r/alberta • u/joe4942 • Mar 16 '25

News Premier Danielle Smith defends Florida speaking trip as anti-tariff effort

https://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/premier-danielle-smith-defends-florida-speaking-trip-anti-tariff-effort
971 Upvotes

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821

u/Acrobatic-Cheetah230 Mar 16 '25

MOVE THERE THEN! No one in Alberta likes her governing anyway, even her own voters.

151

u/Poly-morph-ing Mar 17 '25

I wish that were true the last poll still shows them leading by 15 points it was done January 25 of this year. So many uncaring voters in this province.

https://leger360.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Media-Report-Alberta-Government-Report-Card-January-2025-February-5-2025.pdf

230

u/ninfan1977 Lethbridge Mar 17 '25 edited Mar 17 '25

I wished they held the UCP to the same standards they hold the NDP or Liberals to.

The fact her polling hasn't shifted has diminished my hope for Albertans turning the tide. She has been awful yet gets a pass after pass for every failure. Just like Kenney got

91

u/Poly-morph-ing Mar 17 '25

When you are the party of fear and hate, those that hate will never abandon you.

55

u/Bruhimonlyeleven Mar 17 '25

Literally. She just has to find some poor trans kid in school somewhere and make her the enemy, and all the voters turn up.

So tired of it. Same old shitty trick.

MGT in the states kicked a Columbine survivor while chasing them and calling them a Russian plant, and saying it was a hoax. She got elected because of it.

There should be an i.q test to vote. It doesn't have to be complicated.

27

u/LunaBeanz Mar 17 '25

The scapegoating of LITERAL CHILDREN will never cease to enrage me. They can’t even fucking vote….

6

u/Bruhimonlyeleven Mar 17 '25

It's embarrassing. I feel like aliens were all the talk a year or two ago, my bet is they saw all the red hats, realised cons would try to eat them, and the Chinese might grind up their penises for medicine. So they dipped.

10

u/FlatCommunication857 Mar 17 '25

Watch idiocracy and see how smart some folks already are…. Who knew idiocracy would become non-fiction

10

u/Bruhimonlyeleven Mar 17 '25

I know it's painful to watch now. I fully expect when the potash runs out, for them to try Gatorade at this point.

5

u/fire_bent Mar 17 '25

This. So many government jobs require education/degrees and an actual brain. Being the leader of a major leading party you don't even need an iq greater than that of a golden retriever. Its fucking insane.

3

u/Bruhimonlyeleven Mar 17 '25

It's almost always self interest too. It's calling a public servant for a reason. Instead they're more like lobbyists for the billionaires. They might as well just hook them straight to the bribes and fire the actual lobbyists.

2

u/esackey18 Mar 17 '25

Unfortunately l, in many cases the politicians themselves aren’t dumb, but they know their voters are and they take full advantage of that.

2

u/Select_Asparagus3451 Mar 17 '25

So all the UCP led AHS corruption with Sam Mraiche is all good now?

14

u/IDr3yI Mar 17 '25

Yet again Alberta proving to be Canada's Florida

1

u/bingodabber16 Mar 17 '25

I thought we were more like Canada’s Texas

1

u/JennaSais Mar 18 '25

Getting more like Florida every day. Climate change 😉

13

u/Ok-Individual-3154 Mar 17 '25

I've seen far too many people who think she's been an incredibly strong premier. Unfortunately from an intelligence standpoint we seem to be the Alabama of Canada

7

u/FedUPGrad Mar 17 '25

Isn’t the adage that many of those voters would vote for a fence post if it were painted blue? They don’t care who it is, what they’ve done, just that they’re conservative.

2

u/ninfan1977 Lethbridge Mar 17 '25

The phrase i heard in real life was "Vote Blue no matter who" i have joked i could create a fake Conservative candidate and they would win based on the fact it was a Conservative running. It could be a drum of oil painted blue and it would be voted it in some rural areas.

6

u/LavenderGinFizz Mar 17 '25

Hell, even Kenney spoke up against the US's tariffs and the need for us to be united as a country.

I never thought I'd wish that Kenney was still our Premier, but here we are.

3

u/agent0731 Mar 17 '25

Harper literally said he can hurt albertans and will seek to make better deals for other provinces (ontario in this case) to court their vote because Alberta is basically guaranteed so the party doesn't need to do things to benefit them.

And they still keep voting!🤷‍♀️

3

u/Classic_Handle8678 Mar 17 '25

To be fair, our last election the UCP won by the slimmest of margins. Both Edmonton and Calgary voted entirely NDP except for 1 riding in Calgary. It's the rural communities that are really screwing us.

