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
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.