No appetite for a provincial pension plan in Alberta, Danielle Smith says [Video]

The idea of Alberta opting out of the Canada Pension Plan isn’t moving ahead — at least for now.

Premier Danielle Smith says she won’t be putting the creation of a provincial pension plan to a referendum any time soon.

“I’m not seeing that there’s an appetite to put it to the people at the moment,” Smith told reporters at an unrelated press conference Thursday.

“I have said that I would put it to the people if I saw evidence they wanted to vote on it (but) I’m not seeing that at the moment.”

Smith said she thought the lack of appetite could be due, in part, to the lack of detail she said is available on how much the province would get from the national plan if it left.

In December, Canada’s chief actuary published a report saying Alberta’s perceived stake of the Canada Pension Plan’s overall assets was substantially overestimated.

A government-commissioned report from 2023 estimated Alberta would be owed over 50 per …