Not Your Grandpa’s Conservative Party

Take Back Alberta, a key Danielle Smith backer, continues its UCP takeover.

A conservative observer on watching Take Back Alberta — a key supporter of Premier Danielle Smith — in action: ‘It felt like a coup.’ 

Photo by Chris Schwarz via Alberta government.

Alberta Politics
David J. Climenhaga 

Yesterday

A clearer picture is starting to emerge of how Take Back Alberta — the anti-vaccine, pro-convoy, Q-adjacent extremist group key to Danielle Smith’s victory in last year’s United Conservative Party leadership race — is now taking over her party one riding association at a time.

Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt sounded a warning bell about Take Back Alberta early this month in a Calgary Herald op-ed.

He was the first to use the phrase “a Take Back Alberta government” to describe how a post-election Danielle Smith government might function and act.

Look for a full-blown assault on public education, including attempts to take over local school boards by TBA cadres, and legislation to weaken public health measures, Bratt said in the op-ed, written with Sarah Biggs of Olsen-Biggs Public Affairs, who has worked as a Conservative political organizer.


We could also expect a TBA government to make good on Smith’s advocacy of an Alberta-autonomy agenda, they wrote — “creating Alberta provincial police to replace RCMP, Alberta tax collection agency to replace Revenue Canada, and an Alberta pension plan by pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan.” Eventually, we might also see “a referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada.”

“This is not hyperbole or fearmongering,” they warned. “These are all statements coming from Take Back Alberta.”

Now we have an eyewitness account of TBA’s effort to gain control of the UCP party apparatus in the Livingstone-Macleod riding, which extends south from High River, home to Smith, all the way to the U.S. border in southwestern Alberta.

Writing in the Crowsnest Pass Herald March 15, publisher Lisa Sygutek described her experience and feelings as a Conservative supporter watching TBA in action.

“I have been a card-carrying conservative my entire adult life,” began Sygutek, who is also a Crowsnest Pass municipal councillor. “When I was in university, I was part of the young conservative organization. I believe in the party, well the party I used to know and understand, and I must tell you I don’t understand this party anymore.”

“What I experienced,” she wrote, “was basically a takeover by the ‘Take Back Alberta’ faction.”

Describing the election of candidates for the constituency association board in her community, she said, “It was bizarre. There was honestly a sense of extreme hostility in the room. It felt like a coup.”

That would seem fair. Indeed, what appears to have happened in Livingstone-Macleod could be described as a coup without stretching the facts too much.

“After the board elections, I found out that around 80 per cent of the board had been replaced and many of the new board members were a faction of the TBA group,” said Sygutek, who is also a director of the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association.

She describes what sounds very much like a concerted effort to suppress the votes of people who don’t support TBA. The UCP, she wrote, “is fractured by an extreme right conservative group and people like me who are moderate are left bereft.”

There’s more, and I recommend you read Sygutek’s commentary.

Remember that TBA has already, as Bratt pointed out, enjoyed significant success turning the UCP into an extremist organization, and when it turned to taking over UCP constituency associations “assembled more than 500 people to attend the AGM for the Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre constituency association and took over the board, winning 28 of 30 seats that were up for re-election.”

This, he noted, lead to the party’s nomination being reopened with the intention of replacing former cabinet minister Jason Nixon with a more radical candidate.

The same group is moving to take over other UCP riding associations.

Back in November last year, the Globe and Mail reported how TBA managed to gain significant control of the party’s provincial board.

As often happens with developments of this type, less attention has been paid to this group than it deserved when it was campaigning for Smith’s leadership. Obviously, it’s time to start paying some heed to what voices within the Conservative party, like that of Sygutek, are saying.

If it ever was, the UCP is not your grandfather’s Conservative party anymore.

David Climenhaga  is an award-winning journalist, author, post-secondary teacher, poet and trade union communicator. He blogs at AlbertaPolitics.ca

 Follow him on Twitter at @djclimenhaga.

