Despite the United Conservative Party’s best efforts to do so, there’s no way Premier Danielle Smith’s “Alberta Next” travelling townhall tour can be described as a public consultation on this province’s role in Canada.
At best, it’s a pre-campaign roadshow intended to distract from several major embarrassments dogging Ms. Smith’s United Conservative Party Government in advance of the early election most political watchers expect the UCP to call next spring before the fledgling Progressive Conservative 2.0 party can get off the ground.
These range from this province’s galloping measles epidemic, to ongoing destruction of public health care, to plans to level a Rocky Mountain or two to enrich an Australian billionaire, to the metastasizing dodgy contracts scandal.
At worst, it’s a shameless effort to shove sovereignty-association, outright separation, or U.S. annexation down the throats of Albertans and other Canadians.
Judging from witness accounts of the “Sherwood Park/Edmonton” separatist snake oil show in an east-side Edmonton hotel ballroom last night, it’s much closer to the latter than the former.
As Premier Smith said in her introduction – in what had to be a huge Freudian slip – “If Alberta is to be a strong and unified country, it has to include a strong and sovereign Alberta.” That threat would have carried more punch, it is said here, had she remembered to say “Canada” where her talking points called for it.
“It couldn’t have been more contrived if it were a one-star Fringe show,” observed Public Interest Alberta Executive Director Bradley Lafortune, who managed to slip into the meeting on a ticket ordered by a UCP member critical of the premier’s separatist antics.
“It would be funny, but it’s not just bad theatre,” he continued. “It’s refined propaganda designed to manufacture consent for Smith’s fascistic agenda.”
That said, unlike reports emanating from the first stop on Ms. Smith’s separation tour in Red Deer the night before, it sounds as if plenty of loyal Canadians were in the crowd in spite of the UCP’s obvious efforts to pack the meeting with supporters and separatists. (UCP members got advance notice, seats were limited, and, as Mr. Lafortune put it, “the room was virtually hand-picked by the Premier’s Office.”)
Every politically alert Albertan understands, of course, that everything about these contrived events – three more are scheduled in August and another five in September – including the panel’s deeply flawed push polls will be used as evidence of support for Ms. Smith’s dangerous plans.
A useful live-tweet thread by freelance journalist Lily Polenchuk, former editor of the University of Alberta Gateway student newspaper, provides a good sense of how the meeting progressed, including the way moderator Bruce McAllister of the Premier’s Office staff ignored a request for a land acknowledgement and then chided audience members who’d applauded the request. For those with the patience to sit through nearly three hours of video, you can watch the performance for yourself on YouTube.
Audience members had to watch each of the Alberta Next Panel’s propaganda videos before getting to questions on the topic areas, and by the sound of Ms. Polenchuk’s report, the premier sloughed off or dodged unsympathetic queries – for example, promising to get back to Mr. Lafortune’s question about the cost of an Alberta tax-revenue agency and then conveniently forgetting.
Most of the panel members at the event were not called upon by the premier to respond to many questions. University of Calgary economics professor Trevor Tombe, in the role of a respectable intellectual fig leaf for the road show’s separatist propaganda, was trotted out several times, however.
“It’s too bad that many smart and dedicated Albertans like Trevor Tombe are allowing themselves to be used this way,” Mr. Lafortune observed. “The sooner this show run ends the better. It’s an insult to the intelligence of Albertans and of any real democratic process.”
Upcoming in-person town halls are scheduled in Edmonton (Aug. 14), Fort McMurray (Aug. 26), Lloydminster (Aug. 27), Medicine Hat (Sept. 2), Lethbridge (Sept. 11), Airdrie (Sept. 15), Grande Prairie (Sept. 17) and Calgary (Sept. 29). Online registration opens two weeks in advance and seats are bound to be limited and their occupants curated in those locations too.
Hello DJC and fellow commenters,
Sovereignty association, separation etc. for Alberta are the worst ideas ever. Having spent almost my entire adult life here, I’m seriously leaving along with family members within 2 years. I cannot abide Danielle Smith and her anti-public welfare ideas and beliefs.
Christine corporate welfare is working just fine………
So this performance is turning out exactly as sane observers predicted. You can’t explain that.
Enjoy your newsletter. Smith has a lot to distract from as per your list. Does anyone mention abandoned mines anymore? MaGa Maple is what she is and I hope her tenure is short lived. Finally, Alberta understands the importance of a strong opposition! She surely brings that fact home.
