Can't they ever just get along, Justin Trudeau and Danielle Smith? Sometimes, yes!

In among all the pokey words Premier Danielle Smith flung at the prime minister (and his environment minister) after meeting with Justin Trudeau, one gentler term nudged its way into her rhetoric.

Gratitude.

That's right. From a premier from western province to a PM with surname.

«I also expressed gratitude for the progress on the Trans Mountain pipeline,» Smith told reporters in Edmonton, fresh off the road after her one-on-one with Trudeau down south in Calgary.

Trans Mountain is the project Trudeau has loved talking about as a symbol of his support for the petro-province, ever since the Liberal government purchased the beleaguered venture in 2018. Conservative Alberta premiers have been less quick to acknowledge the costly gesture amid their frustrations with Liberals on fossil fuel issues.

But in a matter of weeks, Alberta's westward pipeline capacity will triple, thanks to the $30 billion Trans Mountain expansion, and top Alberta and federal politicians will jointly appear at any ceremonial ribbon-cutting once the diluted bitumen starts flowing.

Thanks, but also no thanks

This grateful note from Smith was in a post-meeting press briefing far more heavily dominated by discussion of conflict points, most notably the carbon tax and Trudeau's refusal to heed a premier's wishes that he dump Steven Guilbeault as environment minister.

Those were the headline-grabbing tensions during the pair's photo op before their Calgary sit-down — she cited that seven premiers now want a pause on the planned carbon tax hike to $80 per tonne in April, while he boasted of the increase to $1,800 for typical Alberta families from the newly rebranded Canada Carbon Rebate.

But those flashpoints only came after Smith mentioned a string of