Not Your Grandpa’s Conservative Party

Take Back Alberta, a key Danielle Smith backer, continues its UCP takeover.

A conservative observer on watching Take Back Alberta — a key supporter of Premier Danielle Smith — in action: ‘It felt like a coup.’ 

Photo by Chris Schwarz via Alberta government.

Alberta Politics
David J. Climenhaga 

Yesterday

A clearer picture is starting to emerge of how Take Back Alberta — the anti-vaccine, pro-convoy, Q-adjacent extremist group key to Danielle Smith’s victory in last year’s United Conservative Party leadership race — is now taking over her party one riding association at a time.

Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt sounded a warning bell about Take Back Alberta early this month in a Calgary Herald op-ed.

He was the first to use the phrase “a Take Back Alberta government” to describe how a post-election Danielle Smith government might function and act.

Look for a full-blown assault on public education, including attempts to take over local school boards by TBA cadres, and legislation to weaken public health measures, Bratt said in the op-ed, written with Sarah Biggs of Olsen-Biggs Public Affairs, who has worked as a Conservative political organizer.


We could also expect a TBA government to make good on Smith’s advocacy of an Alberta-autonomy agenda, they wrote — “creating Alberta provincial police to replace RCMP, Alberta tax collection agency to replace Revenue Canada, and an Alberta pension plan by pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan.” Eventually, we might also see “a referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada.”

“This is not hyperbole or fearmongering,” they warned. “These are all statements coming from Take Back Alberta.”

Now we have an eyewitness account of TBA’s effort to gain control of the UCP party apparatus in the Livingstone-Macleod riding, which extends south from High River, home to Smith, all the way to the U.S. border in southwestern Alberta.

Writing in the Crowsnest Pass Herald March 15, publisher Lisa Sygutek described her experience and feelings as a Conservative supporter watching TBA in action.

“I have been a card-carrying conservative my entire adult life,” began Sygutek, who is also a Crowsnest Pass municipal councillor. “When I was in university, I was part of the young conservative organization. I believe in the party, well the party I used to know and understand, and I must tell you I don’t understand this party anymore.”

“What I experienced,” she wrote, “was basically a takeover by the ‘Take Back Alberta’ faction.”

Describing the election of candidates for the constituency association board in her community, she said, “It was bizarre. There was honestly a sense of extreme hostility in the room. It felt like a coup.”

That would seem fair. Indeed, what appears to have happened in Livingstone-Macleod could be described as a coup without stretching the facts too much.

“After the board elections, I found out that around 80 per cent of the board had been replaced and many of the new board members were a faction of the TBA group,” said Sygutek, who is also a director of the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association.

She describes what sounds very much like a concerted effort to suppress the votes of people who don’t support TBA. The UCP, she wrote, “is fractured by an extreme right conservative group and people like me who are moderate are left bereft.”

There’s more, and I recommend you read Sygutek’s commentary.

Remember that TBA has already, as Bratt pointed out, enjoyed significant success turning the UCP into an extremist organization, and when it turned to taking over UCP constituency associations “assembled more than 500 people to attend the AGM for the Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre constituency association and took over the board, winning 28 of 30 seats that were up for re-election.”

This, he noted, lead to the party’s nomination being reopened with the intention of replacing former cabinet minister Jason Nixon with a more radical candidate.

The same group is moving to take over other UCP riding associations.

Back in November last year, the Globe and Mail reported how TBA managed to gain significant control of the party’s provincial board.

As often happens with developments of this type, less attention has been paid to this group than it deserved when it was campaigning for Smith’s leadership. Obviously, it’s time to start paying some heed to what voices within the Conservative party, like that of Sygutek, are saying.

If it ever was, the UCP is not your grandfather’s Conservative party anymore.

David Climenhaga  is an award-winning journalist, author, post-secondary teacher, poet and trade union communicator. He blogs at AlbertaPolitics.ca

 Follow him on Twitter at @djclimenhaga.

