Danielle Smith's gaffes put Alberta up for grabs

If it’s always the economy, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her United Conservative Party should be cruising toward reelection on Monday.

The energy-producing province’s unemployment rate is lower than it’s been for most of the past decade. Inflation is running cooler than the Canadian average. And oil prices are higher than those the last three premiers enjoyed, keeping Alberta’s producers profitable and helping balance the budget with the spending taps still open.

But a trove of Trumpian comments from Smith’s former career as a radio talk-show host — plus a few during her time as premier — and policies that push Alberta toward Quebec-style autonomy have put control of a province that produces about as much oil as Iran within the reach of her center-left challenger. 

Polls have consistently shown New Democratic Party Leader Rachel Notley, herself a former premier, neck-and-neck with Smith. “The election should not be close,” said Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Calgary’s Mount Royal University, “because conservative voting is the default option in this province and the economy is rebounding.”