Smith is an amateur at separation compared to Quebec

Alberta’s Premier Smith is desperately trying to appeal to her populist base by introducing her loony sovereignty act. Smith is trailing NDP leader Rachel Notley in the vote-rich cities of Edmonton and Calgary according to recent polls.

image: CTV News Edmonton

But her sovereignty act will not sway urban voters any more than her antivaxx conspiracies do.

Smith’s apparent strategy is to capitalize on the notion that Alberta is hard done by and that the threats contained the sovereignty act will get Ottawa’s attention just as Quebec was able to push a separatist agenda and win concessions.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet was amused. “If she does succeed and make a country out of Alberta,” he fantasized, “I will be a bit jealous, but I would say, ‘Good for you.’”

Smith fails to realize Quebec has won concessions through persistent defence of its unique culture and language. Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city in the world.

In 2006 Prime Minister Stephen Harper tabled a resolution, passed by parliament: “That this House recognize that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada.”

Quebec has its own pension plan, tax collection, health insurance and immigration policies.

In her attempt to free Alberta from the iron chains of Ottawa, Smith has come up with what can only be considered a joke.

The bill proposes to give cabinet the power to unilaterally amend legislation via orders in council. Cabinet can do so if they decide that a federal law is unconstitutional, or even just “harmful.” No need to test the constitutionality of the law in question. No need to even define the word “harmful.” Cabinet can also order provincial bodies not to enforce specific federal policies or laws. It verges on insanity.

Jason Kenney, former premier and member of Smith’s party, made it clear what he thinks of this lunacy. He called the proposed act “risky, dangerous, half-baked” and “banana republic.” To punctuate his comments, he resigned his seat on the day the sovereignty act was passed.

The bill is written so as not to take itself seriously: “Nothing in this Act is to be construed as … authorizing any order that would be contrary to the Constitution of Canada.” Not only that, but the act says it would “respect” a court ruling to the contrary.

Smith tries to assure us that the bill does not do what it plainly does.

She has gone down the rabbit hole.

“The Sovereignty Act says it can do what it can’t,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.

“It can do what it can’t?” Alice replied in a puzzled tone.

“Anti-gravity principles are a heart,” said the Hatter, waving a flag with a maple leaf in her face.

It all makes sense to Smith’s populist base. The confounding and untrue are the true indicators of their veracity.

They imagine that Smith is only doing what Quebec separatists have been doing for years – that is, making threats so they can get a better deal from Ottawa. Populists like a feisty leader who will take the fight to Ottawa.

Except Quebec was never this bad at it.

Advertisement

Smith’s win will make it harder for Alberta to recruit workers

“Alberta is Calling,” is the province’s marketing campaign. It hypes lower taxes, housing affordability, shorter commutes and proximity to the Rocky Mountains.

Image: The Narwhal

Unfortunately, young professions from other parts of Canada are getting mixed messages from Alberta. It’s a great place. I lived there for 40 years before moving to Kamloops. But the politics lean a bit too far to the right for my tastes and with Danielle Smith’s win of the UCP party, they tilt looney libertarian.

On one hand, young professionals from downtown Toronto and Vancouver get the message that Alberta has high-paying jobs and a considerable dose of “honest, it’s nicer here than you think.”

On the other hand, the province is often seen as a backward bastion of conservative values; an unrepentant champion of an environmentally unfriendly oil industry; and ill-suited, if not outright hostile, to the progressiveness and multiculturalism by which many people from downtown Toronto and Vancouver define themselves.

Now Alberta will be seen as backing freedom convoys.

Toronto’s busiest downtown subway station has been recently plastered with bright baby-blue posters on walls, pillars and even staircases, making sure that commuters get the message in the midst of their daily trudge. “It’s mountain time somewhere,” reads one of the posters.

In Vancouver one of the displays reads: “What did the Albertan say to the Vancouverite? You’re hired.”

It’s all very clever but enthusiasm for Alberta will be dampened by Danielle Smith’s message. The cornerstone of Smith’s leadership campaign was the proposed sovereignty act which purports to give Alberta the power to ignore federal laws that the province believes intrude on its jurisdictional territory. She intends to introduce the legislation this fall.

Smith’s cranky insular tone is hardly inviting. How comfortable would young professionals be knowing that if they came to Alberta they would be walled off from friends and family back home?

Even members of Smith’s own UPC party argue that the sovereignty act would destroy Alberta’s economy by injecting instability. Constitutional experts largely pan the idea as illegal.

Smith wants to tie her leadership to federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s talking points that appeal to a populist libertarian base.

Parts of Smith’s platform are straight out of Poilievre’s videos –that inflation is primarily caused by the fiscally destructive policies of what she called the federal NDP-Liberal coalition.

Many of voters in the cities targeted by Alberta’s marketing vote either for the NDP or Liberals.

Smith will link herself to the federal Conservative’s demand that the Liberals freeze further increases to the carbon price.

She has embraced unproven “therapeutics” to treat COVID-19. Smith campaigned on no more COVID lockdowns, restructuring the province’s centralized health care authority and bringing a bigger fight to Ottawa over provincial rights.

Do workers who come from other parts of Canada want a fight with the provinces they left?

After winning the leadership of the UCP, Smith has said she will double down on her promises, ensuring an even more intolerant mood than her predecessor Jason Kenny.

In her victory speech she crowed “I’m back.”

I can imagine workers considering Alberta replying “No thanks.”