UCP general meeting kicks off in Calgary with high turnout, questions of unity

CBC
Sat, November 4, 2023 

Delegates lineup to register at the United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Calgary, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press - image credit)

A strikingly large crowd streamed into Calgary's BMO Centre on Friday afternoon for the first day of the United Conservative Party's annual general meeting, expected to be a crucial weekend to gauge party unity in light of the involvement of the social conservative group Take Back Alberta.

Friday was a chance for attendees to get oriented, and to vote on less dramatic governance resolutions — such as whether leadership reviews should take place two years instead of three after an election, and whether paper membership cards could be issued to party members. Both of those did not pass.

But most of the fireworks will come on Saturday, with controversial policy resolutions to be voted on and board elections to be held.

Political watchers are paying close attention to see how this weekend's meeting, the second under Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, will be received by the crowd of at least 3,728, a figure the party says is the largest in Alberta's history. The UCP's founding convention in 2018 drew around 2,500 members.

Crews ready the venue of the United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Calgary, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.

Crews ready the venue of the United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Calgary. Alberta's United Conservatives are holding their second annual general meeting under Premier Danielle Smith on Friday and Saturday. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Many attending for the first time

As the doors opened to the event centre, members filed into the meeting hall along stanchions divided by black curtains. Many in this line said they were attending a political AGM for the first time, and many said it was the efforts of the social conservative group Take Back Alberta that had drawn them there.

Some still expressed grudges over how pandemic-era policies were handled by government, while others said they were here to weigh in on policies tied to the economy.

"I guess we tend to be Take Back Alberta people, but we'll see. I hope the people who work in there really do unify," said first-time attendee Verlin Rau.

First-time annual general meeting attendee Verlin Rau said he has been impressed with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith so far, though he said he recognizes she has been under pressure. (Joel Dryden/CBC)

"I want to see what they're doing on things like policy and governance, and things like that," said Tom Howard, another attendee in line.

A short walk away, in Stampede Park's Big Four Roadhouse, tables clad with black cloth were littered with pamphlets and handouts from party board hopefuls.

"There's a lot of talk about party unity. How do we build unity? By building trust," read one printed on yellow paper.

These normally sleepy elections have drawn increased attention this year due to Take Back Alberta's goal of taking a majority of the board for the stated reason of guaranteeing grassroots representation in government.

David Parker, the group's leader, was visible on the meeting floor on Friday. The night prior to the event, he wrote on X, previously Twitter, that this weekend would begin "a new age in Alberta."

"After this AGM, the grassroots of the UCP will be in charge," he wrote. "Those who do not listen to the grassroots or attempt to thwart their involvement in the decision making process, will be removed from power."

Social issues clearly front-of-mind

On stage in the Big Four Roadhouse, sessions with provincial ministers were underway even as registrants in the BMO Hall waited in line.

The sessions, focused on crime, energy and the environment, kicked off with a talk from Energy and Minerals Minister Brian Jean and Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz. Their efforts talking up Alberta's opposition to federal net-zero rules and to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were warmly received by the party faithful.

"Smith is gonna kick some butt," Jean said, referring to the prime minister.

A registrar hands out vote cards to delegates at the United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Calgary, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

But where the crowd really came alive was during the question-and-answer sessions with Jean and Schulz, and with Minister of Justice Mickey Amery and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis. During one of those portions, an attendee referenced what they said were pressing issues of gender and sexuality in schools, something often referenced by Take Back Alberta leader Parker and others as "parental rights."

The crowd loudly applauded those sentiments. Requiring the written consent of parents whenever a student under 16 wants to change their name or pronouns at school is one of many controversial party positions reflected amongst the30 policy resolutions that will be voted on by party members on Saturday.

Other resolutions include prohibiting the implementation ofso-called '15-minute cities,' ending funding for supervised consumption sites and opposing net-zero power rules in Canada by 2035.

