Alberta referendum debate exposes divisions within Premier Smith's United Conservative Party

Ajouté : 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]The United Conservative Party line goes through Premier Danielle Smith. That's according to the premier herself.

[00:00:07]>> Our party, our caucus and our government are on board with working on what we need to do to remain in Canada.

[00:00:14]>> Smith making those comments Wednesday while being interviewed on a chorus radio show. But one political expert says it's not as simple as a statement.

[00:00:22]>> To say that the party is united, the party's not united. That's the whole reason we're having the referendum in the first place.

[00:00:30]>> UCP members and separation advocates like Mitch Sylvester have been talking about removing the premier from her position. In an interview with Global News on Friday, the party's president admitted there are different viewpoints within the UCP.

[00:00:43]>> It is not a separatist party, but uh we definitely have a significant number of our members who are strong strong supporters of independence. Rob Smith has also said the party isn't taking a position on the subject. He did not respond to Global News's interview request asking for his opinion on the premier's comments. In a statement, the United Conservative Party says the position of our party, the UCP caucus and the UCP government is that we believe in a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada. That is the position our party has taken from the very beginning.

[00:01:15]>> You have these two sides to a question, but no two unified teams on either end.

[00:01:22]And that is going to be very confusing for non-politicals.

[00:01:28]>> The premier says the message from her side will keep coming from the top.

[00:01:32]>> I do speak for our government and our party.

[00:01:36]>> Eric Bay, Global News.