Alberta’s Smith rejects party accusation she’s muting pro-Canada referendum ads

Smith has been criticized for not actively stumping for the pro-Canada side.

In the Oct. 19 referendum, Albertans will be asked whether they want the province to stay in Canada or if there should be a second, binding referendum on the province separating from Canada.

Nine other questions on the ballot ask for approval on immigration and Constitutional reform.

Smith’s comment comes after UCP president Rob Smith, who is not related to the premier, took to social media to assure rank-and-file members that the government’s ad campaign is focused on the first nine questions.

“Of course Premier knows the $4 million expense also affects Question #10, or the one added in May regarding “independence,” he wrote.

“(The premier) assured me … emphasized, I’d even say, that the included language and ‘promotion’ regarding this question would be as NEUTRAL as possible and not nearly as persuasive as for Questions #1-#9, even though we all know her stated belief in and support for ‘a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.”

The premier disagreed with that characterization.

“No, that’s not true,” she said.

The premier is walking a balancing act with her party on the issue, as some members want to leave Canada and are publicly unhappy with her support for the province to stay in Confederation.

The batch of video ads, posters and billboards released so far by the government address many of the issues at stake in the first nine questions.

They all carry the same message encouraging Albertans to “stand up for a stronger Alberta” or to “stand up for a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.”

Premier Smith said “the whole point” of the referendum is to get a mandate on her nine other questions.

She said she sympathizes with Albertans who are angry about how the federal government has treated the province in recent years, but she believes “Canada is working everyday better than it has in a long time.”

“It’s my job every single day to try to convince more and more Albertans of that and that’s what I’m gonna do,” she said.

Recently, one of the UCP’s 87 constituency associations voted in favour of holding a review of her leadership.

The riding of Highwood, south of Calgary, is represented by Affordability Minister R.J. Sigurdson.

In a statement, Sigurdson distanced himself from the association’s vote, saying he firmly believes that the decision doesn’t broadly reflect the views of his constituents.

“Let me be clear that Premier Danielle Smith has, and will continue to have, my full support,” he wrote.

The premier, asked Monday what she would say to party members who might aim to challenge her leadership, said she would address them after the referendum is over.

She also pointed to the 91.5 per cent approval rating she garnered in her last party leadership review two years ago.

“You always do have alternative voices in every political party. You’ve got to listen to them. You’ve got to respect them,” she said.

“But in the end, we make decisions based on the things that we can agree on. We don’t spend all of our time talking about the things we disagree on.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Alberta’s Smith rejects party accusation she’s muting pro-Canada referendum ads

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