Premier Danielle Smith did not hesitate to blame Ottawa during her provincial speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.

The premier spoke to approximately 1,000 business and community leaders, saying that under her leadership, Alberta’s economy is thriving.

With nearly 200,000 people moving to Alberta, Smith calls it a “pleasant problem” but mentions some of the problems it has caused.

She says the province faces major challenges in housing, public safety and affordability, blaming those shortcomings on the federal government.

“The carbon tax is one of the biggest drivers of rising costs across the country, hitting Canadians’ wallets on everything from food and fuel to home heating,” Smith said.

On Tuesday, Smith announced the province was taking Ottawa to court over the carbon tax, specifically over the exemption for heating oil in Eastern Canada.

The province has several programs to help build new housing amid an affordability crisis, but says Ottawa “has failed to meet its obligations.”

“Ideally, they would partner with us to ensure housing solutions meet local needs and provincial priorities,” Smith said.

“Instead, they have made a habit of attaching ideologically motivated strings and conditions to their funding. »

Smith praised the provincial capital, saying employment in Edmonton grew 5 per cent last year, contributing to “nearly half of the province’s overall gains.” She added that the city has the second highest commercial growth of all major Canadian cities, just behind Calgary.

Alberta Federation of Labor president Gil McGowan says the province has the lowest wage growth rate in the country and the highest unemployment rate west of Newfoundland.

He does not believe that the Prime Minister governs on behalf of workers or business.

“This is not a province that performs well, quite the contrary,” McGowan said.

“Everything I can see and certainly what I hear from the workers that I represent in this province, this is not a successful province.”

“Blame Ottawa”

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says the Prime Minister must “take responsibility for her own actions.”

“Right now, she blames Ottawa for everything,” Nensi told the legislature Tuesday in response to Smith’s speech.

“(Smith is) like a kid who drops his ice cream cone in the corner and cries instead of figuring out how to get a new ice cream cone,” Nenshi said.

He says Edmontonians face real problems with crime and unemployment, problems he believes the premier should address.

“They need a government that understands Edmonton, that is willing to work to help Edmonton businesses thrive and improve the quality of life here,” Nenshi said.

The prime minister faces a leadership vote this weekend and has refused to say what percentage of support she hopes to get.

“The number that excites me the most is to see if we can get 6,000 people to what I think will be the most attended political event not only in Alberta, but in the entire country,” Smith said.

With files from Chelan Skulski of CTV News Edmonton