Alberta is proposing an alternative to the cooperative national securities regulator being pushed by the federal government.

In a lunchtime speech to the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto today, April 3, Doug Horner, Alberta’s Finance minister and president of Treasury Board, will lay out an alternative to the cooperative regulator envisioned in a deal between B.C., Ontario and the federal government.

According to his speaking notes for the event, Horner will say that he remains concerned that the latest federal proposal will give the federal government “powers far beyond ‎their constitutional authority”. And, he indicates that it will not sign on to the initiative “without seeing some major changes”.

Indeed, Alberta and Quebec have been vocally opposed to the plan, which was announced last fall, from the start. The other provinces have so far avoided saying whether they will join or not. The federal government had hoped to have other provinces agreeing to participate by the end of January. Although it has since pushed that deadline back to the end of April, with the intention of creating the new regulator by mid 2015.

“Our worry is that Ottawa will proceed with consultations, without the support of Alberta and Québec. And that will leave us with a more fractured system than the one we have today,” Horner will say today.

Instead, he indicates that Alberta is continuing to work with the other provinces on an alternative model, which he says “addresses many of the concerns” that B.C., Ontario and the feds have with the current system.

That model envisions a new national enforcement agency to deal with criminal and quasi-criminal misconduct, which would be based in Toronto. It also imagines a common adjudicative tribunal to deal with regulatory enforcement proceedings, and the creation of a national systemic risk committee, chaired by the federal Finance minister.

This alternative model would however keep day-to-day securities regulation under provincial jurisdiction, in line with the Supreme Court of Canada’s position on the issue.

The proposal comes at an interesting time, with former securities industry veteran, Joe Oliver, having just replaced Jim Flaherty as federal Finance minister. Flaherty has strongly advocated for a national regulator, and pushed the latest cooperative deal with B.C. and Ontario. It remains to be seen if the new Finance minister is open to an alternative approach to improving securities regulation.

Alberta’s proposal comes as Horner embarks on a trip to Boston and New York next week to talk up Alberta as an investment destination in meetings with financial leaders and potential investors.

“Our government remains firmly committed to telling the Alberta story to the rest of the world to ensure others know why investing in Alberta, with its AAA credit rating and thriving economy, is an excellent choice,” Horner said. The bulk of his remarks to the Economic Club of Canada today will focus on that theme, too.