Insiders and Influence: How Big Coal Lobbied the UCP Government

Alberta’s United Conservative Party government has delivered several major changes to the province’s coal policy since taking office.

These policy shifts have at times seemed abrupt — in the case of the recent lifting of the moratorium on new coal development in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, unaccompanied by official announcements.

But lobbying records and corporate documents show that communication between the coal industry and government departments on the remaking of Alberta’s coal policy has been continuous and extensive. And it appears to have been influential.

A review of hundreds of pages of publicly available documents has also identified 14 former government insiders hired by coal companies and industry associations to lobby for favourable coal policy changes, including past energy and environment ministers; an Alberta Energy Regulator executive; policy advisers; and various senior staff from UCP, NDP, Wildrose and Progressive Conservative caucuses.

Here is a timeline detailing the coal industry’s lobbying campaigns, lobbyist ties to Alberta politics and key policy decisions.

March 22, 2017: Benga Mining Ltd. hires Alastair Sanderson to lobby the government on provincial coal policy, the Water Act and water licensing in southern Alberta, and approval of the Grassy Mountain coal mine.

Sanderson held the position of assistant deputy minister at Alberta’s Department of Energy until 2016.

May 1, 2017: Benga expands lobbying through a contract with Impact Consulting.

Alberta’s lobbyist registry lists two consultant lobbyists handling Benga’s file: Jason Ennis, former senior policy adviser to the deputy minister of Alberta agriculture and rural development, and Brookes Merritt, senior communications consultant serving various ministers until 2015.

Sept. 21, 2018: After acquiring Impact Consulting, Global Public Affairs assumes responsibility for Benga’s lobbying campaign.

Elan MacDonald, who served as acting chief of staff and adviser to Premier Alison Redford, joins Ennis and Merritt as a consultant lobbyist on the file.

June 18, 2019: The Coal Association of Canada’s president, Robin Campbell, meets with then-minister of environment and parks Jason Nixon to discuss proposed coal mining in the eastern slopes and related land-use planning and zoning.

Campbell was an MLA from 2008 to 2015 and served as the minister of environment, finance and Aboriginal relations.

Reise O'Hara, who was chief of staff to the Alberta transportation minister until 2015, is also listed as a lobbyist for CAC in the provincial registry.

June 21, 2019: Campbell meets with deputy minister of Alberta Energy to discuss potential coal mining, primarily export coal in the eastern slopes, and making amendments to the 1976 Coal Policy to reflect updated land-use plans and attract investment to build coal mines.

Sept. 17, 2019: Campbell meets with Minister of Indigenous Relations Rick Wilson to discuss consultation capacity and “impact benefits of resource projects, specifically coal mines in Alberta.” He also meets again with Nixon about coal mining in the eastern slopes.

Oct. 11, 2019: Then-minister of economic development, trade and tourism Tanya Fir and Nixon meet with Valory Resources chairman Vaughan Wishart.

Oct. 29: 2019: In a letter to Wishart, Fir states that “Alberta is open for business.” After touting plans to cut corporate taxes by a third and reduce red tape, Fir tells Wishart to contact her “if there is anything I can do to help in the completion of your mining project.”

December 2019: Though not listed in the province’s lobbyist registry, Atrum Coal states in a year-end report that “throughout 2019, senior executives of Atrum also had numerous meetings and engagement activities with Alberta government officers and ministers of Alberta Energy, Alberta Environment and Parks and Alberta Infrastructure.”

Jan. 30, 2020: The deputy minister of energy meets with CAC president Campbell to discuss exporting Alberta coal and “potential opportunities for stranded coal assets.”

February 2020: In an investor presentation document, Valory Resources says it has recently met with key members of the legislative assembly and received strong statements of support indicating that the provincial government is “pro-development and open for business.”

Feb. 18, 2020: Campbell meets with then-minister of red tape reduction Grant Hunter to talk about options for reviewing the 1976 Coal Policy.

April 2020: In a scoping study of its Elan coal project, Atrum says its regular engagement with Alberta government has increased confidence the project will be approved, “potentially as early as this year.”

