Alberta premier plays down prospect of advisory council of defeated candidates
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is playing down an earlier pledge to create a council of defeated Edmonton candidates to advise her.
Smith says her United Conservative Party caucus has cabinet ministers and other experienced legislature members in municipalities surrounding the provincial capital from whom she can draw policy advice.
“I have a lot of depth to choose from because with the mandate that we were given, we did get representatives from all over the province,” Smith said Thursday in an interview on the Ryan Jespersen podcast.
She said she can also call on city councillors and Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.
Smith made the comments after Jespersen asked about her promise last week to craft a council of defeated UCP candidates to advise her on policy in the capital.
The Opposition NDP swept all 20 seats in Edmonton in the May 29 election and Smith's comments were widely criticized as a slap in the face to the provincial representatives Edmontonians chose.
Smith's UCP garnered 49 seats to win a second consecutive majority government.
Smith noted there are multiple municipalities that abut Edmonton or are within a short drive from the city boundary that share many of the larger metropolitan concerns.
Those ridings, known colloquially as the “doughnut” around the capital, include returning cabinet ministers Nate Glubish (Strathcona-Sherwood Park), Dale Nally (Morinville-St. Albert), along with second-term MLA and former municipal councillor Searle Turton (Spruce Grove-Stony Plain).
Smith is to announce her new cabinet Friday and hinted Glubish, Nally and Turton will be at the table, calling them “a few names you'll probably hear a lot more about.”
The cabinet will look significantly different from the one Smith appointed when she won the UCP leadership and became premier in October.
Six of its 27 slots are vacant due to retirements or election losses, including core portfolios in Health, Finance, Justice, Social Services.
The Opposition NDP captured 38 seats, including just over half the seats in Calgary and a few outside the two big cities. NDP Leader Rachel Notley has said she is staying on as leader.
The long-term future of one newly elected member - Jennifer Johnson of Lacombe-Ponoka, who ran under the UCP banner - remains unclear.
Smith said last month Johnson won't sit in the UCP caucus after a 2022 recording surfaced in which Johnson is heard comparing transgender students to putting feces in cookie dough. Johnson has apologized and Smith has said she believes in second chances.
Asked by Jespersen about the path back for Johnson, Smith would only say, “I've sent a letter to (house) Speaker (Nathan) Cooper, letting him know that (Johnson) won't be sitting with us in our in our caucus.”
“The legislative session begins in October, so she'll have to do her work as an Independent.”
Smith said the summer plan is for her members to meet with constituents and stakeholders at rodeos, barbecues, parades and other events.
“I think it slows the pace down a little bit and hopefully allows for people to take a breath,” Smith said.
“We've had so much divisiveness in politics over the last number of years, I think people want to be able to enjoy their summer with their friends and family.”
Also Thursday, Elections Alberta announced the final results of the May 29 vote.
The UCP received 928,896 votes, representing almost 53 per cent of voters.
The NDP received 777,397, good for 44 per cent. The Green Party of Alberta was a distant third, collecting 13,458 votes, representing less than one per cent of the vote.
Overall voter turnout was 59.5 per cent. That is down considerably from the 67.5 per cent when the UCP under Jason Kenney won its first majority in 2019.
Voter turnout was 53 per cent when Notley and the NDP won in 2015.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
BUDGET 2024 Feds cutting 5,000 public service jobs, looking to turn underused buildings into housing
Five thousand public service jobs will be cut over the next four years, while underused federal office buildings, Canada Post properties and the National Defence Medical Centre in Ottawa could be turned into new housing units, as the federal government looks to find billions of dollars in savings and boost the country's housing portfolio.
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
From housing initiatives to a disability benefit, how the federal budget impacts you
From plans to boost new housing stock, encourage small businesses, and increase taxes on Canada’s top-earners, CTVNews.ca has sifted through the 416-page budget to find out what will make the biggest difference to your pocketbook.
Lululemon unveils first summer kit for Canada's Olympic and Paralympic teams
Lululemon showed off its collection for the Summer Olympics and Paralympics on Tuesday at the Liberty Grand entertainment complex. Athletes sported a variety of selections during a fashion show that featured garments to be worn on the podium, during opening and closing ceremonies, media interviews and daily life on the ground in France.
Teen hockey players arrested for sexual assault following hazing incident: Manitoba RCMP
Three teenagers were arrested in connection with a pair of alleged hazing incidents on a Manitoba hockey team, police say.
Police to announce arrests in Toronto Pearson airport gold heist
Police say that arrests have been made in connection with a $20-million gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport one year ago.
'I Google': Why phonebooks are becoming obsolete
Phonebooks have been in circulation since the 19th century. These days, in this high-tech digital world, if someone needs a phone number, 'I Google,' said Bridgewater, N.S., resident Wayne Desouza.
Proposed class-action lawsuit against Shoppers Drug Mart alleges 'unsafe and unethical corporate practices'
Shoppers Drug Mart is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit by current and former franchise owners at the retail chain who allege parent company Loblaw engaged in corporate practices that placed them in an “irredeemable conflict of interest” and put patient care at risk.