{"id":415174,"date":"2025-11-30T14:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T14:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/415174\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T14:00:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T14:00:15","slug":"smith-defends-ottawa-energy-deal-at-ucp-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/415174\/","title":{"rendered":"Smith defends Ottawa energy deal at UCP convention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at a conference in April, 2025. On Saturday, Smith says she intends to use the Alberta Sovereignty Act to introduce block Ottawa\u2019s gun buyback program.Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith<\/a> walked a thin line at this weekend\u2019s annual United Conservative convention trying to appease the pro-independence grassroots base of her party while simultaneously touting a new energy deal with her frequent foes in Ottawa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While the she faced loud boos attempting to sell her energy accord with Prime Minister Mark Carney<\/a> on Friday, and a combination of cheers and jeers when she asked the crowd to \u201cnot give up on our country\u201d in her speech on Saturday, the Premier believes she won some of the party faithful over. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot everyone in that room agreed with me, but I think more did in the room today, and that\u2019s my job, is to make sure that the people see what I\u2019m trying,\u201d Ms. Smith told reporters on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Ms. Smith leaned on her pitch for a \u201csovereign Alberta within a united Canada\u201d when asking the party membership to trust her government\u2019s bid to work with Ottawa, which scrapped several federal climate and energy policies to make way for a potential bitumen pipeline to B.C.\u2019s north coast. <\/p>\n

Coastal First Nations in B.C. say they\u2019re prepared to challenge pipeline projects in court<\/a><\/p>\n

But even if the Alberta government\u2019s war with Ottawa on energy policy is reduced to a simmer, Ms. Smith foreshadowed new battle lines she\u2019s preparing to draw with the federal government. <\/p>\n

On Saturday, the Premier announced that she intends to use her Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act to introduce a motion that would essentially block Ottawa\u2019s gun buyback program in the province and would protect people\u2019s right to defend their property.<\/p>\n

The announcement received a standing ovation. <\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s a tip for low-life criminals out there: If you don\u2019t want to get shot, don\u2019t break into someone\u2019s house. It\u2019s really that simple,\u201d Ms. Smith said.<\/p>\n

The legality of her Sovereignty Act has not been tested in court.<\/p>\n

Ms. Smith later said the mechanics of not enforcing the gun buyback program would be \u201cfairly technical\u201d with more details coming next week.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney sign an energy MOU on Thursday, signalling major shift in relationship.Jeff McIntosh\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Despite the prominent independence-minded contingent among the 4,000 or so people gathered at the Edmonton Expo Centre over the weekend, there were clear moments when the Premier\u2019s popularity among the membership appeared to remain strong. They stood and cheered loudly on Saturday when she stepped onstage for her rabble-rousing keynote speech that leaned on grievances from the Trudeau era and trumpeted a change in policy direction from Mr. Carney\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

Other tenets of Ms. Smith\u2019s government \u2013 including its sweeping health care reforms, recovery-focused addiction strategy and allusions to \u201cwoke\u201d policies such as drug-consumption sites \u2013 also earned loud applause.<\/p>\n

Earlier: Smith booed by delegates at UCP convention after signing energy deal with Ottawa<\/a><\/p>\n

Separatist leaders had signalled before the convention that their goal was to elect allies to the party board. Flyers for \u201cpro-establishment\u201d and \u201cpro-independence\u201d candidates circulated around the convention hall ahead of the vote.<\/p>\n

Half the UCP\u2019s board seats, including the president\u2019s, were up for election.<\/p>\n

But incumbent President Rob Smith survived a challenge from Darrell Komick, a constituency association president who was endorsed by pro-independence leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe our party [does] stand together,\u201d Mr. Smith said after his re-election. \u201cWhether I\u2019m establishment or not, I don\u2019t honestly know, but I\u2019m not even entirely sure what that means.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robyn Urback: If nothing else, Danielle Smith is a disruptor<\/a><\/p>\n

Though polling has previously suggested a majority of UCP members endorse separation, the weekend appeared to highlight a growing conflict within the party.<\/p>\n

John Williams, a founding UCP board member, argued most people were not booing Ms. Smith, and that most of the membership remains satisfied with her leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were not booing the Premier. They\u2019re booing the situation … and we are pissed off with Ottawa,\u201d said Mr. Williams. <\/p>\n

UCP Member Paul Chauvet, who was strolling the aisles wearing a shirt that read \u201cMy country is Alberta,\u201d said he endorses independence but did not jeer Ms. Smith on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t agree with everything Danielle Smith does, but for the most part, I\u2019m very happy,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019s our iron lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

Analysis: Welcome to Canada\u2019s energy-first future<\/a><\/p>\n

Jeff Rath, a prominent independence advocate who led raucous cheers for separation on Friday night, argued the opposite: \u201cShe\u2019s got a problem. She\u2019s completely lost her base. People think she\u2019s delusional,\u201d he said of Ms. Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not where her base is. That\u2019s not where her party is. If that\u2019s what she wants to do, maybe she needs to cross the floor again and join the frickin\u2019 PC\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diane Kreuger, a member who said she doesn\u2019t endorse independence, said she has a major problem with how the province is handling disability programs \u2013 but said she appreciates how frequently Ms. Smith engages with the public.<\/p>\n

Members, on the weekend, also voted in favour of non-binding motions to end public funding for third-trimester abortions, to reintroduce coal-fired power and to ban fluoride from municipal drinking water.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at a conference in April, 2025. On Saturday, Smith…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":415175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2147,50,52014,4741],"class_list":{"0":"post-415174","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-nodelphi","11":"tag-pleasemod"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115639014114692887","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}