'Protecting the pensions of all Canadians' a priority, Freeland says ahead of Friday CPP meeting

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says “protecting the pensions of all Canadians” is a federal government priority ahead of convening a meeting Friday with her provincial and territorial counterparts to discuss Alberta potentially pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan.

Alberta’s UCP has been mulling the idea of leaving the CPP and forming its own pension plan since 2020, with Premier Danielle Smith taking next steps to do so in recent months.

Now, Freeland is set to end her week with an 11 a.m. EDT virtual meeting with provincial and territorial finance ministers to discuss the "serious concerns" some provinces have raised.

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On Tuesday, Freeland's office made public a letter she sent to her counterparts, stating in part that she’s heard from Canadians, including Albertans, about plans to withdraw from the fund.

“For six decades, the CPP has been the bedrock of a secure and dignified retirement for Canadians, very much including the people of Alberta,” Freeland said at a press conference Tuesday.

“The Alberta Federation of Labour has said that the proposed move to a provincial pension plan would be, quote, ‘truly scary for anyone contemplating a safe and stable retirement’,” she added. “Protecting the pensions of all Canadians is a priority for our government, and I look forward to an important conversation about this with my counterparts from across the country on Friday.”

According to the Canada Pension Plan Act, a province wishing to withdraw must negotiate with the federal government and come to an agreement on how to do so.

An analysis from LifeWorks, on which the Alberta government is basing its cost-benefit calculations for a possible Alberta Pension Plan, estimates the western province would be entitled to $334 billion if it were to leave the CPP in 2027, which is more than half the total amount in the $570 billion federal fund.

Freeland, in her open letter to the provincial and territorial finance ministers, called Alberta’s plan a “threat” to Canadians’ and Albertans’ pensions, which she called "the bedrock of a secure and dignified retirement."

“Alberta has the right to withdraw from the CPP should it so choose,” she wrote. “But that choice should be informed by a clear understanding of the risks posed by leaving the CPP—including of those stemming from the Government of Alberta’s flawed analysis of the share of CPP assets to which the government claims Alberta would be entitled.”

Freeland added she plans to “specifically speak to the flaws” of Alberta’s exit plan during Friday’s meeting, calling a possible outcome of LifeWorks’ calculations “untenable and absurd.”

The province has tapped a former Alberta treasurer to lead a panel to gather feedback from Albertans on the move to leave the CPP, and the team has been carrying out telephone town halls and conducting a survey on the provincial government’s website to gauge opinions.

The province’s lead on the file, Finance Minister Nate Horner, said on CTV’s Question Period on Sunday that the province’s decision on whether or not to hold a referendum on leaving the CPP will be based on “high level feelings from many sources” following consultations with Albertans.

Following up the next day, Premier Smith — in response to a question about an objective metric the province is using to decide whether to go to a referendum based on consultations with Albertans — said that “the most important thing is getting a firm number.”

“What I've heard is that Albertans want to see a solid number, and so do we,” she said. “So we've asked the federal government, if they don't like our calculation, and they think we've misinterpreted the act, to tell us what they think the number is.”

“So once we get that number, then we'll have a better idea of whether Albertans want to go to a referendum on the basis of the calls we received to MLA offices, the survey results, consultations ... polling, all of that.”