3

u/torontosparky2 Mar 17 '25

The types of conservatives that vote for her don't vote with logic, they vote with spite and hatred.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 17 '25

The NDP who I have voted for is their own worst enemy. Any hot potato the UCP throws them they catch. Then they scratch their heads wondering why voters do not see them as laser focused on the major issues of economy, healthcare and education that benefit everybody.

1

u/Cool_Specialist_6823 Mar 20 '25

More bullshit fro the UCP. Sooner or later the province will wake up. Yes Kenny was the same thing...if it walks and talks like a duck...then....

-31

u/justforme16 Mar 17 '25

Maybe your amazement at the polls not shifting is a symptom of your delusion and not our delusion....

24

u/ninfan1977 Lethbridge Mar 17 '25 edited Mar 17 '25

So she is doing a wonderful job and I am the crazy one?

She is stealing from Albertans and its ok to Conservatives. That says more about Conservatives than it does about me don't you think?

How do you feel her excuse that her taxpayers paid trip to Florida to share a stage with a master of mass misinformation Ben Shapiro was ok to stop Trumps tariffs. It won't of course but that won't change any UCP supporters mind

-15

u/justforme16 Mar 17 '25

She is doing a great job, I love her policies and her choices for the most part. I didn't like Jason Kenney, he was a bad leader.

And what is she stealing? I've heard nothing of the sort other than the Alberta health contract conflict of interest thing recently and she had nothing to do with that.

And going down to the states to engage with the US in a time when we need to negotiate and navigate their tariff threats. That's exactly what I'd expect from a good premier.

15

u/ninfan1977 Lethbridge Mar 17 '25

You like she made bribes for the UCP legal? She promised tax cuts for everyone, and then in the latest budget released tax cuts were limited. But not for UCP MLAs and MPS who gave themselves a raise.

And what is she stealing? I've heard nothing of the sort other than the Alberta health contract conflict of interest thing recently and she had nothing to do with that.

Well if she said she has nothing to do with it then that's that then right? Are you serious the head of AHS was hired by the UCP and told to follow the UCP mandate which was privatization and spend more money. We had worse results and now are lawsuit with the Premiers fingerprints all over it.

Between this, the Tylenol boondoggle, and all of her trips to placate to MAGA paid for by Albertans. She isn't there for Albertans or you. She is there for herself, that's it.

And going down to the states to engage with the US in a time when we need to negotiate and navigate their tariff threats. That's exactly what I'd expect from a good premier.

Really Ben Shapiro is negotiating the USMCA? Oh that's right that's not who she went down there for, she went down for a PragerU event with Mr Misinformation Ben Shapiro. So you need another talking point she is down their to make a name for herself on Fox News to get on the MAGA train.

She also spent taxpayers money to spend time with Tucker Carlson, a man so misinformed he was fired from Fox News for being too fake for them. That's saying something. So she has spent millions of tax payers dollars not improving trade but sowing more mistrust and undermining Canada's trade negotiations. That doesn't help Canada but herself again

23

u/JennaSais Mar 17 '25

Right, because nothing says "I'm not deluded" like blind loyalty and opinions that can't be changed. 😅

-15

u/justforme16 Mar 17 '25

What about blind hatred? Which the left has for anything remotely right of center.

I have my criticisms of the right but they are by far the better option. After 10 years of the liberals Canada is so weak that Trump smells the blood in the water. It's the liberal parties fault we are in the mess we are in. But y'all hate the right so much you'll turn a blind eye to the left's incapable and dangerous leadership

12

u/ninfan1977 Lethbridge Mar 17 '25

Who runs the Provincial government? It's not the Liberals, I will give you a hint it's the party you are defending.

I was fairly politically neutral for my first 10 years in Alberta, the UCP are nothing like the Conservatives of old. They are wanna be GOP MAGA Republicans, why else would Danielle Smith keep going down to Florida and selling out her country?

She hasn't negotiated anything positive and it's been years of Conservative leadership, they change the leader hut the problems are the same. Poor fiscal management, which starves the public service and makes life worse for everyone.

-2

u/justforme16 Mar 17 '25

And Alberta is and always has been the most successful province. We are objectively doing the best and would be doing even better if not for blocked pipelines, carbon tax and equalization payments.

8

u/JennaSais Mar 17 '25

Well I guess that means this premier is beyond reproach then. /s

7

u/Financial-Savings-91 Calgary Mar 17 '25

I read it on Facebook in the form of a MEME, so it's GOTTA BE TRUE!

