Though the UCP won 14 fewer seats under Smith than it did with Jason Kenney at the helm, it still came out this time around with 49 to the NDP's 38, giving them a majority government.
In her victory speech, Smith vowed to fight for the interests of all Albertans.
"To paraphrase our dear friend Ralph Klein, welcome to another miracle on the prairies!" she proclaimed, garnering jubilation from the crowd of supporters. "Today Albertans chose to move our province forward by electing a strong, stable, UCP majority government!"
Smith went on to call on Albertans to stand with her against soon-to-be implemented policies from the Trudeau Liberals that she urged would "harm our provincial economy," such as the introduction of a production cap on the oil and gas sector, and restrictions on the use of natural gas to generate electricity.
"Hopefully the prime minister and his caucus are watching tonight," Smith said, warning that, as premier she would not "under any circumstances allow these contemplated federal policies to be inflicted upon Albertans."
In October 2022, Kenney stepped down and Smith was chosen as his successor to be premier and lead the party. In the months since, she has campaigned on the promise of freedom for Albertans. Smith, a staunch critic of many pandemic-era policies, won the hearts of those who believed the government went too far in enacting public health measures.
She once referred to the unvaccinated as "the most discriminated against group that I've ever witnessed in my lifetime," stating that she found the treatment of those who chose not to get the jab "unacceptable."
Reader Comments
UCP dominated all of rural Alberta
NDP took the capital (Edmonton) completely, which is unsurprising due to everyone there working for the govt so big spending NDP is good for them
Calgary was split 50/50 for UCP and NDP with the majority of NDP's support in the centre of the city.
So really, it's not left vs right or conservative vs liberal, it's rural vs urban. The rural folks don't want any of the woke nonsense, whereas the urban folk do.
When you look at the results map, it's a "blue" province with two orange freckles from the two major cities. NDP also took 1 of 2 ridings in Lethbridge.
Calgary is more 'cityfied' than Edmonton and Calgary is home to regional head offices of banks and resource companies. Lots of progressive non-sense in play. I think their mayor is gay. Or maybe that was the last one. Can't keep up ( don't really give a shit ).
The further one gets from the city center, the more conservative it becomes. White, Christian, Heterosexual. All the things lacking in the cities.
Though it is true that in the furthest reaches of the Province you can hear Banjos playing... [Link]
[Link] The Great Awakening !