Danielle Smith's leadership acclaimed in PCU vote of confidence

At the annual general meeting of the United Conservative Party (UCP) in Red Deer, 91.5% of party members who voted approved the leadership of Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta and leader of the UCP.

In her speech, Danielle Smith said she was truly honored by this vote of confidence.

Our party is stronger and more united than it has ever been.

For political scientist Frédéric Boily, this result is unexpected. It's massive! I expected her to have at least 75% but 91.5%, it shows that we didn't take any chances with her team. […]we organized ourselves so that the vote passed.

She won her bet hands down.

I like his leadership stylesaid Martin Bélanger, a member involved in the party. He is satisfied with the result, even if he did not vote in favor of the Prime Minister's leadership. I didn't want her to get 99%.admits the Franco-Albertan.

For ministers, this vote confirms that the party's policies appeal to the majority of the conservative base. It's amazing to see this level of supportsays the Minister of the Environment and Protected Areas, Rebecca Schultz.

They are happy with the direction we are taking, this result shows that this is Danielle Smith's party, and that the members are united behind their leaderadds the Minister of Seniors, Communities and Social Services, Jason Nixon.

A unifying speech

Earlier Saturday, during his speech to nearly 6,100 members of the PCUthe Prime Minister did not fail to recall the major themes that unify her base, notably opposition to Ottawa, vaccination and parental consent for questions of sex education and gender identity.

No one knows what is better for a child than his own parentsaid Danielle Smith, which sparked a round of applause.

Opposition to the federal government is a front that Alberta Conservatives agree on.

Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh believe they know better how to run Alberta than Albertans themselveslaunched Danielle Smith.

We are united, we will not be defeated. May Alberta forever be a strong and free province.

Supporters in the room rose to their feet during this statement, just as they did when Danielle Smith rattled off bills introduced this week to protect bodily autonomynotably the one which aims to amend the Alberta Bill of Rights.

Those furthest to the right, one minority

The Prime Minister, at the head of the party since 2022, does not have an easy mandate. Some groups, such as the 1905 Committee and Take Back Albertawould like the Prime Minister to go further in protecting individual rights.

It's clear that here, we have just put the lid on the pot as to whether there were divisions in the partybelieves Frédéric Boily.

All those who thought that the stronger right, which challenged Danielle Smith, had enough influence, we see that they have been marginalized and put in the minority.

David Parker, the leader of Take Back Alberta, had announced his intention to vote against the Prime Minister.

The voice of the people is the voice of God. I am the greatest defender of democracy said the man who, until recently, was considered a friend of the politician.

I think she should have had a lower rating he said. He fears the high result sends a message that she doesn't need to satisfy far-right conservatives.

People love her, she's very good at talking to people, and I think people want unity right now, they don't want conflict, these five years have been very hard.