Sonya Savage
Sonya Savage | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Energy of Alberta | |
| Assumed office April 30, 2019 | |
| Premier | Jason Kenney |
| Preceded by | Margaret McCuaig-Boyd |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-North West | |
| Assumed office April 16, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Sandra Jansen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1967 (age 53–54)[1] |
| Political party | United Conservative Party |
| Occupation | Environment & Energy Lawyer |
Sonya M. Savage is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Calgary-North West in the 30th Alberta Legislature.[2] She is a member of the United Conservative Party.[3] On April 30, 2019, she was appointed to be the Minister of Energy in the Executive Council of Alberta.
Alberta Energy Minister[edit]
Sonya Savage, whose background in energy and the environment includes major projects, such as the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines and with her work as an executive of Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA), was appointed Minister of Energy on April 30, 2019.[4][5] She is tasked with overhauling the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER)—one of the UCP's campaign promises with the aim of implementing "shorter timelines for project approvals."[5] She was also involved in "CEPA's examination of Bill C-69, Ottawa's overhaul of how major energy projects — including oil and gas pipelines — are reviewed by the federal government."[5]
In February 2019, the previous government signed a crude-by-rail program agreement with two railway companies—and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Canadian National Railway (CNR) with a goal of reducing the Western Canadian Select price discount that has been exacerbated by the "lack of pipeline capacity". Through the four-year, $3.7-billion agreement the "province would have purchased and shipped 120,000 barrels of crude a day."[6] The NDP had estimated that the program would have generated "revenue of $6-billion", according to The Globe and Mail. The Kenney government cancelled the agreement shortly after taking office because the "financial risks were too high".[6]
In the first year as minister Savage negotiated with Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Canadian National Railway (CNR) to cancel the crude-by-rail program agreement signed by the Premier Rachel Notley.[6]
In a May 20 interview on the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC) podcast, Minister Savage told the podcast host, John Bavil, that Green party leader, Elizabeth May's May 6 comment that "oil is dead" was not "gaining resonance with ordinary Canadians" because Canadians need oil. "Canadians are just trying to get by."[7]:17:06 Savage added that Canadians were "not going to have tolerance and patience for protests that get in the way of people working",[8] and that the "economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic favours pipeline construction", according to Canadian Press journalist, Bob Weber.[9] Savage told Bavil that "Now is a great time to be building a pipeline because you can't have protests of more than 15 people...Let's get it built."[8][9] The comment received wide media coverage.
Electoral record[edit]
| 2019 Alberta general election: Calgary-North West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| United Conservative | Sonya Savage | 13,565 | 56.7 | -2.75 | ||||
| New Democratic | Hafeez Chishti | 7,611 | 31.8 | +2.17 | ||||
| Alberta Party | Andrew Bradley | 2,171 | 9.1 | +3 | ||||
| Freedom Conservative | Cam Kham | 262 | 1.1 | |||||
| Liberal | Prerna Mahtani | 258 | 1.1 | -3.74 | ||||
| Independent | Roberta McDonald | 69 | 0.3 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 23,936 | |||||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 228 | |||||||
| Eligible voters | 34,699 | |||||||
| Turnout | 69.5% | |||||||
References[edit]
- ^ Martindale-Hubbell International Law Directory - Google Books. 2011-03-28. ISBN 9781561602230. Retrieved 2019-10-17. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Alberta election: Calgary-Peigan results - Calgary". Globalnews.ca. 2019-03-17. Retrieved 2019-04-17. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ "Ministry of Energy". Government of Alberta. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
- ^ a b c Varcoe, Chris (May 1, 2019). "New Alberta energy minister steps into cabinet's hot seat". Calgary Herald. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
- ^ a b c Graney, Emma (October 27, 2019). "Alberta nears deal to unload crude-by-rail contracts to private sector". The Globe and Mail via the Canadian Press. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
- ^ Green Party's Elizabeth May declares that "oil is dead". May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020. 17:06
- ^ a b Development, PodBean (May 20, 2020). "May 2020: Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage". CAODC (Podcast). Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ a b Weber, Bob. "Gathering limits make it a 'great time to be building a pipeline:' Alberta minister". Canadian Press via National Post. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
| Alberta provincial government of Jason Kenney | ||
| Cabinet post (1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Margaret McCuaig-Boyd | Minister of Energy April 30, 2019– |
Incumbent |
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