Party resolutions are brought forward by party members and are non-binding, but they do provide grassroots direction on what it thinks the government's policies should be.

Mixed views on unity

Talk to people ordering tacos from food trucks outside the Big Four Roadhouse, or party members lingering in the hallways, and opinions vary on how much unity there is currently in the party.

Many, including those affiliated with Take Back Alberta, say they think Smith is equipped to help keep people across the conservative spectrum together.

Delegate Scott Payne of Medicine Hat arrives at the United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Calgary on Nov. 3. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Others aren't so thrilled with the influx of members from Take Back Alberta and its implications for party policy moving forward. Denise Hamilton, a director with the Calgary-Beddington constituency association, said she would welcome the members as friendly members of the UCP, but didn't want them to take over the party.

"We can't just go one way or the other. You tip the scales, and you're way off balance. So it worries me, worries me a lot," Hamilton said. "If they had just wanted to come and run for each board, and just like the rest of us, want to do the hard work — sure, please join us.

"But if you came in here, just to take us over, because you have your own agenda, and you don't want to fit in with the regular agenda, then I'm not with that."

Such dynamics are likely to continue on Saturday, when most of the action is scheduled to take place. Speeches from candidates running for seats on the party's board will begin early in the morning, and voting will take place until 2 p.m. Smith will also deliver her keynote address on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

Danielle Smith signals support for 'parental rights' as party members pass controversial resolutions


CBC
Sat, November 4, 2023

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks to party faithful at the United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Calgary on Saturday. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press - image credit)

In a speech to party members on Saturday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith expressed her opposition to federal net-zero rules and called out her federal counterparts in Ottawa, but received the loudest approval of the day after signalling her support for "parental rights."

"Regardless of how often the extreme left undermines the role of parents, I want you to know that parental rights and choice in your child's education is and will continue to be a fundamental core principle of this party and this government," Smith said.

This weekend's annual general meeting in Calgary, one the United Conservative Party has referred to as the largest in Alberta's history, drew a large contingent of members affiliated with Take Back Alberta, a social conservative group.

David Parker, the leader of that group, has made the subject of "parental rights" among his chief areas of interests. Over the past number of months, some parents and socially conservative groups have been protesting LGBTQ-inclusive education policies in the classroom and in extracurricular settings under that term.

Attendees at this weekend's AGM passed a non-binding resolution that would require the written consent of parents whenever a student under 16 wants to change their name or pronouns at a school.

Party faithful cheer Alberta Premier Danielle Smith as she speaks at the United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Calgary on Saturday. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

The Saskatchewan government recently passed a similar bill. Critics and researchers say the term "parental rights" isn't accurate, because it doesn't include the concerns of LGBTQ parents or parents of LGBTQ children.

Smith herself has, in the past, spoken about how she didn't want to turn this issue into a political football, mentioning a non-binary family member. Speaking to reporters after her speech, she said she was still hopeful that it was possible to "keep the temperature down."

"Whether you're a straight couple or a gay couple or whether you're a trans individual, you want to know what's going on with your kids," she said.

"I don't think it needs to be polarizing. I think that we have to make sure that we're respecting the rights of parents, but also making sure kids feel protected and supported."

While the premier didn't make any policy commitments, it was a way for her to indicate to members that that she shared their concerns, said Lisa Young, a University of Calgary political science professor.

"I think that the reaction from the party members who were there really did signal how important this issue is to them," Young said.

"So it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the policy debate, and in the days to come if there's pressure on the government to act, as opposed to simply expressing sympathy."

Attendees at the UCP AGM also voted on a number of other policy resolutions. They approved resolutions banning race-based admissions in post-secondary institutions and a resolution that would prohibit the implementation of so-called "15-minute cities."

Delegates cast their votes at the United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Calgary on Nov. 4. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

They've also approved resolutions that would ban the use of electronic voting machines, end provincial funding of supervised consumption sites and refuse transgender women in women's correctional facilities. Members also voted to approve a resolution that would oppose net-zero power rules in Canada by 2035.

