What would Danielle Smith deliver, and would it make life better?

Dear editor,

It is surprising that Danielle Smith is the front-runner to succeed Jason Kenney. It should be a concern for conservative Albertans. She has articulated her plan, but more importantly, what will she deliver and will it make life better?

It is difficult to project because she does not have a recent track record, and her distant past has been limited and spotty. Her time on radio enabled her to improve her articulation, and she heard the grievances from her listening audience, but it did not give her any more experience in leadership, an important skill which she is lacking.

This radio group appears to be large enough to win her the leadership, but is it large enough to win the next election? Do their grievances — for example, COVID regulations — have a larger support in the province? This group which votes her the leadership may also be the extent of her provincial support.

Her popularity is mainly related to the future tug-of-war with Ottawa. It has given her attention and connects her with Albertans angry with Ottawa. Her Sovereignty Act will undoubtedly result in confrontation with Ottawa and even the rest of Canada. It is naïve to believe this proposal will be an immediate remedy to strained federal-provincial relations.

Her competitors all acknowledge this relationship with Ottawa, but they also question her approach. It will involve the legal process, negatively affect new investment into Alberta and may even motivate Ottawa to withhold crucial transfer payments and/or grants.

She hasn’t explained how her government would determine what is not in the interest of Albertans. Would her government allow municipalities and other jurisdictions like school districts to opt out of provincial legislation if the local leadership decides it is not in their Albertans’ interest?

An alternative is to seek common ground with other provinces to have a more unified approach to Ottawa. It is better to seek constitutional reforms with the thrust of shifting more governance and taxing powers from Ottawa to provinces/regions. Quebec has been making such overtures since the “Quiet Revolution” of the Sixties. It may be the required partner to initiate this overdue process to have long-term changes.

Larry Samcoe Medicine Hat