CALGARY — The Calgary-Mountain View UCP Constituency Association board rejected a motion Thursday calling for a special general meeting and leadership review of Premier Danielle Smith after a “divided” meeting ended with members passing a letter in support of the Premier.A source who attended the meeting told the Western Standard that members rejected the review motion by a vote of nine to five after speakers raised concerns about Smith’s leadership of the party.The source said a member immediately proposed a second motion, declaring that the association’s directors “stand firmly behind Premier Danielle Smith and fully support her leadership” and “do not support calls for a leadership review.”The source said "concerned Albertans" spoke about her actions since her 2024 leadership review and the party’s current direction. However, opponents of the review argued that “fear carried the review to defeat,” pointing to the tight timeline between a potential review and the scheduled 2027 election.A board member tried to amend the motion to ask Smith to address members’ grievances, but the board rejected the amendment. The motion then passed nine to four, with two members abstaining. A document listing some of their grievances will also reportedly be sent. The Western Standard has reached out to the Calgary-Mountain View Constituency Association president for comments..Smith has faced internal dissent within the UCP in recent weeks, as both the Highwood and Calgary-Buffalo UCP constituency associations have passed motions calling for a leadership review.The UCP told the Western Standard that more than 30 constituency associations have passed motions supporting Smith, including Calgary-Acadia, Calgary-Beddington, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills and Innisfail-Sylvan Lake.“Under her leadership, we are building a stronger Alberta within a united Canada and our province is booming,” the UCP’s statement reads. “Our party is shattering all-time fundraising records, consistently out-fundraising the NDP, and drawing sell-out crowds at events across the province. You only see results like that when you have a strong leader with overwhelming support.”.The source said speakers who called for a review on Thursday cited close polling between the UCP and Alberta NDP, the party’s loss in the Calgary-Shaw byelection, where some conservative voters reportedly stayed home, and divisions within the party over Alberta independence.Members also raised policy concerns, including Smith’s agreement to an industrial carbon tax, the size of the provincial cabinet and government budgets, federal bills C-48 and C-69, and the UCP government's $4 million spent on referendum advertising.Individuals who spoke with the Western Standard after the Calgary-Buffalo vote described events similar to those that took place at the Calgary-Mountain View meeting..“The Premier has taken Alberta’s fight to Ottawa and continues to secure major wins for our province,” the UCP's statement reads.“In the last two weeks, the Premier secured federal designation of the Pacific Link pipeline to be in the national interest, federal commitment to refer the Calgary-Red Deer-Edmonton high-speed rail corridor to the Major Projects Office, and an $8 billion investment from the federal government towards Alberta-based military infrastructure.”“The Alberta Court of Appeal also ruled that C-69 remains largely unconstitutional, and the federal government meaningfully cooperated with the province on our two most recent court appointments.”“Additionally, the Premier introduced significantly tougher fines and jail time for illegal dumping, and directed Calgary and Edmonton to revert to and maintain their infill development rules from prior to 2024, putting an end to blanket rezoning.”.Opponents of the leadership review also reportedly expressed concerns about how much funding the party would cut to the constituency association if members voted against Smith. The source told the Western Standard that the meeting and the subsequent letter should not be interpreted as evidence of unanimous support for Smith.“A confidence vote advanced by the person tying the results to party money for the next campaign is not a clean test,” the source told the Western Standard. “It is a transaction.”“The letter will say the board is united. The vote says a party that likes her energy does not trust her judgement.”The UCP's governance manual and by-laws require the party's leader to face a review at their Annual General Meeting every three years. The party may also call for one at a special general meeting if 2/3 of the party's board pass a motion, or if 1/4 of the constituency association boards vote for one. Smith last faced a leadership review at the UCP's AGM in 2024, which she passed with 91.5% support.
