"Disheartening and disconcerting': Smith criticized for 'shared values' comments in provincial address

Premier Danielle Smith is drawing criticism over comments made during her provincial address.

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On Tuesday, Smith said the province would continue to welcome newcomers who possess "shared values" while calling on the federal government to stem the flow of immigration to Canada.

In her address Smith said the influx of newcomers was exacerbating shortages in housing and jobs, as well as impacting health, education and other social services infrastructure.

In a statement on Wednesday, advocacy organization Friends of Medicare accused Smith of blaming Alberta's challenges unfairly on immigration.

“Fueling xenophobia and racism to deflect from her own government’s record on public services is completely unacceptable from an elected official," executive director Chris Gallaway wrote.

“You can’t say ‘Alberta is calling’ for years, and brag about record population growth, then act surprised when that same population growth increases the demand on our public services,” Gallaway said.

Raj Sharma, an immigration lawyer and refugee advocate based in Calgary, shares concerns over Smith's comments.

"A lot of this is stigmatizing newcomers," Sharma said. "It is a little bit disheartening and disconcerting to see both the federal and the provincial governments talk about asylum seekers kind of like a game of hot potato.

"That, 'No, we don't want them. You take them.'"

In the spring, the premier asked the federal government for another 10,000 allotments for Ukrainian refugees. She has also spoken about expanding Red Deer's population to 1 million.

Sharma and University of Alberta political scientist Feo Snagovsky agree there's a disconnect between those desires and what Smith expressed on Tuesday.

"She's called for Alberta's growth to be at 10 million by 2050 obviously, that has gone by the wayside," Sharma said.

Statistics Canada reports that Canada's population growth in 2023 was the fastest since the 1950s, due in part to a sharp rise in temporary residents. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/federal-government-to-further-limit-number-of-international-students-1.7042841

There are valid criticisms of the federal government's policies regarding temporary residents, Sharma said. However, comments like "shared values" could be seen as a conservative dog whistle.

"We rely on objective criteria such as age, education, language proficiency, ties to Canada on the basis of family and work experience. So you know, the discussion regarding values is always going to be disconcerting and of concern for," he said.

On Wednesday, the federal government announced it would be further decreasing the number of international students allowed to enter Canada next year.

Those measures are part of a plan to decrease the number of temporary residents in Canada from six-point-two per cent to five per cent in the next three years.

With files from CTV News's Stephanie Ha