Premier Danielle Smith says separatist UCP members should support the will of Albertans who voted to remain in Canada or leave the party.
That desire was clear in the results of Monday’s referendum, she told reporters at a news conference in Calgary Wednesday. She echoed the sentiment from her video message sent to UCP members earlier in the day.
“For those few who cannot reconcile this fact and remain intent on dividing and turning our party into a vehicle for the independence movement, I would respectfully invite them to join a different party,” Smith said in the video.
She said at Wednesday’s news conference that she knows there are a lot of “hurt feelings,” referencing those who voted to support the province holding a second, binding referendum on separation. But she said now is the time for them to recalibrate.
“You get to have your say, but you don’t always get to have your way.”
In the Wednesday video, Smith said she expects that, going forward, the UCP will be pro-Canada.
“The United Conservative Party is not an independence party,” Smith said.
Smith said the party needs to be clear that “a strong Alberta within a united Canada is the position of our party and our government.”
The premier said party members can hold whatever views they wish but candidates running under the UCP banner must be committed to the party’s position.
Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney, a vocal critic of separatism, told CBC News this mandate is “legitimate.”
“In a democracy, we need groups, parties that represent something coherent, and the people within those parties broadly to support those principles,” he said.
“When push comes to shove, leaders and parties need to protect themselves from those kinds of extremism.”
Kenney said he believes a divided UCP could be problematic for the party in the 2027 general election. However, he said if separatists were to leave the UCP and form their own party, he doesn’t believe that would hurt the UCP in the election.
“I would say if you’re leading a mainstream, centre-right party, it’s helpful to have marginal parties like that that these folks can go to,” he said.
Mitch Sylvestre is a prominent separatist and the CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project. He is also president of the UCP’s Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul constituency association. He said he believes Smith’s decision could backfire.
“Is she trying to blow up the conservative movement in Alberta?” he said.
Sylvestre said he doesn’t believe separatists should be forced to create their own party. And, he said the decision isn’t the premier’s to make.
“I don’t think that’s reasonable,” he said. “This isn’t Danielle Smith’s call, that’s the [UCP] board’s call.”
Chris Scott, leader of the sovereigntist group Let’s Talk Alberta, said he recently submitted paperwork to run for central director on the UCP’s provincial board. He said he will continue his candidacy on the basis of separation, and said he doesn’t believe Confederation offers a clear path to fixing issues in Alberta.
“[Separatists] are going to see … [what Smith said] as a betrayal, they’re going to see it as a disenfranchisement,” he said.
“Unless somebody can effectively bridge that gap, it will cost the premier some support. And I think if that occurs, there’s a real missed opportunity here because there’s a divide [in the party].”
Smith said the UCP also expects members of the provincial board and constituency boards to uphold the party’s position on separatism. Smith said the party needs to focus its efforts on beating the NDP in the next election.
UCP legislature member Jason Stephan, who publicly said he was voting for a second binding referendum, announced Monday as referendum polls closed that he won’t seek re-election.
Smith said Wednesday that Stephan decided to walk away on his own, and that she supported his decision.
University of Calgary political scientist Lisa Young said Smith drawing a line with party members could suggest the premier is concerned she can’t win over Calgary or Edmonton voters unless the separation issue is stamped out.
“She clearly thinks that she’s in trouble,” Young said.
She said Smith has been successful as UCP leader because she is skilled at placating party members no matter their position.
“If you dance with the one that brung you, these are the ones that brung her,” she said.
Referendum results
As of Wednesday morning, results are still trickling in on the 10-question referendum.
While CBC projected Monday night that Albertans strongly favour remaining in Canada, the results of other questions are too close to call.
Smith previously said that she would seek “majority rule,” meaning a 50 per cent-plus-one threshold, to act on the first nine questions, which deal with immigration and constitutional issues.
The five questions that focused on immigration seem to give the Alberta government a clear mandate to take greater control, she said, adding that other provinces share the sentiment and Prime Minister Mark Carney is “accepting the will of Albertans.”
“I think we’re about to have a very honest discussion about returning to the kind of immigration system that worked and served us well for so many years, which is prioritizing economic migrants.”
Smith said her government will look to Quebec’s 1991 accord for inspiration on how to share responsibility for decisions about who gets to move to Alberta and how many — “to make sure we’re matching newcomers with the jobs that are here.”
New legislation could be introduced in the spring, she said.
Smith said that the results show a divide between urban and rural voters, and that the constitutional questions are less of a priority overall.
“There’s a reason to be skeptical that some constitutional amendments would be worth the effort,” she said. “What I’m seeing is that Albertans would rather we spend our time focusing on things where we can make meaningful change.”
Full referendum results are expected by Wednesday night.