Party members voted on 30 policy resolutions in total. Policy resolutions are brought forward by party members, and are non-binding, but they do provide grassroots direction on what it thinks the government's policies should be.

Smith references AHS decentralization

Smith, in her speech at the BMO Centre, also received a big response from the crowd after saying her government would have more to say "in the coming weeks" on health reforms that would "decentralize decision-making and resources from AHS down to our front lines."

Young, the U of C political science professor, said there have been a number of people recruited into the party as members over the past year or two who were unhappy with the provincial government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically when it came to mandates.

"The policy stance that seems to be favoured by those groups is that there needs to be decentralization of Alberta Health Services," Young said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith promised to continue to reduce taxes, balance budgets, pay off debt and eventually build a high-speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary as a part of her speech to almost 3,800 delegates at the United Conservative Party's annual meeting in Calgary on Saturday. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

During her speech, Smith also touched on familiar topics such as her opposition to federal net-zero rules, receiving loud applause from the crowd when she referred to federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's "green czar."

"They are still hell-bent on imposing these destructive leftist policies on the people of Alberta. You know what I say to them. Not so long as I am premier. Not a chance," said Smith.

Smith did not mention the ongoing battle over the Canada Pension Plan during her remarks. Based on a report from the consultant LifeWorks, the province has claimed that if it pulled out of the CPP, it would be entitled to $334 billion, which would represent more than half of the fund's assets.

Rob Smith new party president

One of the other main areas of focus at this year's AGM has been the question of unity — in particular, how Smith might respond to Take Back Alberta and the members it drew to the event.

"I think a strong message is going to be sent to our government that the grassroots is very interested in protecting their rights," said Parker, the leader of the group, on Saturday afternoon.

David Parker, centre, founder of Take Back Alberta, looks on as delegates debate resolutions at the United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Calgary, on Nov. 4. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Parker has said the group's goal is to take a majority of the seats on the UCP board so as to ensure the goals of his group's members are represented in government.

Before this weekend's event, Take Back Alberta already held half of the board seats, with Parker saying he wanted his group to control an "absolute majority" of the seats after the AGM.

Two Take Back Alberta-affiliated individuals, Sonia Egey-Samu and Vicki Kozmak-LeFrense, filled spots by acclamation on Saturday, with Egey-Samu the new vice-president of fundraising and Kozmak-LeFrense a northern director. Attendees at the AGM voted for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills constituency association president Rob Smith to become the new party president. As a riding president, Smith challenged the leadership of former premier Jason Kenney.

United Conservative Party member Ron Pearpoint said he was concerned about unity within the party moving forward. (Joel Dryden/CBC)

Though Take Back Alberta drew plenty of supporters to this weekend's events, its large presence drew concern from some attendees, too.

In line for the lunch buffet on Saturday afternoon, Ron Pearpoint said he was concerned about how long conservative premiers have typically lasted in Alberta, including Smith's predecessor, Kenney.

"That bothers me more than anything else. We eat our own, right?" he said.

What to expect from Alberta Premier Smith's mostly-familiar cabinet
Story by Lisa Johnson • Sunday, June 11, 2023

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith poses for a picture with members of her cabinet on Friday, June 9, 2023, at Government House in Edmonton.

© Provided by Edmonton Journal

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s cabinet may be full of familiar faces, but it signals she will focus on her fight with Ottawa and that new fringe candidates don’t control her government, experts say.

University of Calgary political science professor Lisa Young told Postmedia the appointment of Brian Jean to the energy file and Rebecca Schulz to the environment ministry suggest Albertans can expect the newly-elected UCP government to focus on the province’s fight against federal energy policies.

Smith has long called Ottawa’s looming emissions goals “unachievable,” including the potential 42 per cent emissions cap on the oil and gas industry by 2030 and goal to get to a net zero power grid by 2035.

