Awards, arguments and apologies: first UCP leadership debate draws a crowd in Medicine Hat
Alberta's United Conservative Party's first official leadership debate had heated exchanges, online and in-person disruptions and a controversial apology.
It also had some policy promises.
All seven candidates were in Medicine Hat on Wednesday night for the first of two debates.
The stage included former UCP cabinet ministers Leela Aheer, Rajan Sawhney, Rebecca Schulz and Travis Toews. Former Wildrose leaders Danielle Smith and Brian Jean and ousted UCPer Todd Loewen rounded out the field.
SMITH UNDER FIRE
The early portions of Wednesday's debate were devoted to Smith's recent comments about cancer and naturopathic remedies. Smith said in a campaign video that she believes some of the blame in the fight against the disease falls at the hands of the patient.
"I'm sorry, I'm not buying it," Rajan Sawhney said after the former Wild Rose leader tried to "clarify" her comments. "You made a subsequent video where you actually doubled down on your perspective and the reality is, those comments are very hurtful."
"Danielle, I'm very disappointed in you," Jean added.
But Smith's on-stage sorry only went so far.
After claiming she had apologized and "was clearly misunderstood," Smith's opponents almost unanimously agreed she needed to walk back her remarks even more.
Smith says she plans on restructuring all of Alberta Health Services, including firing the AHS board, by year end.
And it wasn't just Smith's comments about cancer that were challenged.
The contest's front-runner -- according to a recent poll by Leger -- was also heavily challenged on her promises of an Alberta Sovereignty Act.
Toews called it "unconstitutional" and Sawhney referred to the plan as "irresponsible."
"Smith is a great fear for our energy industry," Schulz said. "Creating chaos is going to create additional investment uncertainty."
WINNERS?
MRU political scientist Lori Williams praised the debates delivered by Schulz and Sawhney, who she said "won in the sense that they communicated a little bit about who they are and what they stand for and what alternatives they offer to Albertans."
Williams saw it as a sort of coming out party for the duo, who both have experience in the UCP cabinet.
Mount Royal University political science professor Lori Williams
"Whether or not they actually win the leadership, I think those alternatives that they're presenting are really shaking up some of the debate that's going on in this race."
LOST OPPORTUNITY
The debate, held at the HALO Air Ambulance Hangar, was moderated by former Calgary councillor Jeff Davison.
There were several disruptions of the livestream on YouTube and one portion cut out due to technical difficulties.
Although the party said afterwards that there is a copy of the complete event available for viewing, Williams called the evening a missed opportunity.
"If I were to say there's a loser, I think it might be the UCP party in that the quality of the debate and the livestream was very poor," she told CTV News. "I had a number of feeds going at once because they kept cutting out on YouTube when the live-feed lapsed."
There were also several audience disruptions.
One in particular -- after Smith said the UCP cabinet owes Albertans an apology for implementing COVID-19 measures -- caused Davidson to stand up to quiet those in the crowd.
PROMISING PROMISES
-Todd Loewen said he wants to bring back trust and give the party back to its membership. He spent his time on stage speaking to PST, financial discipline and having "a new voice" in charge
-Danielle Smith drew an applause for speaking out against COVID-19 measures and the arrests of Calgary siblings who repeatedly defied public health orders. She preached the importance of health spending accounts and Alberta independence.
-Rajan Sawhney's biggest promises came when speaking about health care. She wants to flip the structure of Alberta Health Services and even floated the idea of regional health boards.
-Rebecca Schulz defended her collaborative work with the federal government but said more needs to be done to get Alberta's voice heard in Ottawa. She wants to improve the way provincial resources go to market
-Leela Aheer tried to represent "small C Conservatives" within the party. She spoke about her plan to revamp AISH and to handle inflation. She was the only candidate who started her speech with a land acknowledgment, something she has previously stressed the importance of.
-Travis Toews was critical of Ottawa's obstructionism and preached unity. He also spoke extensively about his track record as the finance minister and said he can improve the provincial debt with another mandate.
-Brian Jean claimed to be the only candidate with high-level experience inside of a "functioning" government. He has promised to step into the market to get a handle on gas prices and to include all of the other candidates in his cabinet, as he says they all have vital ideas and are key to unity.
UNIFYING THE UNITED CONSERVATIVES
There's a reason Jason Kenney stepped down, and Williams says she's not sure if it was adequately addressed Wednesday.
"I'm not sure that I saw a solution to the problem of party unity," she said. "Given that these candidates stand for such different visions for the future, it's difficult to see how they're going to bring those who disagree with them on-side when they become premier."
Toews and Jean specifically beat the togetherness drum during their speeches, but Williams said it was missing a broader appeal.
"Remember that this is the last debate before the membership cuts off (sales)," she said.
More than 70,000 memberships have been sold, which means fewer than three per cent of all Albertans will be able to cast a ballot in October.
TAKE TWO
A second official debate will take place in Edmonton at the Maclab Theatre in the Citadel on Aug 30.The deadline for supporters to join the UCP to vote is Aug. 12 and ballots will go in the mail on Sept. 2.
The announcement of the leadership results will take place in Calgary at the BMO Centre on Oct. 6.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 Investigates Car security investigation: How W5 'stole' a car using a device we ordered online
In part two of a three-part series into how thieves are able to drive off with modern vehicles so easily, CTV W5 correspondent Jon Woodward uses a device flagged by police to easily clone a car key.
Satire slinger The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones' Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax, the families announced Thursday.
South African government says it won't help 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine
South Africa's government says it will not help an estimated 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.
Trump hammered Democrats on transgender issues. Now the party is at odds on a response
After losing the White House and both houses of Congress, Democrats are grappling with how to handle transgender politics and policy following a campaign that featured withering and often misleading GOP attacks on the issue.
EU slaps Meta with a nearly $1.2 billion fine for engaging in 'abusive' Marketplace practices
European Union regulators issued their first antitrust fine to Facebook parent Meta on Thursday with a penalty of nearly 800 million euros for what they call 'abusive practices' involving its Marketplace online classified ads business.
B.C. Realtors fined $200K for failure to disclose relevant information to clients
Two B.C. real estate agents have been fined a combined total of more than $200,000 for professional misconduct they committed during the sale of a waterfront property on the Sunshine Coast in 2017.
India's 'most wanted terrorist' arrested in Canada
One of India's most wanted terrorists has been arrested and charged in connection with a recent alleged shooting in Ontario.
'The Woodstock of our generation': Taylor Swift photographer credits email to her connection with the superstar
Taylor Swift has millions of fans worldwide, but Brampton, Ont.'s Jasmeet Sidhu has gotten closer to the musical icon than most.
More than 800 million adults have diabetes globally, many untreated, study suggests
More than 800 million adults have diabetes worldwide – almost twice as many as previous estimates have suggested – and more than half of those aged over 30 who have the condition are not receiving treatment, according to a new study.