Danielle Smith granted official UCP leadership candidate status
Posted Jul 18, 2022 11:49 pm.
Last Updated Jul 19, 2022 12:02 am.
A familiar face is officially in the running to be the next leader of the UCP.
The UCP tweeted out Monday night that Danielle Smith has met all the requirements and is now an official leadership candidate ahead of October’s leadership contest.
@ABDanielleSmith is now an official #UCP Leadership Candidate.
Visit our #ucpldr website for details on the leadership vote:https://t.co/6yCPVKvlav pic.twitter.com/Zi22MadwBH
— United Conservative Party of Alberta (@Alberta_UCP) July 19, 2022
Smith is one of the front-runners to replace Jason Kenney as Alberta’s premier and has said in the past that if she wins, sovereignty act legislation would come this fall to ignore federal laws.
“There has been enough conversation around this that I have a pretty good gauge of where people are at,” Smith said in an interview. “It seems to me we do have a mandate to move.”
Smith said the legislature would need to pass an Alberta sovereignty act as soon as possible to allow Alberta to reject federal rules on COVID-19, such as ordering vaccine shots for children or third doses for the public.
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“We want to have clear legislation so that (federal officials) understand that we’re just not going to pass policy that violates Albertans’ rights,” Smith said
She also said it’s imperative to get the ball rolling on an Alberta police force and a separate agency to collect taxes – necessary to give teeth to the sovereignty legislation – because they are multi-year initiatives.
A previous quote on her website says: “By securing the UCP leadership, I can head straight to work and move our province forward.”
With files from The Canadian Press
