scotia's Finance Minister Allan MacMaster — whose province is currently chairing the Council of the Federation — and confirmed that a meeting will happen.

"We will be convening a special meeting of the provincial, territorial and federal finance ministers to talk about the Canada Pension Plan," she said. She didn't say when the meeting will take place.

Bethlenfalvy's letter comes a week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote an open letter to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith attacking her plan to pull out of the CPP as a risk to "certainty and stability."

"While we will always maintain our respect for Alberta, our government firmly supports the CPP and shares your serious concerns with Alberta's proposal to withdraw from it," Bethlenfalvy said in his letter.

Ontario's finance minister said his province respects the role Alberta plays in Canada's economic success, and will continue to support its energy sector, but the CPP's strength is its national scope.

Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy has written to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland asking her to attend a meeting of provincial and territorial finance ministers to discuss Alberta's plan to pull out of the Canada Pension Plan. (CBC)

"At a time when economic challenges are putting pressure on household budgets, the people of Ontario and Canada should not have to worry about the security of their retirement savings or the possibility of costly increases to contributions," he said in the letter.

Freeland said she spoke with Bethlenfalvy on Tuesday, before he sent his letter, and she agreed a meeting would be "a good idea."

"The CPP works really, really well for all Canadians, for all Albertans, and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to discuss that with the finance ministers," she said.

Alberta minister offers to host meeting

Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner responded with his own open letter to Freeland offering to host a meeting in Calgary to discuss the CPP.

"We welcome all good-faith, rigorous analysis of the CPP Act withdrawal formula in advance of that meeting," Horner wrote.

"I encourage you to bring the discussion of a potential Alberta pension plan, along with the other issues ... to this table in a timely way."

Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner says he is willing to host a meeting of federal, provincial and territorial finance ministers to discuss the CPP. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Bethlenfalvy's arguments are similar to words Trudeau used in his letter last week.

"With all the uncertainty they face, Canadians should not have to worry whether or not the Canada Pension Plan will continue to be there for them in their retirement," Trudeau wrote.

Trudeau said Wednesday he has heard from other provinces that share Ontario's concern.

"The CPP has delivered solid pensions for millions of Canadians and it's an expression of the fact that we're all together," the prime minister told reporters before Wednesday's question period.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre issued a statement last week saying Alberta's premier is only picking a pension fight with Ottawa because the Liberal government has saddled the province with "carbon taxes, unconstitutional anti-energy laws and other unfair wealth transfers."

"I encourage Albertans to stay in the CPP," Poilievre said, adding he will "protect and secure the CPP for Albertans and all Canadians" by being a prime minister that lets Alberta "develop its resources to secure our future."

Challenging Alberta's assumptions

Last month, Smith released a long-awaited report by consultant LifeWorks claiming that if Alberta pulled out of the CPP, it would be entitled to $334 billion — more than half of the fund's assets.

Smith has long called for Alberta to leave the CPP and told reporters after the release of the LifeWorks report that "an Alberta pension plan would be fairer and could make life more affordable for all Albertans."

Critics of Smith's plan have ripped into the math underlying the conclusions in the LifeWorks report.

University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe published a paper estimating Alberta is entitled to only about 20 to 25 per cent of the fund.

"I think it was a little problematic that the government's hanging its hat on half the CPP assets, which ... is kind of transparently unreasonable and not going to fly anywhere else in the country," Tombe said.

Michel Leduc, senior managing director of the non-partisan Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages the fund's assets for Canadians, dismissed the $334-billion figure, claiming "it's basically invented."

A 2019 briefing note from Alberta's Finance Department to Travis Toews, who served as finance minister to both Smith and former premier Jason Kenney, estimated Alberta's slice of CPP assets at less than 12 per cent.

Bethlenfalvy's letter joined in on that criticism, saying the CPP "belongs to all workers and beneficiaries across Canada" and that if Alberta wants to leave, the CPP "must be divided fairly."

"To that end, we would also welcome a rigorous analysis of the assumptions that Alberta's proposal is based on," the letter said.

Freeland acknowledged that Alberta has the right to leave the plan, but echoed the criticisms of LifeWorks' report, saying that the decision to leave CPP should be "based on facts."

A possible referendum

Alberta has floated the idea of holding a referendum on withdrawing from the CPP as early as 2025.

According to the first major poll conducted since Smith began making the pitch to take Alberta out of the CPP, the proposal is widely opposed by Albertans.

Fifty-two per cent of Albertans polled by Abacus Data said they think it's a bad or very bad idea, compared to 19 per cent who think it's a good or very good one, and 15 per cent who are in the middle.

The few who support it are overwhelmingly younger Albertans — those farthest away from receiving pensions who are therefore less vulnerable to dramatic changes to the retirement fund.