Her political career died with Alberta floor-crossing. Meet Danielle Smith, resurrected
CBC
This column is an opinion by James Johnson, a former researcher for Alberta's Wildrose and United Conservative parties. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.
Danielle Smith's return shocks many Albertans. It shouldn't.
Many think she made the unforgivable sin in 2014 when as Wildrose leader she crossed the floor with her fellow MLAs to join Jim Prentice and his Tories, who would lose to the NDP months later. After that, many politicos wrote her off and forgot about her, exiled forever.
But believe it or not, the conservatives that hated her the most then are the very people who now love her the most, and want her as UCP leader and premier.
This rekindling didn't start weeks ago. It's been in the works for years.
Months after she was ejected from politics in 2015, she was back in the saddle rebuilding her brand with her radio show. She got back into the public conversation by hashing out issues of the day every morning, and in time conservative MPs, MLAs and even Premier Jason Kenney would join her as guests.
They helped bring her back from the political wilderness, and Albertans began to remember why she became popular as Wildrose leader in the first place.
I worked for her for five years, and then five more for Brian Jean and Jason Kenney. I'm telling you she's back.
Danielle can pack a room in rural Alberta. Places you've probably never heard of.
In 2011, I spent three weeks with her on the road, touring Alberta's villages, and towns. In Plamondon, a hamlet of 350 in Lac La Biche County, a few hundred showed up to hear her out on a weeknight in August.
She was a conservative rock star. Ever tried to pack hundreds into a village hall to talk politics? In summer? Now she's doing it again.
Fifteen years ago, when rural property rights advocates fumed about obscure land planning laws about power lines, they were largely ignored. Danielle distilled their concerns into a simple and devastating message: the government will rip you off and take your farmland so their corporate buddies can build power lines.
Over the course of 2010 and 2011, she packaged that type of message into political dynamite. She got within a weekend of becoming premier in the 2012 election, and the Wildrose's rural seat gains permanently fractured the Progressive Conservative dynasty.
Danielle has mastered simple messaging. Her delivery is cheery and done with a smile. With a few anecdotes, she makes her solutions to complex problems incredibly persuasive.
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