Commentary
The United Conservative Party of Alberta’s annual gathering in Red Deer made Canadian history as the largest political convention ever held. Over 6,000 party faithful arrived to listen to speeches and seminars from the party leadership and participated in policy formulation.
At such events, countless things can go off the rails and mar the outcome. Rebellious factions could cause disruptions from the convention floor, people could make controversial statements during open microphone opportunities, or members could choose to oust the party leader in the mandated leadership review.
Premier Danielle Smith is surely feeling relieved and jubilant that the two-day AGM went off without a hitch, and most importantly over 91 percent of the gathered members gave her leadership a positive review by secret ballot. In Alberta, conservative premiers are often removed by their party members rather than the electorate. Ralph Klein, Ed Stelmach, Alison Redford, and Jason Kenney all fell due to internal party dissent.
Opponents of Danielle Smith and the UCP hoped such a rebellion had been building. Strange brochures were circulated implying Smith was taking part in some sort of Muslim-inspired conspiracy, others painted her as being a friend of the NDP, and odd phone calls barraged members on the night before the review, which tried to foster the impression that Smith was in league with some shadowy group. Opponents were counting on party paranoia or bigotry among the membership in thinking they would reject Smith. Whoever was behind these shadowy campaigns left the affair disappointed. If anything, they may have helped unify the members.
Premier Smith took the leadership review seriously. Typically, the keynote speech from a party leader comes at the end of the convention to pump up the members and have them leave on a positive note. Smith’s speech was presented at 10 a.m., just after the voting opened for the leadership review. The speech was solid and stressed the importance of party unity as an indirect plea was made for support in the review. Members resoundingly responded with support.
A special debate and vote was held on revisions to the Alberta Bill of Rights. A faction within the party calling itself the “Black Hat Gang” designed and promoted the large policy revision, and their supporters were evident with many black hats visible among the gathered members. The intent was to entrench rights to property, speech, and bodily autonomy within the province. Firearm ownership, rights to protest, and opposition to vaccine mandates were the main drivers behind the proposal. The debate was vigorous but polite, and the proposal was widely supported when it came to a vote among the members.
Policy discussions at political AGMs can become minefields, as controversial proposals or divisive motions could lead to disruptions or embarrassing stances the party is expected to embrace. At the UCP meeting, 35 policies presented to the members had been carefully curated from over 700 submissions, and the process for policy vetting was laid out in a flowchart in an agenda book given to attendees. The transparency helped quell discontent from members whose proposals never reached the convention floor. Policies that are spiked can become flashpoints for discontent and be fodder for conspiracy concerns within parties. Such issues were carefully shunted by AGM organizers.
No policy proposals were rejected by members when brought to a vote. In fact, support for the policies was so evident as people raised their voting cards, that a count was never required. With thousands of people in attendance, this surely was a relief as contested vote counts would have led to major delays.
The policy theme was distinctly conservative. Several policies were focused on trans issues. Protections for women in spaces such as washrooms and change rooms were entrenched. Parental rights were a focus in multiple policy proposals regarding medical and educational decisions related to children. A policy calling to defund and declare all gender transition treatments and procedures medically elective and another policy declaring that only two genders be acknowledged by the government were strongly supported, though they would likely invite a raft of legal challenges if the government passed them. Those policies will be focus points for opposition members in the province.
Other policies covered a range of issues, from union membership requirements in teaching to ending diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies within government and Crown corporations.
The government isn’t obligated to pass legislation for any of the policies proposed by members. Party policy books reflect the will of the membership, but in the end, it’s up to the caucus and leader to decide what will become provincial legislation. A leader who diverges too far from party policies could invite the formation of an effective faction rebelling against them. The members have let the UCP know clearly what they would like to see in the legislature, and Smith is sure to take them seriously.
Danielle Smith has a lot of tough work ahead of her as the NDP under Naheed Nenshi is nipping at her heels in polls. She must carefully craft policies respecting party members while ensuring to maintain support from Albertans at large.
With a record-breaking AGM going smoothly and a 91.5 percent showing of support in the leadership review under her belt, Smith can focus on the legislative side of her job without worrying about support on the partisan side. She will be entering the legislature with more confidence in her agenda this week than she had last week.
