QUÉBEC — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her tenuous grasp of the French language and other differences shouldn’t get in the way of Alberta and Quebec deepening their economic ties.

Smith, who is on a two-day trip to Quebec City, told business leaders Wednesday that the recent playoff demise of the Montreal Canadiens was just one of many ways Albertans and Quebecors could relate to each other.

“Unfortunately, you know the same heartbreak that we’ve known the last two years in Alberta,” Smith said in a speech at a Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Quebec event.

Smith, who switched between French and English, said when the Habs became the last Canadian team standing in the National Hockey League playoffs Albertans threw their support behind Montreal.

“This is an excellent example of why I’m here too. And we hope that you are cheering for us too, not only in hockey, but in the strength of our federation,” Smith said.

She said Alberta and Quebec should forge ahead with a stronger economic alliance, and called on business leaders to deepen their connections with Alberta and promised to do the same upon returning home.

“We should do everything that we can to boost trade ties, partnerships and collaboration between our two great provinces,” Smith said.

The premier jokingly pointed to her grasp of the French language — at one point telling the crowd to “hang on to your ears” before switching from English — and said that while there are major differences between Quebec and Alberta, she thinks there’s much to gain by working together.

She said Alberta’s agriculture sector was a perfect match for Quebec’s agri-food processing industry and that plastics produced in her province feed well into the manufacturing sector in the east.

“We see lots of other points of connection, too — in aerospace, in defence, in critical minerals, in liquefied natural gas and clean energy,” said Smith, who also mentioned each province’s historically shaky relationship with Ottawa.

“And with shifting geopolitics, Alberta is keen to collaborate on an east-west energy corridor as discussion about energy, sovereignty and security become increasingly relevant.”

Quebec’s Canada relations minister, Jean Boulet, speaking at the same event, said Smith’s trip to Quebec was a clear sign of the importance she placed on the relationship between the two provinces.

“The current geopolitical situation worldwide unstable, but Quebec and Alberta can count on each other,” Boulet said.

Smith was set to meet with Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette later Wednesday.

Smith had said earlier this week that she and Fréchette have plenty of shared interests, especially in deepening their independence within Canada, despite bubbling support for separation in both provinces.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2026.

— By Jack Farrell in Edmonton