 When Alberta and Saskatchewan were made provinces in 1905 , the federal government retained control over their lands and natural resources , which made the new provinces unique in Canada . The Rutherford government acquiesced to this state of affairs ; because the terms of confederation had been drawn up by the Liberal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier , it was natural for the provincial Liberal Party to cast itself as their defender . In this capacity , Rutherford pointed to the $ 375 @,@ 000 per year that the provincial government received from the federal government as compensation . In 1910 , however , Liberal MLA Alwyn Bramley @-@ Moore ( who was a staunch provincial rights advocate and who many years later would be called " Alberta 's first separatist " by the Edmonton Journal ) moved a resolution calling on the Sifton government to " take such steps as may be deemed necessary to acquire the control of all such natural resources as are of purely local concern " . Sifton responded that it was already the intention of his government to begin negotiations with the federal government to this end . He asserted " I have always believed ... that we should administer our mines and timber . The question is not now whether we would like to control our natural resources , but what is the best way to get them . " 