“She’s gearing up for that fight,” said Young, adding that being combative with Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on energy and environment policy is the one thing that everyone in an often-divided UCP caucus can agree on.

Young noted both Jean and Schulz played the role of surrogates during the election campaign, often attacking NDP policy at news conferences in place of Smith. Jean and Schulz also came the closest to winning the UCP leadership last fall after Travis Toews didn’t seek re-election in May. They came in third and fourth, respectively.

Schulz’s history includes negotiating a $3.8-billion child-care deal with Ottawa, while Jean, from Fort McMurray, is known for fighting hard for local oil and gas sector interests.

“(Smith has) decided to make them essentially a team to fight Ottawa. I think we’re gonna see the good cop bad cop routine,” said Young.

Rural voices will have a seat at the table in prominent portfolios, too, including Drumheller-Stettler’s Nate Horner, who was appointed to finance.

‘It’s a career ender’: LaGrange gets challenging health file

Adriana LaGrange, who has represented Red Deer-North since 2019, will move to health from education after facing criticism on heated issues from funding for children with disabilities to a controversial K-6 curriculum.

Lori Williams, political scientist at Mount Royal University, called it questionable, and noted LaGrange will have a lot of work to do to repair relationships with health care workers.

“There is money to be spent, but that relationship with healthcare workers — the ability to recruit or to attract healthcare workers — has been materially damaged by their treatment under the UCP government.”

“I wonder if this was a sign of weakness that (Smith) couldn’t get anybody else to take it, because it’s a career ender,” Williams said.

Shifting LaGrange to health may raise the eyebrows, particularly for those with concerns about her staunchly pro-life position, but it is a nod to UCP voters outside of the province’s big cities, Young said.

“The biggest issues in health care aren’t in Calgary and Edmonton, arguably. They’re in Red Deer and Lethbridge and in all of the smaller centres where the emergency rooms are closed more often than they’re open,” said Young.

For its part, United Nurses of Alberta president Heather Smith focused on the importance of front-line workers being heard in a news release Friday, but also noted that LaGrange will understand the “enormous pressure and challenges the nurse staffing shortage has put on hospitals like the Red Deer Regional Hospital.”

‘It was about assuring people’: new candidates shut out

None of the 12 newly-elected UCP representatives will sit on the front benches when the legislature convenes in October.

Smith’s cabinet of 25, down from 27, represents more than half of the UCP’s elected caucus of 49. However, the legislature will need to elect a speaker, who cannot vote, and Lacombe-Ponoka member-elect Jennifer Johnson, who ran under the UCP banner, is expected to sit as an independent after transphobic comments from her became public.

Peter Singh, along with newcomers Myles McDougall and Eric Bouchard, are the only Calgary MLAs to be shut out of executive council.

Young noted that McDougall and Bouchard appeared to win their nominations with some support from right-wing third party advertiser Take Back Alberta, credited with helping take down former premier Jason Kenney.

At the same time, Jason Nixon is back at the executive council table after being shut out by Smith in October.

“He had a Take Back Alberta target on him,” said Young, referring to the bitter battle in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre that saw Nixon’s rival disqualified by the UCP.

“It was about assuring people in and outside of Alberta that the Take Back Alberta folks, about whom a fair bit of publicly has been generated , aren’t the ones influencing her government,” said Williams.

With such a large cabinet, Smith might be able to avoid a vote of confidence, and reduce the risk of the party splintering, Young said.

“They kind of have to vote with you once they’re in cabinet,” said Young, noting parliamentary secretary roles, which also come with a pay bump, have yet to be handed out.

lijohnson@postmedia.com

twitter.com/reportrix

Danielle Smith takes aim at middle management in Alberta Health Services

The Globe and Mail

@globeandmail

Danielle Smith takes aim at middle management in Alberta Health Services

theglobeandmail.com

Danielle Smith takes aim at middle management in Alberta Health Services

Alberta’s premier faces allegations of political influence of hiring practices in the province’s health authority since becoming the UCP’s leader in the fall

3:51 PM · Jul 5, 2023

·

10.4K

Views

Bell: Premier Smith vows AHS will have '

new faces' to shake things up

When will Smith bring back a board to oversee things at AHS? 

