EDMONTON — Highwood UCP Constituency Association board member says she voted in favour of Premier Danielle Smith facing a leadership review because she believes the premier must be held accountable to UCP party members, but it was not a call for her removal as party leader. "Our board voted in favour of a motion supporting a leadership review of Premier Danielle Smith, a leadership review, not a motion to remove the premier, not a vote to replace Danielle Smith, and not an endorsement of anyone else's position about whether she should remain leader," said Highwood Constituency Association board member Tanya Clemens. .She made the comments in an X video posted on Friday, one day after the Highwood association passed a motion calling for Smith to face a review as UCP leader. Highwood became the first of 22 associations needed to pass a motion in order to trigger a special general meeting, where UCP members would vote on whether Smith should remain party leader. Rumours about the Highwood meeting and the motives behind the vote have circulated online, with some claiming it was a vote to remove Smith as party leader. Clemens said that is not what she was voting for. "A review is the mechanism through which members decide whether their current leader continues to have their confidence, and if I were voting in that leadership review today, I would likely vote for Danielle Smith to remain our leader," Clemens said. .Clemens said she previously voted against similar motions but supported the latest one in light of the upcoming referendum, where Albertans will be asked whether they want the Alberta government to pursue the legal path needed to hold a binding Alberta independence referendum. "The premier has been very clear that she wants Alberta to remain in Canada," Clemens said. "She's entitled to that position." "I disagree with the adversarial role she has taken toward independence during this referendum because I believe our highest elected representative should have remained neutral and allowed Albertans to make this decision." However, Clemens said disagreement does not negate her respect for Smith. She wants Smith to represent Alberta in negotiations with Canada if Albertans give her that mandate. .According to Clemens, a leadership review is a chance to hold Smith accountable and ensure she fulfills the mandate Albertans give her, whether that means independence or remaining in Canada. "I can respect Danielle Smith and still hold her accountable," Clemens said. "I can disagree with her and still believe she may be the right person to lead Alberta through what comes next. And I can support a leadership review without having already decided that I want to replace her.".Smith faced a mandatory leadership review in 2024, which she passed with 91%. She and the UCP are also polling 13 percentage points ahead of Naheed Nenshi and the Alberta NDP. "Under her leadership, we are shattering all-time fundraising records, consistently out fundraising the NDP, and drawing sell-out crowds at events across the province," reads a statement from the UCP sent to the Western Standard on Friday. "You only see results like that when you have a strong leader with overwhelming support."Highwood MLA and Minister of Affordability and Utillities RJ Sigurdson also pledged his full support for Smith. "I firmly believe that the decision of the Highwood Constituency Association does not reflect the views of my constituents broadly," wrote Sigurdson in a statement sent to the Western Standard on Friday.
