“Perceptions,” by Gerry Warner

Op-Ed Commentary

If you think the Alberta election is over, be assured we’ve only seen the beginning. My last column ended asking if Danielle Smith was the Pied Piper of Alberta politics.

Now that the Alberta electorate has answered that question, we go on to the next and the results are not likely to be predictable or pretty. Even by Alberta standards.

But give the lady her due. She won a majority. No one died. To the best of our knowledge, the election was fair and legal and no more than the usual number of ballots spoiled. The NDP won almost a dozen seats in corporate Calgary and swept Edmonton yet they still couldn’t pull off another socialist miracle like they did in 2015.

So, what the hell happened?

You hear a lot of talk about algorithms these days. Small minds like mine largely don’t get it. But there’s one numerical combination I can understand, 41 out of 47. That, subject to recounts, was the number of seats won by the United Conservative Party (UCP) in rural Alberta. That total alone was almost enough to win the gold ring.

Got any other stupid questions?

In reality, there’s really only two political parties left in Alberta. Not the UCP and NDP, but the urban and rural parties and Ms. Smith knows well how to play in that arena. In fact, that’s the way it is politically in most of the post-Covid, post-social media and post-Internet world and don’t let anyone tell you differently. If you do, consider the incredible story of Danielle Marlaina Smith, the recently elected – by majority – Premier of Alberta.

According to Wikipedia, Smith was born in Calgary, graduated with a degree in English and economics and was a political activist on campus and a great admirer of Ayn Rand, the author of “Atlas Shrugged,” a favourite of Liberationist types everywhere, and of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a similar believer in small government.

After university, Smith was a Calgary Herald columnist for a while and a TV talk show host known for her hard-right views on most political issues and her strong aversion to socialism. She was described in 2012 as a “libertarian on moral issues” by the Toronto Globe and Mail and “far right” by the New York Times in 2023.

After becoming premier, Smith responded by calling herself  a “caring conservative.” Many labeled her a political opportunist when she quit the Conservatives and crossed the floor to the Wild Rose Party, a party with strong separatist roots, only to audaciously jump back later to the new “United” Conservative Party taking seven former Wild Rose members with her and cementing her reputation as a take-no-prisoners politician. She later won the UPC leadership becoming premier to the delight of the “Take Back Alberta crowd.”

But she soon became a very controversial premier by moving quickly to establish a Sovereignty Act for Alberta and suggesting a provincial pension plan and a provincial police force in place of the RCMP. Downplaying the Covid pandemic and enthusiastically supporting the truckers’ convoy also alienated many Albertans and a wacky statement that the cancer threat caused by smoking was “exaggerated” didn’t help either.

Nevertheless, no one can deny that Smith ran a strong campaign that the NDP couldn’t counter despite running a powerful campaign themselves. But the campaign has left behind a toxic political culture that isn’t going to help anyone regardless of their politics. Does Smith have the vision to bridge the gap between the rural and urban solitudes of Alberta? Does she even want to bridge the gap or will she contribute to it?

We’re soon going to find out. I can hardly wait.

– Gerry Warner is a retired journalist, who wishes Alberta well in the days ahead.

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