Smith is coddling Alberta separatists, straddling the issue, stoking the fire

A Pollara poll from April had support for Alberta separatism at 27 per cent, the highest level recorded in five years of tracking. A recent CBC News poll showed that 57 per cent of UCP members would vote for Alberta to separate from Canada. This means Smith is dependent on separatists to remain leader.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, centre, pictured at a first ministers’ meeting on Jan. 29, 2026, in Ottawa. In order to survive as premier, Smith has to placate the aggressive separatists in the UCP, which controls the Alberta legislature thanks to its strong rural base (the party has no seats in the city of Edmonton), writes Douglas Roche. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY DOUGLAS ROCHE

May 18, 2026

EDMONTON—Thomas Lukaszuk—the Polish refugee who came to Canada as a youth, ran successfully for the Alberta Legislature, rising to the position of deputy premier at a time when Progressive Conservatives ruled the province, and latterly took it upon himself to organize a ...

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