AIRDRIE, Alta — United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership candidate Danielle Smith made a campaign stop in Airdrie on July 11, preaching her various platform points to a large crowd of supporters.
The early front-runner in the race to replace Jason Kenney as the UCP’s leader (according to Angus Reid polls) spoke to a standing-room crowd at Apple Creek Golf Course, just north of Airdrie city limits, for roughly 90 minutes.
During her speech and ensuing question-and-answer period, she touted her various platform points, the main one being the adoption of the “Alberta Sovereignty Act.” The Act would grant the legislature discretion to refuse to enforce federal laws or court decisions it deems an intrusion on provincial rights or a threat to provincial interests.
“[I’m] worried about Ottawa, who quite frankly, is imposing economic sanctions against us. I think this has [put] us into a constitutional crisis,” she said to the crowd. “They did it in November 2015, when they told us we’d not be able to sell our resources again. I think they fired the first shot, and we’ve got to respond in kind. That’s why I think this Alberta Sovereignty Act is so important.
“To me, as long as Ottawa stays in their lane, we won’t ever have to invoke it. But it’s letting them know. It’s putting the warning out there that we’re going to defend our jurisdiction. Don’t test us on this.”
Smith previously served in provincial politics as the leader of the Wildrose Party. She made headlines in 2014 when she crossed the legislature floor to join the Progressive Conservative Party, under the late Jim Prentice's leadership.
After switching her political allegiance, she lost the nomination for MLA in her riding of Highwood, south of Calgary, in 2015. She went on to create an AM talk radio show about politics and current events, which she hosted until 2021.
Early into her speech at Apple Creek Golf Course on Tuesday night, Smith apologized for the 2014 floor-crossing she is still most associated with.
“I will never do that to you again,” she said. “I’m here to fight for you. I will put Alberta first. I don’t spend one second thinking about how to win votes in metro Toronto or Quebec. That’s what we need from the premier of this province.”
During her presentation, Smith took shots at the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, Alberta Health Services (AHS), federal finance minister Steven Guilbeault, and Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley.
Smith’s main objective if elected is to adopt the Alberta Sovereignty Act. She argued Alberta has been treated unfairly by federal policies in recent years, particularly relating to energy production in the form of legislation like Bill C-69 and Bill C-48, which impact the development of pipelines and ban oil tankers off the west coast.
“Ottawa, in my view, has been acting in a lawless way,” she said, adding examples of lost investment in Alberta as a result of the legislation include the cancellation of projects like Northern Gateway, Energy East, and Teck’s Frontier mining project.
“The courts have let us down [and] the media has let us down,” she said. “When you look at the violation of our rights over and over again, it’s like the constitution didn’t even matter or the charter of rights didn’t even matter.
“When Ottawa acts in a lawless way, it’s up to us to restore the law. We believe in the Constitution. We believe in the rights enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. That is what the Alberta Sovereignty Act states.
Smith also criticized AHS for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. She argued AHS’ senior managers should “find another line of work” in light of their pandemic response.
Adding to that point, she also said if she becomes premier, she would aim to conduct a facility audit of all AHS health facilities in Alberta to determine whether or not their capacity issues were as bad as officials claimed they were.
“Our health-care system failed us. I don’t think there’s any other way to describe it,” she said. “AHS…is either completely incompetent or they actively sabotaged our government.”
Other points Smith made throughout her speech included her stance against COVID-19 vaccination mandates, and her plan to create a health spending account, which would deposit $300 into every Albertan’s bank account to use as they see fit for their own health-care needs.
“When I look at all the different types of services we don’t cover, we don’t cover anything that’s going to keep you well, keep you from getting sick, and help you manage conditions, whether it’s diabetes, obesity, or a heart condition,” she said. “There are lots of people who are in the vaccine-choice movement who like to go to naturopaths, or for acupuncture, chiropractic, or who want to see a naturopath.”
During the question-and-answer portion of the event, Smith took questions about how she would reduce the number of civil servants in Alberta, what she would do if Trudeau challenged the Alberta Sovereignty Act in the courts, and how she would handle the RCMP in Alberta.
In response to the question about the RCMP, Smith said she is in favour of the adoption of a provincial police force, arguing the reasoning for her support of the idea is that she was in High River during the "gun grab" of 2016, when the RCMP had to pay out $2.3 million in compensation to homeowners whose homes they had damaged during a gun seizure.
Smith is one of eight candidates vying for the UCP’s top seat. Others joining the race to take over Kenney include former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean, UCP MLAs Rajan Sawhney and Leela Aheer, independent (formerly UCP) MLA Todd Loewen, Village of Amisk mayor Bill Rock, former Alberta Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman, and Calgary-Shaw UCP MLA Rebecca Schulz.
“I think the UCP is the right vehicle,” Smith said. “We just need to make sure we have the right leadership to match what the members want.”
