'Class it up': UCP candidates Smith and Toews trade jabs over past PST comments

A pair of candidates trying to become the next premier of Alberta are turning up the heat on one another over comments each have made regarding a provincial sales tax.

UCP leadership hopeful Danielle Smith pitched a PST in September 2020 as part of a "three-step financial reset" she wrote about in a column for Postmedia.

In a Saturday tweet, fellow candidate Travis Toews attacked her for those words and stated, "The last thing Albertans need is more taxes."

Toews doubled down on Tuesday saying Smith would raise taxes by $5 billion, while he would lower them.

Smith fired back at Toews with a different Postmedia article from November 2020 where he, as finance-minister, was said to be open to "consider" a PST in the future.

"Rather than smearing fellow candidates for past musings, we should focus on our ideas for today and move forward together," Smith tweeted on Sunday.

A spokesperson for Smith said Tuesday that she "absolutely" does not support a PST under any circumstances. The former Wildrose leader also accused Toews of trying to mislead voters.

"Last night, (Toews) sent a text msg to thousands of (UCP) members falsely claiming I'm for a PST. No PST, means no PST, Travis," Smith tweeted. "Class it up a bit. Let's have a campaign of ideas, not establishment tricks."

'POLITICAL SUICIDE TAX'

While a PST is a "very important public policy issue" a local political scientist also believes it's a "silly debate" to be having during the UCP race.

"They're both pointing fingers at each other, (but) neither (Smith nor Toews) is going to campaign on a PST," Duane Bratt, from Mount Royal University, told CTV News Edmonton.

Bratt is confident that Albertans have no appetite for talk of new taxes, especially amidst inflation rises and provincial surpluses, largely due to the high price of oil.

"It's called the political suicide tax. We hear about this when we're in deficit mode, but now that surpluses are rolling in, no one will talk about it until we go back into deficit mode," he explained.

Bratt stopped short of calling Smith the frontrunner in the race, but said it's not surprising she's facing criticism from other candidates.

"It is clear that she is the one setting the agenda. People are talking about her COVID policies. People are talking about her Sovereignty Act," Bratt said.

Smith and Toews were the only two approved candidates listed on the UCP website Tuesday. Both campaigns Tuesday promised future statements on the PST debate.

Leela Aheer, Jon Horsman, Brian Jean, Todd Loewen, Rajan Sawhney, Rebecca Schulz and Raj Sherman have also registered with Elections Alberta to seek the UCP leader position.

A new UCP leader is expected to be announced on Oct. 6.