Alberta NDP says newly uncovered video of Smith concerning for public hospitals

The South Health Campus, an adult acute care hospital in Calgary, is seen on April 1, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Alberta's NDP says a video showing United Conservative Party Leader Danielle Smith proposing to sell off hospitals to private operators is highly problematic.

The video, which was shot in October 2021 before Smith became premier, shows her suggesting a way to sell hospitals such as Rockyview, Peter Lougheed and South Health Campus in Calgary.

NDP candidate Kathleen Ganley says Smith's words continue to show her extreme views toward public health care.

She says it comes after Smith has already said she wants to get Albertans used to paying for their health care and compared those who got vaccinated for COVID-19 to Nazi supporters.

Smith has said it's time of move on from the "dark days" of the pandemic and apologized for comments she made as a journalist and a pundit.

Ganley, however, says Smith's comments are part of a defined pattern of extreme views.

"Danielle Smith's views are extremely dangerous to the health and well-being of Albertans," she said in a statement Wednesday. "We cannot trust her with our public health care or anything else."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2023.