April 30, 2020: CAC president Campbell discusses the 1976 Coal Policy and land-use planning with the energy minister.

May 15, 2020: The government of Alberta rescinds the 1976 Coal Policy and announces it is “modernizing” the rules to provide flexibility and certainty for industry.

May 22, 2020: Lobbying records filed by CAC state Campbell will “discuss the implications of the 1976 Coal Policy with the minister and deputy minister of energy.” A meeting with the premier is also requested, and the CAC president is expected to present to the UCP energy caucus in the months ahead.

Oct. 7, 2020: Global Public Affairs begins lobbying government on coal policy and the development of operations for Cabin Ridge Holdings Ltd. Handling the file are Ennis and Brian Senio, former special adviser to the finance minister.

Nov. 30, 2020: Montem Resources contracts Mark Taylor, executive vice-president of the operations division for the Alberta Energy Regulator from 2017 to 2019, to lobby for approval to restart “Tent Mountain Mine without the requirement to conduct a new Environmental Impact Assessment.”

Feb. 8, 2021: Following extensive public pushback, the government of Alberta reinstates the Coal Policy, issues directives banning mountaintop removal mining and restricting exploration approvals on Category 2 lands, and promises to consult with the public.

April 5, 2021: New West Public Affairs begins lobbying various ministries for Montem, including discussing the 1976 Coal Policy and seeking approvals required to resume Tent Mountain operations.

Consultant lobbyists include Sonia Kont, former UCP communications chair; Keith McLaughlin, chief of staff to the municipal affairs minister from 2016 to 2019; and Matt Solberg, principal secretary to Wildrose party leader Brian Jean, press secretary for Jean’s leadership campaign and director of communications for the 2019 UCP election campaign.

July 13, 2021: Benga hires Longview Communications to lobby for the Grassy Mountain project and discuss how it “fits within the government’s broader coal and economic development policies.”

Lobbyists include Evan Legate, assistant to Alberta’s energy minister in 2012-13, executive director of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and campaign manager for Doug Schweitzer’s UCP leadership campaign.

June 22, 2022: Benga contracts Crestview Strategy to continue its lobbying campaign on coal policy and Grassy Mountain.

Lobbyists include Evan Menzies, who previously worked as a communications director for the UCP and Wildrose.

Nov. 4, 2022: Ram River Coal Corp. enlists Longview Communications consultant Legate to provide information on its proposed mine project in the Rocky Mountain foothills west of Red Deer.

Sept. 6, 2023: Northback Holdings, formerly Benga Mining, files three applications for exploratory drilling related to the Grassy Mountain project.

Sept. 21, 2023: Northback contracts Enterprise Canada, with Steven McLellan, past director of policy and research for the UCP caucus, assigned to advocate for project decisions and approvals.

Nov. 16, 2023: Energy Minister Brian Jean sends a letter to the Alberta Energy Regulator sharing his interpretation of existing ministerial orders and identifying Grassy Mountain, Tent Mountain, Mine 14 and Vista mine “advanced projects.”

April 30, 2024: Lobbying records show in the preceding six months, CAC met with energy and environment deputy ministers “on issues as they relate to the coal industry, economic opportunities, the coal policy and existing land-use planning.”

Dec. 20, 2024: Alberta announces “modernized” coal policy coming in 2025, which includes a ban on new open-pit mines, with exemptions for advanced projects.

Jan. 15, 2025: Jean sends a letter to the AER rescinding the moratorium on coal exploration and development.

Jan. 20, 2025: Northback updates its lobbyist registry to include Colin Aitchison, acting director of government communications and senior press secretary, 2022-23, and government of Alberta press secretary, 2019-20.

The office of the minister of energy and minerals said in an email this lobbying has had no impact on the government's coal policy.

“No lobbying effort has influenced the current government’s decisions, we cannot speak of the NDP decision to reverse the 1976 Coal Policy and allowed applications for coal mines in Category 2 lands in 2016-18.”