Alberta Premier Danielle Smith faces a balancing act at next month’s United Conservative Party convention, where members will debate a series of controversial policy proposals. The resolutions could test how far she is willing to go to satisfy the party’s grassroots while maintaining support among a broader range of Alberta voters. The UCP will hold its Nov. 27-29 convention at the BMO Centre in Calgary, where members are expected to debate policy resolutions spanning social issues, Alberta’s economy and the province’s relationship with Ottawa. The 39 resolutions released ahead of the convention include calls to end government-funded land acknowledgements, protect women’s and girls’ spaces in public facilities, distinguish biological sex from gender identity under Alberta’s human rights legislation and challenge federal land claims. While the resolutions are not binding on the government, Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams says the convention could offer an important indication of where the party’s most engaged members want Alberta to go. “We’re not necessarily seeing a complete picture of where direction the party is going,” Williams said. She noted that resolutions at previous UCP conventions have often reflected the party’s more socially conservative wing, with some proposals proving controversial and others failing to gain support. The question this year, she said, is whether more moderate conservatives will turn out in sufficient numbers to influence the results. A balancing act for Smith The convention comes after a divisive referendum campaign and contentious provincial legislation addressing diversity, equity and inclusion, adding to the challenges facing Smith as she attempts to maintain support among different factions of her party. Williams says the proposals could expose a growing gap between the priorities of some grassroots members and those of more moderate Albertans, including centrist conservatives. “There may be an issue for the government in terms of the gap between these kinds of issues that are certainly very, very strongly far to the right, and those that moderate Albertans, even moderate conservatives, can identify with.” For Smith, the challenge will be deciding which proposals to embrace, which to set aside and how to respond if resolutions pass that are difficult to implement or risk alienating voters. Williams says the government must consider both the political pressure to respond to members and whether proposals are feasible under existing court decisions and constitutional requirements. “The resolutions at an AGM don’t bind the premier,” she said. “They don’t control what the premier or the government does, but to completely ignore them, of course, would have political consequences for the premier and her party.” The resolutions must first win support at the convention. Williams says the number and makeup of members attending, along with which proposals ultimately pass, will offer a clearer picture of the party’s direction. She added that more moderate conservatives have not always participated in previous conventions in the same numbers as members pushing for more socially conservative policies. Land acknowledgements become a flashpoint One of the proposals calls on the provincial government and publicly-funded institutions to discontinue land acknowledgements, with its sponsors arguing the practice can be divisive and performative and create unequal perceptions of citizenship and belonging. The proposal has drawn criticism from Indigenous advocate Nicole Johnston, who said land acknowledgements are an important way to recognize First Nations territories and encourage people to learn about the history of the land. “It needs to be known that it wasn’t Danielle Smith nor the UCP who created this formal land acknowledgement,” Johnston said. Johnston argued that the practice predates Alberta becoming a province and should not be treated as something for the provincial government to eliminate. She said land acknowledgements can encourage people unfamiliar with Indigenous history to learn more about what happened following the arrival of newcomers. “With having the land acknowledgements in place, it also helps to understand and maybe push those who don’t know to learn our true history and what really happened here in the beginning,” Johnston said. She also took issue with the argument that acknowledgements can become performative, saying she believes the proposal risks contributing to racism against First Nations people. “I look at it as another distraction, bringing and spewing more racism,” Johnston said. Former UCP cabinet minister Leela Aheer offered a different perspective on the broader question of how the party should handle controversial proposals, saying the convention provides an opportunity to understand the views of members, even when those views are uncomfortable. Aheer said she values the opportunity for grassroots members to raise concerns but questioned whether some of the debates are addressing the most pressing issues facing Albertans. She pointed to housing, affordability and the need to get Alberta’s resources to international markets as priorities that deserve attention. “I just find that some of the stuff can be very distracting from the very, very real issues that the average Albertan is facing every day,” Aheer said. She also argued the province has an opportunity to heal divisions that have emerged in recent years. “The province needs to heal right now,” she said, warning that political debates can create an “us and them” dynamic rather than bringing communities together. At the same time, Aheer said she would rather see controversial opinions aired openly than remain unspoken. “I’d rather know any day what I’m dealing with, and so I can make better decisions based on how I’m going to vote, who I want leading my province, and how I want things to look,” she said. Gender, labour and Alberta’s relationship with Ottawa Land acknowledgements are only one of several contentious subjects on the convention agenda. One resolution calls for policies to protect the privacy and safety of women and girls in school and public-facility washrooms and change rooms, rejecting gender-neutral shared change-room models. Another proposes amending the Alberta Human Rights Act to recognize biological sex as a protected category separate from gender identity and gender expression. Supporters argue the distinction would provide greater legal clarity in areas such as sports, correctional facilities, health care and single-sex spaces. Other proposals target organized labour, including making union membership and dues voluntary as a condition of employment and requiring unions to provide annual financial statements to members. The resolutions also address Alberta’s relationship with the federal government. One calls for the province to use available legal avenues to challenge federal land claims, with sponsors arguing certain claims and conservation initiatives could threaten private-property rights. Another calls on the party to oppose federally imposed net-zero mandates and review provincial carbon-pricing and carbon-capture policies. Additional proposals include requiring MLAs who switch political parties to trigger a byelection, taxing out-of-province workers, requiring labels on certain lab-grown or synthetic food products and establishing provincial jurisdiction over firearm ownership and use. The range of issues illustrates the competing priorities members are bringing to the convention, from social conservatism and labour policy to economic autonomy and provincial jurisdiction. What happens if resolutions pass? Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams says the party’s membership plays an important role in shaping discussions, while emphasizing his responsibility to represent Albertans more broadly. “Of course, we’re always happy to listen to our members going forward, it’s an important part of the process and in the end, I have to represent the interests of the province of Alberta and the constituents that elected me,” Williams said. His comments reflect the broader question facing the UCP: how to give members a meaningful voice without automatically translating every convention resolution into government policy. Even if a resolution passes, it does not require the government to introduce legislation or take other action. However, the party’s record suggests the votes can still carry political weight. More than 30 policy resolutions approved at last year’s AGM later led to legislation, according to CTV News’ previous reporting. Williams says Albertans should pay attention not only to which proposals are presented, but which ones ultimately receive members’ support. For Smith, the political challenge will come afterward, when the government must decide how much weight to give those decisions while maintaining support among a broader electorate. A statement sent to CTV News from Ryan Fournier, press secretary for the premier, said the following: “The UCP is a grassroots party that encourages debate on a wide range of issues and diverse perspectives. “Members can bring forward ideas they believe the government should consider, some will pass, and others won’t. We’re proud of that democratic process and the honest debate it allows. “For successful resolutions, our Caucus and Cabinet will take those back for discussion and determine how we proceed.” UCP AGM Late Thursday, CTV News received a statement from a spokesperson for the UCP. “More than 7,000 Albertans have registered for this year’s UCP AGM, making it the largest paid political convention ever held in Canada. We’re thrilled to see so many members coming together. “Our policy process began months ago. Members put forward ideas, which go through a ranking process where members choose what they want debated. “The top policies come to the convention floor for further debate and a vote. Not every idea makes it. “Anything that passes joins our member policy book.”
