The political ground in Alberta could shift radically in the next few days.

Premier Danielle Smith will finally have a weapon to slap down separatism.

The separatist leaders, meanwhile, are also doing an excellent job of slapping down separatism.

A pipeline and economic deal with Ottawa is widely expected.

Timing wasn’t clear as of Tuesday afternoon, but the certainty of the deal itself runs at roughly 99.9 per cent.

Smith has thrown all of her cards into this deal. The political risks are enormous.

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Like PC premier Peter Lougheed in the early 1980s, she risked dancing with the federal devil, staking her government on negotiating a deal Albertans can accept.

Lougheed’s only mistake in the battle over oil ownership and pricing was sipping champagne with then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau, while letting a photographer get the shot.

Smith has avoided any such symbolic blunder, but the risks she courts are much more complex.

She’s trying to repair the appalling wreckage of the Justin Trudeau decade by dealing with his Liberal successor, Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Mistrust is inevitable. Many Albertans need a lot........

© Calgary Herald