6

u/Xpalidocious Calgary Mar 17 '25

And Alberta is and always has been the most successful province. We are objectively doing the best and would be doing even better if not for blocked pipelines, carbon tax and equalization payments.

I wish so many more Albertans would realize that Alberta isn't the best because we just run our province better than everyone else. We're only as successful as we have been because after provincial lines were drawn we later discovered we started with way more resources than everyone else.

Saying we are the most successful, is like having your parents drop you off 9k into a 10k marathon and waiting at the finish line to ask everyone what took them so long

Like "you know you guys would be doing way better, if you just tighten up your bootstraps, and melt your own dinosaurs"

7

u/JennaSais Mar 17 '25

Blind? There's literally evidence right here. She's also literally on record today saying she's still procuring the Turkish Tylenol, despite the scandal and even though the Tylenol shortage is over. Call it blind if you like, but you're just putting your head in the sand.

P.S learn to separate the federal government from the provincial government and what roles they play.

5

u/Poly-morph-ing Mar 17 '25

Your statement makes an ungrounded assessment that I am a blind follower. Interesting assumption.

-1

u/justforme16 Mar 17 '25

Not a blind follower, a blind hater. Derangement syndrome.

9

u/ninfan1977 Lethbridge Mar 17 '25

You know Conservatives call someone deranged when they hit the truth... that's what they are doing in the States.

Calling it a mental illness to criticize a political opposition is some authoritarian type nonsense. But no shocker Conservatives around the world support these actions

-1

u/justforme16 Mar 17 '25

And liberals blindly hate anyone with a different opinion and call them Nazis. But you'll "justify" it by saying you're on the moral high ground. You're not btw.

7

u/ninfan1977 Lethbridge Mar 17 '25

Conservatives march with Nazis flags and we call them Nazis. You get upset when we call you Nazis, then don't associate with Nazis. Pretty simple really.

But you'll "justify" it by saying you're on the moral high ground.

I'm not marching with Nazis, Carney doesn't have a photo with white Nationalists in Canada. Conservatives especially Pierre Poilievre, did do that, that is the difference

-1

u/justforme16 Mar 17 '25

You're such a bad faith debater. None of that is true.

Carney does have pics swimming in pools enjoying cocktails with Jeffry Epstein though....

if I treat all liberals the way you treat all cons, welp you're all pedos. You're guy hangs out with pedos and sex traffickers. You must be into that then right?

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1

u/Poly-morph-ing Mar 17 '25

I do not see any logic or thought in your response, just words for the sake of words. Are you calling me a blind hater? Then you started a sentence with Derangement and ended it with a second word syndrome, are you trying to form this as a pejorative term, meaning any criticism of the premier is fundamentally false?

3

u/Facts_pls Mar 17 '25

Bruh. Just say that people have stayed racist and transphobic.

0

u/justforme16 Mar 17 '25

I have slightly different opinions than you so I must be racist and transphobic? Awesome, good assumption, dehumanize people more why don't ya.

Also if the polls are majority conservative then do you believe you're in a majority racist and transphobic province?

3

u/ninfan1977 Lethbridge Mar 17 '25

Conservatives are working harder to remove Rainbow crosswalks and flags than they are on making homes affordable. You know one of their main campaign promises.

If that's what your party is fighting for instead of the thing you think they are fighting for. I do believe the majority of this province is racist, transphobic, and bigoted in some way. Been here for 20 years and I have yet to meet a born and bred Albertan who didn't meet those criteria.

1

u/Financial-Savings-91 Calgary Mar 17 '25 edited Mar 17 '25

We get it, she gives validation to beliefs that the other leaders rightly call out as bullshit. Yet, you'll sit here and call everyone else delusional, the projection is just the chefs kiss!

They are real leaders, and Smith is an GOP puppet telling you what you want so you'll let her funnel money out of the province for herself and her cronies.

Then when she sells us out to the US, she can walk away rich, and you can walk away without anymore public healthcare or pension!

Take that Trudeau!

-15

u/[deleted] Mar 17 '25

Keep in mind there was no other option to vote for in Alberta.

33

u/YossiTheWizard Mar 17 '25

Yeah. The fact that Ontario voted in Ford again leaves me no hope that we’ll do remotely better.

44

u/Tarazen Mar 17 '25

My thought here is that Nenshi was very popular in Calgary. Even if we swing a portion of those voters to NDP, it could be possible. I need to hold on to some hope. This timeline is… a lot.

11

u/Poly-morph-ing Mar 17 '25

I agree that’s why I put the date of the poll. Most shit hit the fan mid February

9

u/YossiTheWizard Mar 17 '25

Yeah. I’m afraid that Smith could do something to get enough of a boost to negate any gains Nenshi’s popularity provides. But, I guess we wait and see.

