ENOCH CREE NATION, Alta.—Alberta Premier Danielle Smith emphasized caucus unity at the United Conservative Party’s (UCP) first annual general meeting on Oct. 22 following her leadership victory.
In the 10 days since she became premier, Smith said she’s been quiet as she works to unify the caucus ahead of a spring general election.
“Our team is now unified,” she said at the convention, held at the River Cree Resort near Edmonton. “Our team is now ready to fight for Albertans, and come hell or high water, we are going to beat the NDP in 2023.”
Smith also offered an apology for any government employees who were let go because of refusing COVID-19 vaccination.
“I welcome them back, if they want to come back,” she told reporters.
Smith said she is seeking legal advice on whether she can pardon people who were fined for non-criminal violations of COVID-19 restrictions.
“The things that come to top of mind for me are people who got arrested as pastors [and] people given fines for not wearing masks,” she said.New Cabinet
Smith won the UCP leadership race earlier this month on the sixth and final ballot, and was sworn in as Alberta’s 19th premier on Oct. 11.
The premier named her new cabinet on Oct. 21, granting ministerial roles to five of her six leadership opponents.
Smith’s main rival in the leadership race, former premier Jason Kenney’s finance minister Travis Toews, is keeping his former portfolio in the new cabinet, while Brian Jean was made minister of jobs, economy, and northern development. Rebecca Schulz was named minister of municipal affairs, Todd Loewen was given the forestry, parks, and tourism portfolio, while Rajan Sawhney was made minister of trade, immigration, and multiculturalism. Leela Aheer, who was the first to fall off the ballot in the leadership race, was not given a portfolio.
Several other members of Kenney’s cabinet kept their roles, including Minister of Health Jason Copping, Minister of Justice Tyler Shandro, and Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange.
Sonya Savage, who was Kenney’s energy minister, is now the minister of environment and protected areas, while her old portfolio was given to Peter Guthrie.
Smith has also announced her government’s policy plans for the coming months. In a caucus retreat in Sylvan Lake at the start of the week, Smith said UCP MLAs have agreed to take action on affordability and inflation, jobs and economy, health care, and to stand up to the “NDP-Liberal coalition government in Ottawa.”
She repeated the election focus in her speech again on Oct. 22.
“There can be no doubt that the current Liberal-NDP alliance is just the latest in a long line of Ottawa governments that have frustrated the legitimate aspirations of hard-working Albertans,” she said.
The premier said work has begun on her much-publicized Alberta Sovereignty Act, legislation she proposed during the leadership race to oppose federal legislation deemed harmful to the province.
Smith said she has asked for Sovereignty Act legislation to be completed by the time she has a seat in the Alberta Legislative Assembly. If she’s successful in the Brooks-Medicine Hat by-election, that could be as early as Nov. 29.
“We will introduce it, we will pass it, and we will use it to push Ottawa back in its own lane every time they step out of line and intrude on our constitutional rights,” Smith said.
“When Ottawa announces policies and laws that attack our economy or violate the rights of our people or when Ottawa seeks to take control of our sovereign areas of provincial jurisdiction, our UCP government will not enforce those laws and policies in this province, period.”
She also took aim at the provincial NDP.
“We won’t sit by and allow socialist NDP policies to destroy what Albertans have worked so tirelessly to build,” she said.
NDP Convention
Alberta’s NDP is also holding its convention this weekend. In her speech at the convention on Oct. 22, Rachel Notley took aim at the UCP, and admitted that the event had the appearance of an election campaign launch.
“What we’ve been hearing from Albertans is that Albertans know the current leader of the UCP, they know who she is, they know what she has to say and more and more as a result they’re coming to us to say ‘OK, what’s your plan?'” Notley told reporters at the event.
“I certainly don’t have any ill will against her personally. I do worry about the hurtfulness of some of her statements, some of her policies with respect to real Albertans, with respect to what the consequences of those decisions will be.”
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
