Canada's finance ministers set to hold meeting on proposed Alberta pension plan

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she'll be holding a meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts to discuss Alberta's pension proposal.

Last month, the province said it is exploring pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).

The idea has been garnering widespread negative feedback, and it hasn't just been limited to Alberta's ideological enemies.

Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre expressed his disapproval last week, and on Wednesday, another Alberta ally echoed the sentiment.

Ontario's Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy wrote an open letter to Freeland to request an "urgent meeting" of finance ministers – and it's a request Freeland said she's accepted.

"We will be convening a special meeting of the provincial, territorial and federal finance ministers to talk about the Canada Pension Plan," the deputy PM said in Calgary.

She also told reporters she has spoken with Nova Scotia's Finance Minister Allan MacMaster about the proposal.

"The CPP works really, really well for all Canadians, for all Albertans, and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to discuss that," she said. "This is an issue which has implications for the whole country."

It's unknown when the meeting will take place.

AN UNLIKELY HOST?

In response to Bethlenfalvy, on Wednesday, Alberta's Finance Minister Nate Horner penned his own open letter.

He says he welcomes the idea of a meeting.

His leader even says her government can host.

"Let's have a meeting in Calgary and put that on the agenda," Premier Danielle Smith said, "along with the cost of the carbon tax, which is adding over $700 to the household bill of Albertans. Let's talk about the issues as well around equalization."

"All of the things that have been consistently creating problems in confederation."

Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams says she thinks Smith's push for a separate plan could severely damage Alberta's reputation.

"One has to wonder why they are pursuing this," she told CTV News. "Is it because they're committed and think it's a good idea? Or is it simply a political move to advance Alberta's interests against Ottawa and the Liberal government?"

As of Wednesday, Smith says she hasn't discussed the pension idea with any other provincial or territorial governments.