CALGARY, Alberta, April 11 (Reuters) - Alberta's New
Democratic Premier Rachel Notley on Monday condemned a manifesto
introduced at a party convention opposing pipelines and fossil
fuels, saying the proposed policies were not appropriate for
Canada's main crude-producing province.
The left-leaning federal New Democratic Party (NDP) voted to
consider the principles of the so-called Leap Manifesto during
its national convention in Edmonton, Alberta, over the weekend.
Party members also voted to oust national leader Thomas Mulcair.
Speaking at a news conference in Edmonton, Notley described
the energy parts of the manifesto as "ill-informed," "naive" and
"tone-deaf."
The premier's comments underline the policy split between
the provincial NDP in Alberta, which is home to Canada's oil
sands and the No. 1 exporter of crude to the United States, and
its federal counterpart.
Notley and the provincial party were voted into power in
Alberta in May, ending 44 years of Conservative rule.
At the federal level, the NDP are Canada's third political
party after last October's election, in which the center-left
Liberals surged to a majority victory.
Alberta has been hard hit by the prolonged slump in global
oil prices, and has warned the budget deficit will be more than
C$10 billion ($7.76 billion) this year.
Notley has repeatedly asked the Liberal government for
support in getting a pipeline built from Alberta to a port to
export oil sands crude to new markets overseas.
($1 = 1.2889 Canadian dollars)