Category: Danielle Smith

Premier Smith Tells Trudeau Alberta Energy Sector Won’t Be ‘Phased Out’

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had her first face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Feb. 7 in Ottawa and said that her province’s energy sector would not be phased out as part of the Liberal government’s plan for a “just transition.” Trudeau and Smith had a brief media availability before their meeting, with Smith…


Premier Smith Tells Trudeau Alberta’s Energy Sector Won’t Be ‘Phased Out’

In her first face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa on Feb. 7, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her province’s energy sector will not be phased out as part of the Liberal government’s plan for a “just transition.” Trudeau and Smith had a brief media availability before their meeting, with Smith noting areas…


Alberta Premier Accuses CBC of Publishing ‘Defamatory Article’ With ‘Baseless Allegations,’ Calls for Apology

EDMONTON—Alberta Premier Danielle Smith issued a statement Wednesday accusing CBC News of publishing a “defamatory article containing baseless allegations” suggesting that staff in her office had sent multiple emails to Alberta crown prosecutors concerning ongoing legal matters. This concerned “charges related to the Coutts protest and other pandemic-related matters before the courts,” said the Jan….


‘Political Hot Potato’: Policing Reform a Delicate Issue for Smith Ahead of Alberta Election

A provincial police force was something previous Alberta premier Jason Kenney favoured right up to his final days in office, and Danielle Smith also touted it during her United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership campaign. But with a mandated election coming up in May, the new premier has been taking the politically safer approach of tackling immediate policing problems,…


Veteran Politician Preston Manning Appointed by Alberta Premier to Chair New Pandemic Panel

EDMONTON—Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced on Jan. 19 that veteran politician and former federal Official Opposition leader Preston Manning has been hired to organize and chair a new pandemic committee. Manning, who founded the Reform Party, said the new pandemic panel, the Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel, will examine what legislation was used by…


Alberta Premier Says She Can’t Offer Pardons to Those Charged With Violating Pandemic Restrictions

EDMONTON—Premier Danielle Smith said she has looked into offering amnesty to Albertans who were charged with violating pandemic restrictions but is unable to do so within the parameters of Canada’s justice system. Smith said she has to let “the process play out” in the courts without political interference. The premier addressed the issue on Jan….


Alberta Premier Clarifies Comments Made About COVID-19 Prosecutions

EDMONTON—Alberta Premier Danielle Smith took to the airwaves on Jan. 14, using her weekly radio show to clarify earlier comments she made about talking to Crown prosecutors about cases involving alleged COVID-19 health violations, comments that caused uproar from the opposition. “Of course, I’ve never called a Crown prosecutor. You’re not allowed to do that as…


Alberta Premier Says Province Will Pursue Health Care Reforms Regardless of Federal Funding

Alberta will be reforming its health care system with or without money from the federal government, Premier Danielle Smith says. At a news conference on Jan. 10, Smith said that even if the federal government does not provide funding, health care is the “number one most important thing” that Albertans expect to be improved. Smith…


Alberta Premier Says Feds’ Just Transition Plan a ‘Big Threat’ to Oil and Gas Industry

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Tuesday that the federal government’s so-called just transition plan is a “big threat” to the province’s oil and natural gas industry. At a news conference, she said the language that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government are using when they talk about just transition “is language that they…


Alberta ‘Fighting Back’ Against Ottawa’s ‘Just Transition’ Plan for Oil and Gas Workers, Says Smith

The Alberta government is “fighting back” against the federal government’s proposed “just transition” legislation, says Premier Danielle Smith, adding that she is open to Ottawa simply helping oil and gas sector workers finding other jobs in related fields. “We are not going to be shutting down our oil and natural gas industry,” Smith said on…