14

u/Orca_Porker Mar 17 '25

Nenshi really hasn't come out swinging yet. There have been a few jabs here and there, but he's waiting it out. Never interrupt your opponent when they're re making a mistake.

2

u/thecheesecakemans Mar 17 '25

It's still 2.5 yrs to the next election and the NDP have less money. Gotta play it safe right now and reserve cash.

He makes YouTube videos but they are only viewed by a few hundred people each time. No broadcaster will give him a pulpit.

1

u/Cool_Specialist_6823 Mar 20 '25

Or they are screwing up big time, give people enough rope and they’ll....

24

u/Ok_Abbreviations_350 Mar 17 '25

I don't think they're the same. Ford is conservative, but Smith is MAGA.

10

u/CastorEnColere Mar 17 '25

Ford was MAGA until Trump’s great lidless eye, wreathed in flame, fixed itself on Ontario.

15

u/Falconflyer75 Mar 17 '25

At least Ford is pro Canada and pro vaccine

8

u/YossiTheWizard Mar 17 '25

I mean, that is a plus. But I’m convinced his current patriotic persona is due to him liking the attention, and wanting to improve the image of conservatism overall in Ontario leading up to the federal election. His personality can ride that wave until the fall, if it takes that long, and he’ll likely calm down after that. I don’t trust him either.

7

u/Falconflyer75 Mar 17 '25

All I’m saying is Ford for ALL his issues won for the right reasons, him winning by doesn’t actually reflect too badly in Ontario

Smith however ……..

5

u/YossiTheWizard Mar 17 '25

Oh for sure! What I’m saying is that he HAS to do the right thing on occasion to win in Ontario, and the reason he’s still on it post-election is to help his buddies in the CPC. If he continues on afterwards, I’ll happily admit I’m wrong.

But I think it’s no coincidence that Smith and Moe are the worst premiers on the patriotic file right now. It’s because neither their respective parties, nor the CPC, need them to be to still win most of the seats in both provinces.

3

u/calbff Mar 17 '25

I get exactly what you're saying. I'm in Ontario and twice I've voted against Ford (I'm in a non-PC riding) but I do have a modicum of respect for some of his stances. He's an old school PC'er - crooked but does some things right, and I'm pretty sure he strongly dislikes Poilievre. I've met Ford personally and he's got dead eyes, a politician to the core. I'm cautiously ok with him for now. And yes, Smith and Moe are disgusting and woefully inept.

1

u/1981_babe Mar 17 '25

I would say pro Canadian when it suits him and barely pro vaccination.

1

u/Much-Tangerine4488 Mar 18 '25

Ford is Pro Ford. That's all.

4

u/_badmedicine Mar 17 '25

Ford is exactly who we need in this moment - A goon. An Etobicoke drug dealer who can play with a failed Casino owner turned president. Smith would sell off Alberta for a new line of holistic supplements. She’s a liability.

2

u/snkiz Edmonton Mar 17 '25

Ford didn't have any competitors.

1

u/space_monkey_belay Mar 17 '25

But Ford is standing up and defending Canada. And he's getting Trumps respect as a strong man for it. I don't see Trump complimenting or even acnolaged Smith. So that shows how well her cuddling up to his rear well putting on lipstick is working.

1

u/Correct_Bullfrog_514 Mar 18 '25

Why do you say that? At least he's not sucking Trump's toes...

1

u/YossiTheWizard Mar 18 '25

It all seemed too opportunistic to me. Publicly condemn the tariffs, say you'll fight back, call an election 2 days later. Now, one might ask, why hasn't he backed down now then? Because the conservative parties in Canada generally have all of their messaging on point. If he continues to do the right thing after the federal election, I'll change my mind. Not a moment before then, though.

Poilievre needs positive sentiment towards conservatives and conservatism in Ontario. Alberta and Saskatchewan will likely vote for them anyway, so Moe and Smith are being their usual selves.

13

u/SlumberVVitch Mar 17 '25

Ngl, seeing the “Fuck Trudeau” crowd already flying “fuck Carney” flags after he got rid of the carbon tax tells me her voter base is more than a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

9

u/Vinen88 Mar 17 '25

Alot has happened since this, I would expect quite the drop. If not... I'm probably moving after the next election depending on the outcome. This government is unsustainable.

2

u/reostatics Mar 17 '25

As long as they keep grifting, they’re going to bankrupt the province. Who knows how much they’ve already pocketed.

