Former Alberta Wildrose leaders hope to blossom with return to politics

Some are calling it another thorn in Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s side, as another former Wildrose party leader announces her return to provincial politics.

Danielle Smith springs back into the spotlight, hoping she can blossom as a viable MLA as she makes a play for the UCP nomination for Livingston-Macleod, a seat currently held by UCP backbencher Roger Reid.

In a one-on-one with CityNews, Smith gave Kenney some credit.

She says he’s done a good job when it comes to business investments, but she believes he has caused some division in the party.

“A political party doesn’t belong to the leader; it belongs to its members,” she said.

“I’ll accept the outcome of whatever the members decide. I want the vote to be fair, I want it to be accessible, I don’t want people to be disenfranchised which is why I want it to be in-person,” said Smith.

But I’m prepared to do what I need to do to win this riding for the UCP in Livingston-Macleod no matter who the leader is,” said Smith.

Another former #Alberta Wildrose leader hopes to blossom w/ political return, but some classify the move as another thorn in Jason Kenney's side. In a 1:1 w/ me, Danielle Smith calls Kenney's 50% +1 threshold ridiculous but she'll support whoever is leader. #abpoli #ableg —VIDEO: pic.twitter.com/z17Gzyidiv

— Saif Kaisar (@StaySaif) April 1, 2022

Kenney was previously asked what threshold of support he’s looking for to continue leading the party, to which he responded that democracy is 50 per cent plus one.

Smith disagrees with that assessment.

“This isn’t a fifty per cent plus one when you’re dealing with party membership, you have to have overwhelming support to stay on because you need your people behind you to go and fight the bigger battle which is the general election.

So, he may be trying to lower the bar, but in practice, he needs to have a supermajority,” she told CityNews.

Smith isn’t the first former Wildrose leader to make a comeback, Brian Jean recently ran in a by-election to win the seat for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche.

Upon winning his seat, Jean immediately became critical of Kenney.

“Since I announced I was returning to politics, I have been clear that this is about renewing the UCP by getting new people involved and by bringing back people who are committed to uniting the different parts of the party in service to all Albertans,” he said.

“I think Danielle Smith’s stepping back into politics is another sign that many Albertans want to renew the UCP and return it to what it was meant to be.”

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• Brian Jean returns to Alberta legislature as UCP member with anti-Kenney intentions

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Jean is waiting to be sworn in as a UCP MLA on April 7.

Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams says some backbenchers who aren’t being listened to by the Kenney government may see the re-emergence of Smith and Jean as an opportunity to split from the party.

“The reality is there are deep divisions within this party and there are people within the party that profoundly disagree on a number of policy areas, and that’s a very difficult thing to manage as a leader, it’s difficult to manage as a voter to actually try to figure out which party is going to best represent your interests,” Williams said.

“I think that’s a very real risk, and of course, we all have our flow charts of all the possibilities that might occur, but I just don’t see a way for Jason Kenney to win the April ninth leadership vote.”

She explains that even if Kenney wins the vote, there will be people who won’t accept the results as being legitimate.

“People don’t trust the process — people in his own party, people that were involved in his 2017 leadership race don’t trust him to ensure a fair process.”