The premier is not in a hurry

Author of the article: ick Bell

Published Jun 30, 2023

Premier Danielle Smith speaks during a Calgary Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Calgary on Thursday, June 29, 2023. 

PHOTO BY GAVIN YOUNG /Postmedia

Premier Danielle Smith is serious.

Smith is in Calgary Thursday.

She’s talking about doing a housecleaning at AHS, a message she’s been spreading well before she ran for the leadership of the UCP and won the job supported by folks who were mighty displeased with the way the health system in Alberta was being run.

“I think it’s no secret I’ve had frustration there is a lot of middle management in Alberta Health Services and it becomes really difficult for those on the front line to find anybody to get to a Yes,” says Smith.

A Yes for change.

“There’s lots of people who will tell you No or delay or say we’re not sure.


“We need to have decision-makers who can say Yes.”


AHS paper-shufflers, we hope you’re reading this memo.


Smith says she wants more decisions made at the regional level, the local level, the hospital level.

Yep, we’ve come full circle from 15 years back.

Alberta moved to one province-wide health outfit, the so-called AHS superboard, when Premier Ed Stelmach got sick and tired of dealing with the likes of Calgary Health Region boss Jack Davis, who wanted the province to cough up health-care cash pronto during an election campaign and summoned the press to get the news out in the boldest headlines possible.

Smith continues.

“We’re going to have new faces who are going to lead the effort. It’s up to John to choose the personnel. I’m not going to comment on every personnel change he makes.

“But we need to have the right people in the right place doing the right things in Alberta Health Services. That’s what we’re going to be focused on over the next six months.”

John is Dr. John Cowell, running the shop at Alberta Health Services ever since Smith fired the AHS board.

She credits Cowell with “effectively ending red alerts at EMS” and “making great progress in reducing surgical wait times.”

Smith suggests AHS types should now get with the program.

“To me, we got a mandate to continue the work we’re doing on reform. So people need to get on board. We’re making some progress in some areas but we’ve got a whole lot more work to be done.”

When will Smith bring back a board to oversee things at AHS?

The premier is not in a hurry.

“We have to make the structural changes first,” she says.

In six months, she’ll look at whether “enough progress” has been made.

“It gives you an idea of how quickly I want to move on decisions.”

Premier Danielle Smith listens as Dr. John Cowell, official administrator with AHS answers questions during a press conference on Wednesday, December 21, 2022. 

PHOTO BY GAVIN YOUNG /Postmedia

Well, lookee here. Smith also tells us Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is coming for the Calgary Stampede and she will have a sit-down with the man himself.

The premier says Trudeau’s people told her she could pick three topics.

She picked energy, energy, energy.

“We’ve got to push back against the federal government on all things making life unaffordable for Albertans,” says Smith.

Then there’s Take Back Alberta, the group more commonly known as TBA, who claim credit for running former premier Jason Kenney out of office and replacing him with Smith.

There’s the yearly UCP gabfest in early November. At the last get-together, TBA won every seat up for grabs on the party’s board.

They want to flex some muscle again.

Now, TBA numero uno David Parker takes to Twitter and goes after Cynthia Moore, the party’s president and long-time conservative, who is no favourite of the group.

Parker accuses Moore of treating “grassroots Albertans like criminals” and “being consistently at war” with the UCP board, half of them backed by TBA.

Parker says the party prez “yelled at, bullied and belittled regular party members to find anyone associated with Take Back Alberta.”

The TBA leader says Moore must resign, agree not to run for UCP president again or “be humiliated” when party members meet in November.

Smith says she supports every member of the party executive and at the November meeting it will be one member, one vote “and we’ll potentially see some new faces.”


