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A lot of questions today about how Danielle Smith -- the "libertarian" and "conservative" -- could use closure & the notwithstanding clause to remove Albertans' Charter rights. The answer: she's neither libertarian nor conservative. Is the province or her party, though? We'll soon find out.+

28/10/25, 3:56 pm32 reposts83 likes

MacScot🇨🇦

Good stuff Jared!

It's critical to point out that she went to Mara Lago with a admitted separatist (Kevin O'Leary) and then said she was there for Canada. She was there to encourage separation. She wants to be Governor of Alberta. (IMHO)

Jared Wesley

@jaredwesley.ca

28 Oct 2025

In opposition, Smith cultivated an image of as a small-government conservative. In government, she's proven anything but. From the outset, I've raised concerns about this. And I was joined by other conservatives. www.readtheline.ca/p/jared-wesl...

readtheline.caJared Wesley and Ken Boessenkool: Danielle Smith is not a conservativeHer politics amount to libertarian-laced populism, directly opposed to the sort of principled, incrementalist politics Albertans have had before.

Jared Wesley

@jaredwesley.ca

28 Oct 2025

Smith's approach is foreign to the conservative sensibilities of the old PC coalition here in Alberta. Architect of s.33, Lougheed was a champion of the legislature's role in democracy. Smith walked away from those traditions long ago. drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/alberta-ne...

drjaredwesley.substack.comAlberta needs a few good toriesThe province’s conservative movement has lost its balance, and democracy is paying the price

Jared Wesley

@jaredwesley.ca

28 Oct 2025

Instead, Smith is best considered a populist, both in the strategic sense.... www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

cbc.caDanielle Smith's populist playbook: make the dominant feel marginalized | CBC NewsSmith's rhetoric reveals an attempt by the premier to define a small and influential subset of the population — anti-vaxxers — as both more common and more aggrieved than evidence suggests.

Jared Wesley

@jaredwesley.ca

28 Oct 2025

.... and in the philosophical sense. When it comes to freedoms, she views these as privileges not entitlements -- to be granted to the most deserving as judged by her government (which is the embodiment of "the people"). drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/the-ucp-is...

drjaredwesley.substack.comThe UCP is a threat to democracyIt's time we stopped pretending otherwise and took action