She is only interested in the agendas of her base and her handlers. She is constantly posting on social media, etc, over whelming Albertans to the point, they’ve stopped paying attention. With her constant ramble about selling Alberta out, who can keep on top of the health care scandal and the measles out break, etc, etc. The list goes on and on. Making it easier for her to move forward.
The public consultation routine has been reduced to a ritualized, performative PR exercise designed to both legitimate a favored and unchanging political strategy and habituate/reeducate a dissenting population using sloganeering and constant repetition (“. . . all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan.”).
Also, see for example,
“One of the things that most annoys people is when government departments or businesses ask for their views in a consultation exercise when they have next to no interest in hearing anything that disagrees with their original plans – and even less interest in changing them in any meaningful way.”
https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/faking-it-are-consultation-exercises-just-a-ruse-to-fool-the-public/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/pipeline-consultations-brianna-heinrichs-1.3743304
I think the idea is that people only attend one town hall? Is someone watching the separatist idiots to be sure they don’t show up at every town hall to stack the crowd? If they shot their bolt at the Red Deer one, then the rest of the events, with more angry normal Albertans, might be more raucous than Smith can take.
There are good articles by Jeremy Appell, Jason Markusoff, Jack Farrell, etc., so far. Markusoff points out that Smith has a bunch of Alberta flags but no Canadian flags behind her.
Val: Same in Edmonton in the flag department, as you can see from the video. More likely someone is watching the separatist idiots to make sure they DO show up. I am convinced, by the way, that there is no one – NO ONE – in the leadership of the Alberta separatist movement that is really a separatist. All of them, Danielle Smith included, are U.S. annexationists. Separation is the soft sell. DJC
That is a disturbing idea but quite possible, especially in Smith’s case. She has probably already sold us to that senile criminal.
@DJC
I am in agreement. I don’t believe Smith or the rest want to separate. They think they can join the USA as a state. The USA will backstab them and turn them into a territory when it becomes clear the rest of Canada will not willingly follow suit.
This is the USA Empire Balkanization playbook 101.
Grab up a stupid/compromised/corrupt leader, promise them everything to coup the place then deliver nothing.
That’s a very good point DJC, and one that begs another question: who’s paying these clowns ?
US annexationists is a nice way to put it. I never understood why these people live in Alberta. Are they not capable of selecting one out of 50 states down south where they can live in? Why do they need to take Alberta into the loser’s nest?
Carlos, my sister and I are of the opinion that the states don’t want them, because otherwise there is nothing stopping them from moving there if they really wanted to become American….so we’re stuck with the loud, obnoxious crybabies….
It’s not even legally possible for Alberta to join the U.S. This whole thing is an obscene waste of time and money. Let’s not kid ourselves about Smith’s intentions. Too often she is described as appealing to her base. She IS her base. She’s as stupid as they are. I heard her years ago in Calgary say that she is an Albertan first and a Canadian second. And can the new PC party get ready in time for a spring election? They, and the NDP, have a shitload of work to do before then. Nenshi better get his ass in gear and start talking up the party’s platform or he too will be following Notley down the primrose path to political oblivion.
She came back to Alberta after she failed as an actor. She’s never had any ambitions other than getting out of alberta with as much money as possible.
I agree with that and have thought so for some time. If Blackrock and the others can’t get the stuff they have bought from Ukraine, and for sure not Russia – well, Canada is right next door. After all, colour revolutions are a US specialty and, as far as the US is concerned, we are ripe for the taking. We are just another source of raw materials which, with the help of folks like Danielle Smith, they will take. I keep asking: who’s really funding the separatist groups? No answer.
Funny how the RCMP can contact the banks over the truckers (whether or not they were misguided, or not) and cut off their funds for protesting…
…but they don’t have the political will to find the source of funds for all these separatist orgs who are not protesting–they’re encouraging actual sedition in front of the face of the entire country.
Did any of them register as charities? Has anyone checked their sources of income if they did?
We are absolutely on the USA’s radar as easy pickings for resources if Russia takes more of Ukraine (which, given the disparities between them, is the likely outcome).