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It is a month since the UCP election win.

Just as Smith said to this columnist many months ago, she wanted to hold the party’s legislature seats in the country and win 10 to 15 seats in Calgary.

The UCP did both.

As for the summer, Smith says she’ll be going around the province gladhanding and flipping flapjacks.

As far as the politics beyond the pancakes?

“The work is going to be centred around our relationship with the federal government. At the moment I’m trying to find common cause with the federal government.”

Good luck with that.

rbell@postmedia.com

Smith wants AHS middle management on 

front lines as she plans to restructure

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at the United Conservative Party AGM in Edmonton on Oct. 22, 2022. 

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken

Tyson Fedor
CTV News Calgary Video Journalist

 Oct. 24, 2022 

Premier Danielle Smith believes part of restructuring Alberta Health Services should include pushing "middle managers" to the health care system’s frontlines.

"When you have senior people, you do have to pay senior people at a level that allows them to take on that responsibility," said Smith.

"But I'm more interested in that middle-management layer and getting more of those individuals pushed down to the front line."

Smith says AHS will see a major overhaul by the end of the year.

During the United Conservative Party's annual general meeting this past weekend, a motion to fire 700 AHS senior managers and administrators earning more than $140,000 per year was defeated.

Calgary registered nurse Jennifer Denesuk agrees changes are needed within AHS to get the health care system back on track.

"It was pretty much in shambles before the pandemic and when the pandemic hit, I think people on the outside got to see what (a) shambles it really is," said Denesuk.

"The system is broken down and it (didn’t) just start in one spot and work, you have to start at the top and the bottom."

Denesuk says some units were not staffed correctly prior to the pandemic.

"I might have been the only RN and instead of finding other RNs to come in and work, they brought in seven health care aides," she said.

"That's not going to help you on a unit."

SMITH WILL SCRAP AHS AGREEMENT WITH WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

In July 2020, AHS caught the eye of the World Economic Forum, asking it to be part of its Global Coalition for Value in Healthcare.

AHS says the goal was to play a role in shaping the future of health care on the international stage.

However, Smith said on a livestream broadcast last week that the agreement, which includes information sharing, will be ripped up.

Klaus Schwab, WEF executive chairman, has consistently been linked to conspiracy theories of a globalist elite world agenda, where he will take over world governments and eradicate capitalism.

"I don't think he's a medical doctor, I don't think he's a nurse and I don't think he's a paramedic," said Smith on Monday.

"As I've said, I am going to be taking advice from our frontline nurses, doctors, paramedics and health professionals to fix the local problems."

Smith said she finds it "distasteful when billionaires brag about how much control they have over political leaders as the head of that organization has."

"I think that that is offensive," continued Smith. "The people who should be directing government are the people who vote for them. And the people who vote for me and for my colleagues are people who live in Alberta, and who are affected by our decisions. And so, quite frankly, until that organization stops bragging about how much control they have over political leaders, I have no interest in being involved with them.

"My focus is here in Alberta solving problems for Albertans with the mandate from Albertans."

HEALTH CARE UNIONS CALL FOR MEETING WITH PREMIER, HEALTH MINISTER

Members from Alberta’s health care worker unions held a media conference insisting on meeting with Health Minister Jason Copping, and the premier as she gets set to restructure the system.

Mike Parker, Health Sciences Association of Alberta president says there are challenges within the health care system, but they need to be addressed and not blown up.

"This system does work, but it's being starved out," said Parker. "Our hospitals are closed down in rural communities, there is no access to physicians or allied health service, so people are now coming hundreds of kilometres to have their own children."

The United Nurses of Alberta believe problems have been manufactured within the system, but due to neglect and lack of funding for resources that have caused staffing shortages.

"We have a premier who is announcing that her first set of actions is to further destabilize worksites that are already under incredible stress," said UNA president Heather Smith.

Copping was not made available following the swearing in of cabinet ministers on Monday.