Who is Danielle Smith? UCP leader and Alberta's next premier
The United Conservative Party (UCP) has placed Danielle Smith, the former leader of the now defunct Wildrose Party, at the helm as it looks to solidify support ahead of the next provincial election.
The 51-year-old, who lives in High River with her husband, will become Alberta's next premier but will first need to secure a seat in the legislature.
Smith was named leader of the Wildrose Party of Alberta in 2009 and was elected as MLA for Highwood in 2012.
She crossed the floor to join the governing Progressive Conservatives under Premier Jim Prentice, alongside eight Wildrose caucus members, in December 2014. The move left the Wildrose Party, the Official Opposition, with only five sitting members.
She sought the PC Party nomination for Highwood in 2015 but was defeated by Okotoks councillor Carrie Fischer.
The PC Party lost handily to the Notley-led NDP in the 2015 general election, finishing third behind the Wildrose Party with Brian Jean at the reins.
The UCP was created in 2017, bringing the Wildrose and PC parties together as a united front in an effort to oust the NDP.
During her departure from politics, Smith spent six years as a talk show radio host with Corus Entertainment before moving on to become president of the Alberta Enterprise Group.
In April of this year, Smith announced her plans for a foray back onto the provincial political scene as a UCP member with her sights set squarely on the party's leadership position by way of a nomination for the Livingstone-Macleod riding. Roger Reid was, and remains, the UCP MLA for Livingstone-Macleod.
At the time, Premier Jason Kenney was facing a leadership vote as questions swirled around his standing within the party amid dwindling approval ratings.
Smith pulled few punches in April regarding the optics of the cancellation of the UCP's general meeting in Red Deer — "When it looked like the premier was going to lose, (the party) cancelled it" — or how she viewed the premier's standing with rural Albertans — "There are people who are offended that he doesn't seem to understand rural Alberta. And there are people that are offended that he doesn't appear to put Alberta first."
After declaring her intention to run to become UCP leader after Kenney announced his plans to resign, Smith said her first order of business as premier would be to bring forth Bill 1, known as the Alberta Sovereignty Act, to increase Alberta's autonomy over the federal government.
Earlier this month, Smith said she would seek "an early opportunity to get into the legislature" if she won the leadership vote, stating her preference would be to run in a by-election in a rural riding and not Calgary-Elbow, which remains vacant following Doug Schweitzer's departure. She also said she would not call a snap general election and would likely keep some members of Kenney's cabinet in their current roles.
Alberta's next general election is currently scheduled for May 29, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.