“Perceptions,” by Gerry Warner

Op-Ed Commentary

Here’s what I fear most about Alberta’s historic election Monday.

The winner May 29 may well be the Trumpist candidate Danielle Smith, who’s channeling all that great ocean of hate, fear and ignorance that lies to the south of us and threatens to roll over Wild Rose Country like a giant tsunami.

In almost 40 years of political reporting, I’ve seen a lot and what scares me most is that Smith is exploiting two key aspects of Alberta’s culture – the hatred of government – any government – held by many in Alberta’s business class, and the distrust of democracy because it may lead to the dreaded “S” word (socialism) especially in the religious ark of rural Alberta.

Keep in mind that wealth and living the good life in Alberta today is through working in the oil industry or having access to vast acres of agricultural land and the heavy machinery needed to exploit the agricultural bounty it produces. Capital is needed for both and capital and socialism don’t mix easily. That’s why Rachel Notley’s NDP has won only one Alberta election and is facing a steep uphill battle to win this one.

Hence this election should be a slam-dunk for Smith’s United Conservative Party (UCP)) except for one thing and that’s Danielle Smith herself. Said brutally, Smith is regarded by many in the professional political class as a flaky, political, wacko unfit to run a lemonade stand little alone a government as large and sophisticated as Alberta.

Here is a summary of Smith quotes according to veteran political commentator Warren Kinsella: Cancer is a disease “completely within your control.” People who decline Covid vaccinations are “the most discriminated against group” in society. Malaria treatment is a “100% cure for coronavirus.” She even downplayed the Ukrainian war saying, “Why should we be surprised if Russia is upset that Ukraine has nuclear weapons.” (The Ukrainians gave their nukes back to Russia 30 years ago.)

“How can someone as dumb as Danielle Smith be considered to be fit to be a small-town dog catcher, let alone a provincial premier,” commented Kinsella. And on top of all that she violated the standard cabinet protocol of speaking to her attorney general about the criminal case of an anti-vaxxer street preacher charged in the wake of the Coutts border disturbance during the convoy uprising.

Kinsella says Trump might as well be Smith’s campaign manager because she’s using every trick in the Trump rule book to win the election. Social media and the Internet have ushered in a new age of campaigning, he says. “So to rise above the noise, you have to say outrageous things.”

Simplicity, repetition and volume are the key tools to getting your message across in the Internet Age, Kinsella says. When you make a mistake double down as Trump does and make even more noise. It worked for the orange-haired bully (once) but does that mean it will work in a calmer, more tolerant country like Canada?

I think not.

Smith, after all, is carrying some heavy baggage in her message. Like the Alberta Sovereignty Act, which is the first tentative step towards nationhood for Alberta and the splitting of Canada. The “Free Alberta Strategy,” a manifesto which among other things, calls for Alberta to collect its own taxes and pay what it wants, if anything, to Ottawa.

Smith would replace the RCMP with a provincial police force of its own that would cost taxpayers more than $200 million. Smith would also bring in a provincial pension plan and has talked about creating a made-in -Alberta child-care plan for Alberta’s fast-growing youth sector. And, of course, there’s been Smith’s hard to fathom policy on Covid. Does she take it seriously or does she think it’s a private matter for Albertans to figure out for themselves?

Finally, although Smith may march to her own drum in politics, are a majority of Wild Rose residents ready to march with her? Rural Albertans are definitely on her side. But by far the majority of Albertans live in Edmonton and Calgary and they are not so prone to political extremes.

Is Danielle Smith the new Pied Piper of Alberta politics? On Monday we’ll find out.

Gerry Warner is a retired journalist and former resident of Edmonton, a city dear to his heart.

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