RED DEER, Alberta – In a scheduled leadership review vote on Saturday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith got a resounding 91.5% support from her United Conservative Party members. That figure is significantly higher than the 54% Smith received when she won the party leadership in 2022. That same year, her predecessor, Jason Kenney, received 51% and resigned shortly after. “I’m truly humbled and honoured by the overwhelming support of our party members in my leadership,” Smith said as thousands applauded and gave her a nearly minute-long standing ovation.

“I’d like to thank everyone for everything you’ve done to help build and strengthen our movement. “Our party is more united than it has ever been.” About 6,000 members registered for the meeting, and the party reported that 4,663 voted to approve Smith. While there is no necessary minimum number in such a vote, Smith stated earlier Saturday that she hoped to beat 54%. Past conservative Alberta premiers Ed Stelmach and Alison Redford received 77% of the leadership vote before being deposed in caucus scandals. The party’s bylaws demand one leadership review every three years, therefore Smith will likely not face such a review again until after the next provincial election in 2027,

Saturday, as voting began, Smith told party members that while they may not always agree on everything, they must avoid destructive infighting and remain faithful to their conservative ideals. While there were concerns that some party members were attempting to remove Smith due to alleged unfulfilled campaign pledges, many members, including Smith’s own cabinet, wore badges and T-shirts asking the rank and file to support her. Political scientists said they did not expect Smith’s leadership to be jeopardized, and the question now is whether Smith and her cabinet will adhere to party members’ policy demands. Smith assured the enthusiastic crowd that she would stay the course. “Together we shall vigorously protect.

We will work together to forcefully preserve Albertans’ rights and liberties, as well as Alberta parents and children. “We will work together to build world-class health and education systems,” she declared. Smith has travelled the province in recent months, appealing to party supporters and offering measures that critics say are intended to deter the party’s restive social-conservative wing from voting against her in the review. Her administration filed measures this week aimed at establishing guidelines for youngsters using preferred pronouns or names at school, as well as prohibitions on transgender surgery and transgender athletes participating in female amateur sports. She also promised a renewed legal battle against the federal carbon price and presented legislation to amend Alberta’s Bill of Rights to grant residents the choice to decline medical treatments, including immunizations. Along with the leadership vote, party members voted Saturday on a number of policy resolutions proposed by constituency associations. The first policy adopted by party members on Saturday was a draft rewrite of the Alberta Bill of Rights revisions proposed by Smith’s government. A group of UCP members from southern Alberta advanced the party-approved text

Her administration proposed legislation this week to establish guidelines for students using preferred pronouns or names at school, as well as bans on transgender surgery and transgender athletes competing in female amateur sports. She also promised a fresh legal battle against the federal carbon tax and introduced legislation to modify Alberta’s Bill of Rights to allow individuals to refuse medical procedures, including vaccines. In addition to the leadership vote, party members voted Saturday on a number of policy resolutions offered by constituency associations. On Saturday, party members endorsed their first policy, a draft rewriting of the Alberta Bill of Rights modifications offered by Smith’s government. A group of UCP members from southern Alberta promoted the party’s authorized statement,

Members also unanimously supported a motion requesting that the government prohibit transgender women from using women’s restrooms, change rooms, and shelters. Michelle Bataluk, a party member from Edmonton, stated that the idea “shouldn’t be a controversial belief at all.” “The inclusion of non-biological females in these spaces and categories is both a violation to our privacy … and it poses several safety risks,” explained Bataluk. Members also unanimously supported a measure to limit all government forms and papers to two genders. Another policy supported by the majority of the room was for the Alberta government to abandon net-zero greenhouse gas emission targets, as well as to remove carbon dioxide’s categorization as a pollutant and replace it with “a foundational nutrient for all life on Earth.”

The policies are non-binding, therefore Smith’s UCP administration is not have to act on every successful motion. This item from The Canadian Press was first published on November 2, 2024.