Post-Leadership Review Priorities

Smith now has a clear mandate from the membership of the governing party to continue with her approach - especially when it comes to keeping Ottawa out of Alberta’s backyard.

Smith’s rise to power has been built on the ideas we have avidly pursued here at the Free Alberta Strategy - including the Alberta Sovereignty Act, which was the foundational concept of the Strategy, and was the first bill she introduced as Premier in 2022.

Our FAS team was in attendance at the AGM over the weekend, where we had a booth in the exhibit hall that allowed us the opportunity to talk to members of the party, politicians, and other stakeholder groups.

The booth was optimally located to ensure maximum visibility as people moved their way to the polling stations to vote in the board elections and leadership review, giving us plenty of visibility and time to chat with as many people as we could about what they think the government's priorities should be in the future.

We even had a large bulletin board survey, where members of the party were able to stick a pin in the appropriate place in order to cast a vote on which part of the Free Alberta Strategy the government should implement next:

And, as promised to those in attendance, here are the results:

1. Alberta Pension Plan - 34.5%
2. Alberta Tax Collection - 28.8%
3. Abolish Equalization - 19.3%
4. Alberta Police Service - 17.4%

(Remember, this was a question about priorities, so while many attendees said they supported all four ideas, they could only vote for one of them!)

For all of those we had the opportunity to talk to, thank you for stopping by, saying hello, and voting in our poll!

*****

After the voting closed on Danielle Smith's leadership review, the crowd moved to the main hall where the policy plenary began, and a few proposals of interest to the Free Alberta Strategy were debated, voted on, and passed!

A policy calling on the Alberta government to support any federal or interprovincial efforts to eliminate carbon pricing passed with flying colours.

The Alberta government has already taken considerable steps on this file, leading an interprovincial legal challenge on the constitutionality of the federal carbon tax and just last week announced an additional challenge on the federal exemption granted to home heating oils predominantly used in the maritimes.

Several additional policies passed in regards to defending provincial sovereignty - one designed to maintain and defend the constitutional authority of Alberta, and another to seek equality in the application of provincial rights within confederation - also passed with high grades.

Smith has already taken concerted action to implement these policies, with legislation such as the aforementioned Sovereignty Act, and the Provincial Priorities Act (which ensures that provincial entities such as municipalities and universities are required to seek approval from the Alberta government before entering into funding agreements with Ottawa).

Smith’s 91.5% approval rating reflects an attitude amongst her supporters within the party that she is moving in the right direction.

The Premier has received a mandate from the governing party to continue pushing forward with her aggressive stance against Ottawa and her continued attempts to Free Alberta from federal control over our sovereign provincial jurisdiction.

*****

The weekend gave our team a renewed sense of confidence in the ability of the Alberta government to implement the vision we outlined in our foundational document.

But we need your help to keep the momentum alive.

So, if you share our vision for a Free Alberta, please donate today to support the Free Alberta Strategy:

Your support will keep Alberta on course for meaningful change.

Regards,

The Free Alberta Strategy Team