EDMONTON — Alberta independence advocate and lawyer Jeffrey Rath claims he was offered $4 million in legal contracts before the UCP's 2025 annual general meeting in exchange for not criticizing Premier Danielle Smith.Rath and fellow Alberta independence leader Mitch Sylvestre met with Matthew Altheim, an executive producer at Nordic Media, a company contracted to provide services for the Government of Alberta's communication and public engagement department.The meeting took place in November, before the UCP's 2025 annual general meeting, when Rath claims Altheim, whom he accused of working for Smith's office, tried to bribe him and Sylvestre with millions of dollars in contracts or funds. .Rath, who often publicly calls for Smith's removal as UCP leader, claims Altheim offered him $4 million in government legal contracts in exchange for him no longer criticizing the premier."I just laughed," said Rath in an interview with the Western Standard. "It's like, no, I have integrity. That's not why we're doing this. I'm not criticizing Danielle Smith because I want you guys to pay me hush money, right? ""I'm criticizing Danielle Smith because I fundamentally believe, in my heart, she's selling out the province that I love, and she's harming the children of Alberta through her actions."Sylvestre claims that at the same meeting, Altheim basically asked if he could "get the Alberta pension plan over the line for $2 million," which he said, in the context of their conversation, also meant Sylvestre would no longer talk about Alberta independence."There wasn't alleged; it absolutely happened," said Sylvestre in an interview with the Western Standard. "So, there's no question about it. But the whole thing is that neither one of us were interested in that, and, you know, I haven't thought much about it since.".Altheim told the Western Standard that he met with Rath and Sylvestre, but offered a drastically different account of what happened, and took a shot at Rath in doing so."Jeff Rath... Jason Kenney actually says it best on this guy, truly," wrote Altheim in a statement to the Western Standard. "What he said about me was completely fabricated and false. He has a plethora of legal proceedings against him right now and I can say confidently mine will likely be another addition.""Meeting was brief. I listened to his opinions on independence, which I did not agree, and his opinions on a Alberta firearms license- which I very much agreed. Alberta should manage its own firearms program separate from Ottawa.""I shook his hand-- which was a bit too soft for a guy that wears a cowboy hat-- and that was it.".Smith's office has also denied the allegations and the idea that she or her staff attempted to bribe Rath or Sylvestre. “The claims made by Jeffrey Rath are entirely fabricated and false,” wrote Smith's press secretary, Sam Blackett, in a statement to the Western Standard.Regardless of whether the allegedly offered money was sincere, Rath stands behind his version of the meeting. "The offer was made, and both of us thought it just demonstrated how despicable the people around Danielle Smith was to think that people of integrity would be so easily bought off, or would, or could be bought off at all," Rath said. "I wouldn't care if it was $10 million; I wouldn't accept."
