On home turf, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith jabs familiar foes to warm reception

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith flexed her star power amongst Conservative Party faithful on Saturday, advocating for policies popular with conservatives while not directly addressing the separatist issue that has made headlines this week.

The Alberta provincial leader was warmly received by delegates of the federal party, reflecting both her standing within conservative circles and the convention’s home field advantage in Calgary.

“It is a true pleasure to welcome Conservatives from across the country to Calgary, into the heartland of conservatism in Canada,” Smith said in her remarks after taking the stage to a standing ovation.

Aside from a portion of the speech delivered in French — “I gotta give it a whirl, right?” the premier joked following the attempt — the subjects she addressed in her speech were largely familiar to any longtime follower of Alberta politics. 

She praised delegates for delivering an 87.4 per cent mandate to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Friday night, arguing his leadership was essential to reversing a decade of problems she said were created by the governing Liberals. 

She criticized the Liberal government under former prime minister Justin Trudeau and former environment minister Steven Guilbeault — both names triggering loud boos from the crowd — and argued they had undermined Alberta’s economy and overreached into provincial jurisdiction.

She did not mention Prime Minister Mark Carney by name, but did reference comments tied to making pipelines “boring again.”

“You see, Conservatives supported building new pipelines long before the elbows-up crowd, and they will support them long after all the elbows come down,” Smith said.

“As I've said many times before, we need to build pipelines to the west, to the east, to the north and to the south.”

Despite the long antagonism between Alberta and Ottawa, Smith has recently characterized a memorandum of understanding signed with Ottawa, which includes a commitment to collaborate on a new bitumen pipeline, as evidence that the relationship can improve.

Separatists in her provincial United Conservative Party aren’t entirely in alignment on that point. And on the convention floor in Calgary, some Conservative Party delegates from Alberta said they wouldn’t be satisfied until shovels hit the ground.

“We've had lots of words and jib-jab and back and forth, and promises or expectations get set,” said Medicine Hat delegate Daniel Hein.

“Until we have some tangible relief and opportunity to build our business here as a province, I think that frustration will remain.”

Smith also called for tougher bail and sentencing laws, criticized Ottawa’s firearms policy and advocated for reduced immigration levels, among other policies.