Danielle Smith declines to give specifics on 'mistakes' referenced in Alberta address
Premier Danielle Smith said last week that she is "far from perfect" and can "make mistakes" – but has declined to give further details about what specifically she was referring to.
Smith was asked to clarify her remarks at a government news conference in Edmonton on Monday, a transcription of her response is as follows:
CTV News: "In your TV address last week you said you've made mistakes and you've taken controversial opinions, many of which have evolved. Can you be specific about those mistakes and how you're learning from them?"
Smith: "Can you be specific about what you'd like to ask me about?"
CTV News: "Some of the mistakes you're referring to?"
Smith: "If you've got an example, please…."
CTV News: "That's what I'm asking."
Smith: "I'm asking you for an example."
CTV News: "I'm asking what you would have been referring to."
Smith: "Well, you know, I'm looking at the issues as they come up today. I've got a new job and I'm going to make sure that every issue that comes forward goes through my caucus and cabinet so that we've got consensus as a party on how to move forward on things. That's just the process that we go through. I've got a different job now, and that's what I'm going to do."
In her pre-recorded address to Albertans last Tuesday, Smith said having spent decades in media and hosting talk shows, she discussed "hundreds of different topics" and sometimes took "controversial positions," saying "many of which have evolved or changed" as she's grown.
"I know I'm not a talk show host or a media commentator any longer. That's not my job today. My job today is to serve each and every Albertan with everything I have, and to the best of my ability, however imperfect that may be at times," she said.
Smith added that when she is wrong or makes a mistake, she will "look to follow the example of our dear departed friend – Premier Ralph Klein – admit to it, learn from it and get back to work."
Smith's first month in office has been a rocky one, not only because of controversial comments she's made since becoming premier – but also because of comments she made in the past.
From saying cancer patients can do more to prevent their disease from progressing to Stage 4, to referring to unvaccinated people as the "most discriminated group" she's witnessed in her lifetime, to seemingly justifying Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Smith has upset many Albertans across the political spectrum with her statements.
She's since walked back comments made about those three topics, but didn't specify Monday if those were the "mistakes" she was referencing in her speech.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.