We aren’t doing ourselves any favours by not preparing for this eventuality. The only thing that will stop the USA from invading is if they KNOW that by doing so, they’ll destroy what’s of their crapitalist economy by being met by an organized, prolonged and vicious insurgency by the locals. (the only reason they’re avoiding Iran)
Canada is very big with a ton of mountain ranges. Like Russia and Iran, it’s too physically large to be controlled by an outside source unless there’s internal conflict that can be used to USA’s advantage.
This would support your view, Modry is with the APP:
https://www.desmog.com/2025/07/22/trump-officials-discussed-500m-alberta-independence-loan-separatist-claims/
After all, Trump is not going to shovel money at these guys jusy because the cause of freedom and independence is dear to his shrivelled heart.
https://fcpp.org/2025/05/21/why-some-albertans-say-separation-is-the-only-way/
I attended the a town hall regarding Health Care in last winter, it was a waste of money. Attendance was about 30%, they had lots of food left, hired so many consultants and responses were very vague. Found it to be a waste of time and tax payer funds.
It would be a shame if a focused group of people slam the event booking site as soon as it opens for the next meeting – and book all the tickets. And then no one shows up! That would be really childish and spiteful. No one should do that. It’s Eventbrite by the way. Should open for orders on July 30 or 31.
prior to any referendum on any initiatives related to separation, we need to amend election laws to enable those citizens 16 & 17 years of age to vote. the discussion thus far has been insensitive to the views of younger people, who will inevitably left with mess from the present “boomer gen” hissy fit.
Brad: I am not arguing with the idea of 16-year-olds being allowed to vote, which I see the United Kingdom is about to enact. But I am skeptical it would have the result you predict. Certainly young people, particularly young men, seemed to move both to Trump and to Poilievre in recent U.S. and Canadian elections. And while a lot of older people habitually vote for conservative parties, I don’t see a lot of Boomers having a hissy fit. More Gen-Xers and Millennials, IMO. I’m a Boomer too, of course, but maybe I’m being shunner by my brethren for being too liberal. DJC
I used to consider Tombe’s perspective.
I won’t after his participation in this mess.
Maybe? he will say something publically; “Moral courage is a more rare commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence.”. – Robert Kennedy
Does anyone get the feeling that the closer ConfREDirate States of America presidunce Donald F tRump gets closer to losing control of his fascist Project 2025 the more frantic 51st-state preener Danielle Smith gets in her futile attempt to cede the Bitumen Mines of Albetar safely onto the meathook of her master’s contrarian state of climate-change denial?
Why are her theatrics futile? Well, because the only legal mechanism for a Canadian province to secede from the federation has two critical thresholds she cannot meet: first, a properly conducted referendum that complies with the federal Clarity Act and, second, the ratification of her aspired secession by all ten provincial legislative assemblies and the federal parliament—the former very unlikely and the latter extremely so.
The Clarity Act was inspired by the Quebec 1995 Referendum which asked the province’s voters if Quebec should proclaim its sovereign independence from Canada with a condition precedent of the Quebec government offering the federation an economic and political agreement, yes or no. The Act seemed like a panicked federal response to, and proffered legal argument against Quebec’s secession as it might be made in a court of law—the panic resulting from how closely the campaign was fought ( 4.7 million valid votes represented a massive 93.5% turnout ) and the razor-thin final result (49.4% accepted the proposal and 50.6% rejected it). Man!—it was close!
The federal government was apparently taken unawares, surprised, it seems, that the 1995 Referendum would amount to much more than Quebec’s 1980 Referendum, a 60/40 result against Quebec separation. 1995 shocked Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien into action, the question of secession from the federation had to be addressed in the post-Constitution Act 1982 —itself inspired by the 1980 Referendum —context. In the new year of 1986 he tapped Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stephane Dion to draft the Clarity Act which became law in 2000.
To avoid being unprepared for any other secession referenda—and looking over their shoulder at Bloc Québécois’ Lucien Bouchard and his evil twin in Alberta, Reform Party’s Preston Manning, the two leaders which tore the last federal ProgCon party asunder and whose parties would take turns at being Official Opposition—the Liberal cabinet smartly sought a reference opinion from the SCoC about the constitutionality of any future secession referenda.
