Danielle Smith
Marlaina Danielle Smith is a Canadian politician, former lobbyist, former columnist and media personality who has served as the 19th premier of Alberta and leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) since 2022.
Standing...
Stories...
Jun 8, 2026
Far Left
Smith's UCP government re-announced its patient-focused, activity-based hospital funding model in Alberta this week.
NDP and healthcare advocates argue this funding scheme creates perverse incentives to inflate diagnoses and quietly opens the door to two-tier privatization of Alberta's public hospitals.
Jun 6, 2026
Center
As Alberta Premier, Smith is the central political figure governing a province where separatist and federalist groups are now openly battling to shape public opinion ahead of the October 19 vote on Alberta's future in Canada.
The centre is watching Smith carefully, concerned that her provincial grievance politics have created conditions where separatist sentiment is organized and credible enough to threaten confederation.
Jun 6, 2026
Far Right
Alberta under Smith is advancing Education Savings Accounts, with analysis suggesting the province will save millions while expanding parental school choice.
PPC supporters broadly back Smith's push against the ATA monopoly and toward parental choice in education, seeing it as a rare win for individual freedom over entrenched public-sector unions.
Jun 5, 2026
Lean Left
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stated law will be enforced against First Nations communities engaging in civil disobedience related to her government's separation referendum.
Liberals view Smith's posture as dangerously confrontational, subordinating Indigenous rights and national unity to a sovereigntist political project that risks fracturing Canada.
Jun 5, 2026
Lean Right
Alberta separation polling showing fewer than half of Albertans would stay in an independent province keeps Premier Smith's sovereignty rhetoric and federal tensions in the national conversation.
Conservatives are watching this closely because Smith's confrontational posture with Ottawa reflects genuine Western alienation, and the poll complicates both separatist momentum and the federal Conservative coalition.
Jun 5, 2026
Center
Alberta Premier Smith met with Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette in a high-profile visit focused on provincial autonomy and interprovincial trade cooperation.
Centre observers see Smith's alliance-building with Quebec as a strategically shrewd but federally destabilizing move, using Quebec's distinct nationalism to legitimize Alberta's own autonomy push in ways Ottawa cannot easily dismiss.
Jun 5, 2026
Far Left
Smith signed a cabinet order formalizing the wording of her October 19 separation referendum question, while UCP MLA Rebecca Schulz quietly resigned her legislature seat.
From an NDP/Green perspective, Smith is driving Alberta toward destabilizing separatist politics while simultaneously re-announcing a hospital funding model critics say incentivizes over-diagnosis and opens the door to for-profit healthcare delivery.