Alberta government explains why "Tell the Feds" campaign site was yanked ahead of cold snap
Last week’s brutal cold snap, which led to the Alberta government issuing an emergency alert warning of potential rolling power outages as spots across the province plunged into the -40°Cs, reminded many Albertans of the province’s “Tell the Feds” advertising campaign.
The campaign, which ran from September 25 to November 2, took aim at the federal government’s move to create a net-zero electricity grid by 2035, with billboards across the country and a website encouraging Canadians to write to MPs opposing the transition.
The all-black banners with white text read, “Nobody wants blackouts in -30°” and were seen country-wide, including on this giant billboard in Dundas Square in Toronto.
Omar Sherif/Daily Hive
The website warned Canadians, “The cost of achieving a net zero grid by 2035 will leave our power grid dependent on intermittent and unreliable sources like solar and wind.”
“Imagine no heat at -30°, and no power for the Internet or to charge your phone,” the website’s text read.
So, when temperatures plummeted and electricity demand strained the system, prompting the emergency alert, Albertans couldn’t help but notice the irony of it all. It drew attention back to the site, which led people to notice that it had been decommissioned.
A thread to Reddit on r/Alberta saw many having fun at the expense of the now-defunct website after Albertans tried accessing it.
“Was there are recent provincial emergency that would make this website and its content make the government look bad? I’m drawing a blank here,” one joked.
Others took to the streets to poke fun at the campaign, with a poster in Calgary printed in a similar style to the advertisements:
I do love a good ad-bustin'. pic.twitter.com/MgjQYRRNYK
— DJ Kelly (@djkelly) January 18, 2024
Ryan Fournier, press secretary for Minister of Environment and Protected Areas of Alberta Rebecca Shulz, explained to Daily Hive that the “Tell the Feds” campaign ran at the same time as “the brief window when the federal government was willing to consider input on these dangerous regulations” and that the website was decommissioned on January 10.
“Alberta’s national advertising campaign was a success. It helped raise awareness of how these federal regulations will increase costs and hurt grid reliability,” he stated.
“There is no connection between the website and the record temperatures seen this weekend, but the freezing weather did show the importance of natural gas to Alberta’s electricity system and why we strongly oppose the flawed federal regulations.”
Fournier continued, adding that “wind generated almost no power, and we also saw solar power disappear when the sun went down as we entered peak demand.”
“It is critical for Alberta to find the right electricity mix that includes renewables and dispatchable baseload power, which for the foreseeable future is natural gas.”
On Monday morning, the Alberta System Electronic Operator (AESO) issued its fourth grid alert in as many days as the daily low temperatures hovered around -34°C in Edmonton and -31°C in Calgary. However, the alert quickly ended once the sun rose, as increasing wind and solar generation created some relief in the system.