The high court held that the Clarity Act is legally constitutional, that no province may secede unilaterally, that any secession would require a constitutional amendment—the formula for which is presently: of the 10 provinces, 7 which together represent at least 50%+1 of the national population, plus the federal parliament, must ratify the proposed amendment—, and the SCoC also held that, in its opinion, an amendment concerning secession of a federate should require that all 10 provincial legislatures plus the federal parliament must ratify —a reasonable requirement since a secession of any province would affect all the others.
It also held that the federal government has authority under the Clarity Act to question whether the result of a secession referendum is clear, suggesting a supermajority—in addition to a clear referendum question (separation, yes or no)—might be required to obviate challenges to a very close result, or accusations of electoral incompetence or cheating.
Many federated countries have no mechanism for any of their federates to secede. Considering the unprecedented and still insurmounted carnage of the US Civil War (more casualties than all other US wars combined), it’s hardly surprising that there is no mechanism for an American state to secede (in the 1890 White vs Texas decision that Texas government bonds issued during its time as one of the Confederate States should be honoured after Texas rejoined the Union, the judge wrote that for any state to secede would require ratification of every other state plus the federal congress—but in the context of a state rationalizing opting out of such contractual obligations by way of the Civil War). Canada’s slightly more conciliatory approach reflects the truly distinctive nature of Quebec’s relationship with the ROC.
In short, a unilateral declaration of independence by Alberta (or any other province or Territory) would be illegal. Period.
Is it any wonder, then, that Danielle Smith would cleave to the Orange Shithawk’s disrespect for the rule of law? If he is getting away with it, can she get away with it too?
IMHO, Smith’s puppet-master is beginning to doubt that the Orange-Goo-Tanned One actually can get away with it: Big Bitumen—like so many other oligarchies which want to freeze history at the zenith of their power —is finding its window of opportunity moving past it more quickly than it had forecast—sorta like the obsolescence-rate of previous climate-change forecasts which had allowed its lackadaisical attitude toward reducing GHG emissions. The long, drawn out political process of debating Alberta secession while complacently charging Canadian citizens for profitably hauling away their gooey resource is being foreshortened by the same process as that which is recklessly employed by the rogue American presidunce —and, remind, quite similar to that of one Stephen Harper who bobbled his own centrepiece dilbit pipeline to Kitimat by getting too rash while trying to rush his project through the window before slammed shut. Which it did.
As it stands (or wobbles), Big-B’s ploy to annex Alberta to the the free-pollution state of climate-change denying America has been frightened as the approaching horizon of its prospect suddenly lurches into view: at farthest, November 2026–or US midterm elections when the tRumpublicans are predicted to lose both houses of congress. Indeed, the Orange One’s grip on his sown freedom is slipping much faster than even that.
Which has got Danielle Smith running as fast as undiluted bitumen on a frosty, February morning.
You nailed it David. They’re 51staters. Maybe not pure, but definitely simple.
I attended in Red Deer.
Same format. Same bull. The audience was definitely stacked. The same five people got up for comments each “section”. The reported “resounding support” was, I believe, a result that stacking. I would not call it resounding. McAllister made a point of denigrating the results of the “straw polls”.
Jeffrey Rath was able to voice his
opinion to much applause.
A huge thank you to those willing to stand up and speak out against the separatists and to Smith.
Trevor Tombe when asked to comment by Smith or McCallister twice declined.
The group I was with noticed the flags before we were at our seats.
It was the sham we were expecting but had hoped for more pushback as was shown at the coal and water meeting a few weeks ago.
Those of us who have B.C. Relatives who are former Alberta ones continue to follow our progress and shake their heads at how stupid Albertans really are. They remember the good old Peter Lougheed days when we were all treated with dignity and respect and not treated like morons like these Reformers are doing today. Once again the crowds are mostly mindless seniors falling for every lie they feed them, that’s how stupid they are, isn’t it? They continue to believe the lies that Ottawa is stealing all our money.
UCP town hall meetings are nothing but UCP-MAGA rallies in disguise. Just the idea of hosting a town hall meeting is fascist. But carnival barker Smith wants to keep her base of mugs and medieval peasants “energized” and peddle her agenda to the skeptical public, and what better place to do it than a rally or radio talk show. It’s beyond pathetic.
Exactly what we thought it would be like!!! Thank you, brave people, for attending. You Rock ! (unlike DS.)
