CALGARY — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith could face another political test as United Conservative Party members prepare to debate dozens of policy resolutions, including proposals to end Indigenous land acknowledgements and restrict transgender access to washrooms and change rooms.
Lori Williams, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, said the resolutions could create challenges for Smith as she tries to respond to grassroot demands while maintaining support among more moderate Albertans ahead of next year’s provincial election.
“If that gap continues to grow, it may be a more difficult thing for the UCP to retain the support of those moderate or more centrist Albertans,” Williams said.
The party’s annual general meeting, scheduled to take place between Nov. 27 to 29 in Calgary, comes on the heels of Alberta’s divisive provincial referendums and controversial legislation targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices in public-sector hiring.
Among the 39 proposed resolutions is a call to end land acknowledgements at government and publicly funded institutions, describing the practice as performative and humiliating.
First Nations advocate Nicole Johnston is pushing back against the proposal.
“To try and use the justification that a land acknowledgment may make Albertans feel like outsiders – that in itself is speaking and pushing to spew more racism,” Johnston said.
“I don’t believe it’s up to the UCP or Danielle Smith to even be commenting or trying to consult or discuss or have discussions about this at all, if this was something that was already here before Alberta became a province.”
Other proposals would restrict access to women’s washrooms and change rooms based on biological sex and amend Alberta’s Human Rights Act to recognize biological sex as a separate protected ground.
Members will also debate voluntary union membership, federal net-zero emissions mandates, carbon policies and challenges to federal land claims.
The resolutions are not government policy, but UCP MLA Dan Williams said the party welcomes input from its members.
“It’s an important part of the process, and in the end, I have to represent the interest, the province of Alberta and the constituents that elected me,” Williams said.
In a statement to CTV News, Smith’s press secretary Ryan Fournier described the UCP as a grassroots party that encourages debate and differing perspectives.
“For successful resolutions, our caucus and cabinet will take those back for discussion and determine how we proceed,” the statement said.
Former UCP cabinet minister Leela Aheer said the convention provides an important opportunity for grassroots members to express their views, even when the issues are controversial.
However, she questioned whether some of the debates are distracting from more immediate concerns.
“I think there’s other priorities of housing and affordability and many other things that the average Albertan is really contending with these days,” Aheer said.
“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.”
Williams said the convention could reveal whether moderate conservatives or members further to the right have greater influence within the UCP.
She noted that socially conservative members have historically been more motivated to participate in party conventions, while moderate members have not always attended in comparable numbers.
“The question is whether the more moderate dimension of the party is going to moderate some of those proposals or whether they’re going to pass,” Williams said.
Williams said the resolutions could put additional pressure on Smith.
“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,” she said.
While approved resolutions aren’t binding on the government, several from previous conventions have eventually influenced provincial legislation.
With files from CTV News Calgary’s Mark Villani