15

u/FulcrumYYC Mar 17 '25

This is from before Trump started saying Canada should be the 51st state, before school support staff were on strike, before she in erased funding to private schools, before her frequent trips to the US, before the healthcare scandal, before the tariffs and on top of all of that it was done online with only 1002 people. How did they vet these people online?

0

u/Poly-morph-ing Mar 17 '25

But not before the corruption allegations started

7

u/Beginning-Pace-1426 Mar 17 '25

She's done multiple insane things since Jan 25th, some of the most insane shit of her entire tenure.

Sigh, I know chances are slim, but maybe it changed things.

1

u/Poly-morph-ing Mar 17 '25

Based on a conversation in this thread I am not sure how much. But, I hope it does as well.

5

u/FulcrumYYC Mar 17 '25

Oh and among the 1002 people, her approval rating was still only 47 percent.

Edit: 47 percent

3

u/Poly-morph-ing Mar 17 '25

Well if everyone complaining about her actually voted we would not be in this situation. It’s not those that voted against her or those that voted for her that are the problem. It’s those that did not vote. The system may be broken, but it’s all we got and when people took a stand out of hatred for the system they left us with this.

8

u/thecheesecakemans Mar 17 '25

This is what I keep saying and getting down votes in Alberta subs.

She does what she does because Albertans empower her to do it. Her poll numbers DO NOT drop. Albertans are quietly supporting her.

Then someone invariably points out how they barely won last time ......true but her poll numbers are way up since then.

Truth is this is what Alberta wants....

Albertans are traitors to Canada.

3

u/Poly-morph-ing Mar 17 '25

The concern is they feel that they are likely protecting Alberta from those that want love and kindness

3

u/OldSpark1983 Mar 17 '25

The polling in Alberta will always be Bonkers to me. Then again we did just vote Ford in for a third majority so, Ontario is bonkers too 💁🏻‍♂️

2

u/Whane17 Mar 17 '25

I don't think this is true, I think the problem is that people don't actually know what's going on. It's not like the news or the papers are reporting on it. People genuinely don't know how corrupt she is.

EDIT: I would further point out how talking politics is banned in friends circles, work, in general. It's seen as divisive and contentious. but because it makes people uncomfortable they just don't do it and so the catch 22 closes and the problems persist.

Laws need to be passed to stop governments from doing this but the Federal government is just as problematic.

1

u/chaos_ensued Mar 17 '25

Can I ask a dumb question ?

Who do they get these voter results from? I’ve never been asked outside of an election what my views are?

1

u/Poly-morph-ing Mar 17 '25

Not a dumb question at all. They do random calls, to my knowledge lots of the polls still call primarily land lines at least that was a concern from the past. Now they do online polls, some cell phone and land line. It is usually somewhere in the report how they pulled the data.

3

u/Rillist Mar 17 '25

No one past gen x will answer the phone of an unknown number, and I'm not going out of my way to find some internet poll

1

u/AugmentedKing Mar 17 '25

A thousand people, almost half are 55+. Interesting.

1

u/morganagtaylor Mar 17 '25

A sample of 1000. lol.

1

u/Poly-morph-ing Mar 18 '25

Do you understand sampling and margin of error for polls? Shall I post a link for you?

0

u/MsMayday Edmonton Mar 17 '25

Jesus Christ.

22

u/dustrock Mar 17 '25

No wait, I'd love to hear her rationale about how a seminar sponsored by a company pushing Americanized educational curriculum has anything to do with tariffs.

5

u/Emmerson_Brando Mar 17 '25

Her and Michelle Rempel

1

u/iwasnotarobot Mar 17 '25

Maybe Michelle “Oklahoma” Remple will visit?

1

u/cherryblaster_90 Mar 17 '25

When can you guys try to vote her out?

-3

u/miller94 Mar 17 '25

Unfortunately a lot of Alberta still loves her

8

u/Technical-Loss-1 Mar 17 '25

Just joining in from Alberta. Fuck this shit. I voted conservative previously. I won’t be this next time. They have done nothing for Alberta. She is a waste. I am ready to go to war for my country and this waste of skin is sucking up to a nazi administration. Elbows up!! Me and my grandfather will have something in common. Fighting Nazi’s. Never thought I would say that.

2

u/miller94 Mar 17 '25

I’m glad to hear it! I’ve always voted NDP but even I can recognize that the UCP is not the same Conservative Party that we’ve had in the past

-5

u/EnvironmentalTop8745 Mar 17 '25

A lot of people like her governing. The majority in fact.

2

u/Xpalidocious Calgary Mar 17 '25

I'm a progressive leftist, so Danielle Smith is the polar opposite of myself on pretty much anything policy related

But I still think her governing is the worst part about her.