Propaganda, at its finest. And very costly too. It’s like someone I read mentioned Ralph Klein at his very expensive dinners with him. Someone who was at one of those went to use the washroom before they went home. They overheard Ralph Klein saying I could tell these fools anything and they would believe it. How unsurprising that Albertans never learn.
How could Trevor Tombe ever get involved with that outfit?
Cov: You’d have to ask Dr. Tombe that question. I have no answer for you. DJC
Hello DJC and fellow commnters,
I can’t see any other ultimate outcome than annexation by the US. What an awful idea.
Talk about stacking the deck– UCP…members have first dibs on tickets? Now that’s what you call an unbiased crowd, right?
Jeremy’s article also points out the contributions made by the the “fair minded and unbiased panelists “.
Public consultations? More like taxpayer funded propaganda tour, created to fill in time over the summer to stave off all the scandals, that rather than diminishing are being added onto the already long list. Maybe she’s working up to 34 like her nemesis.
—Press Progress : Smith floats tax discounts to motivate women to have more babies.
Smith tells town hall that far right leader Victor Orban has an ‘interesting’ idea to reduce immigration. ”
Are you $#@$$#/% kidding me?
” Queen of measles has another great idea — Good lord, she’s off her rocker” ….( from FB,but I 100% concur)
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Slightly off topic but still under WTF…
Independent candidate for BR-C
Sarah Spanier, has stopped door knocking due to death threats.
Democracy is alive and well, but obviously not in Alberta.
That is just so beyond disgusting. I’m guessing that the dear Premier of Alberta will not have anything to say to her constituents about this.
And speaking of BR-C , Bonnie Critchley’s interview on P&P (watch on YouTube) was bang on. My favorite part was “Mr Poilievre has a fascination with straws, because he’s grasping at them ” LMAO– this after Skippy’s post showing his real understanding of his riding, saying he’s bringing back plastic straws….way to know your audience PP.
With one final thought…
CBC news July 16- Darren Major
“This is a scam”….PP wants rules changed to stop long ballot protests.
This coming from the candidate with an compliance order from Elections Canada against him.
Plus I fail to understand why he would be worried about a mere 200 + votes in a “absolute safe seat” in Alberta, right? It was an easy shoe in for him, right?
Except maybe he didn’t count on ” boots not suits ” coming back to bite him.
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If there’s a candidate debate, which I think there should be for any parachuted candidate, it would be worth the road trip.
Reading about Ms Spanier’s issue was unsettling but not surprising. There’s a deep streak of anti-democratic orientation in Alberta, where the only valid and socially acceptable vote is conservative, especially outside the two big cities.
For evidence of this, I give you: the targets with Rachel Notley’s face on them … the “accidental government” rhetoric after the NDP’s 2015 victory … Jason Kenney’s crusade to force together Alberta’s two competing conservative parties in a shotgun wedding with the sole purpose of defeating the NDP, regardless of the longstanding policy differences between the PCs and Wildrose … the rise of Alberta separatism anytime Conservatives don’t win federal elections, and its decline whenever they do … and so much more.
Many Albertans aren’t really democrats at all: they’re one-party state authoritarians.
One of Smith’s biggest strength is she is good at communications. She also understands her base of support, but one her greatest flaws is she is drawn to bad ideas like a bug to a light.
I suppose there are also political advantages for her to going around and continuing to talk about separation. It is a great distraction from her other shortcomings, such as in managing health care and it does tend to appeal to or motivate her base.
However she is also like the band that only ever had one good tune. It may hit the mark for a while, but after a while it can become old and tired. We now have a new PM who seems to have a different and more flexible approach. The old one, Smith loved to demonize so much is gone. We had a Federal election, so that was also decided too. The party Smith says she wanted to win did not. So it is now time to try move on in a productive way.
Failing Albertans……..the farcical UCP and the wealth transfer sh$t show to the .01% must go on…….like I said before…….all the worlds a stage and Dani a minor actor playing a major role in it……..the ELITE love this stuff and their girl and you can’t make it up as you go along……Oh the division and the refraction……the deflection and the distraction is but more political satire inaction on HC&E and the current state of the financial realities of Albertans……and so the UCP ditch billie SHOW goes on and on and on and on…..BRAVO dani to you and your company of WHATS NEXT thespians…….BRAVO……….please note Dani…..I always add the previous carbon tax of 13 cents per litre to every gas sign I see today……it reminds me of just who you work for…..BRAVO