EDMONTON — The Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul UCP Constituency Association board voted 10-9 on Monday to call for Premier Danielle Smith to face a leadership review, prompting the riding's MLA, Scott Cyr, to urge the party to unite behind Smith, warning that division will have consequences."Alberta experienced significant economic hardship during the previous NDP government's tenure, including widespread job losses, financial uncertainty for families and people leaving the province in search of opportunities," wrote Cyr in a letter posted on social media on Tuesday. "Behind every lost job was a family sitting around the kitchen table, wondering how they would pay the mortgage and what tomorrow would bring.""We simply cannot afford to go back to those days. Our focus should be on coming together as a party, uniting behind Premier Danielle Smith's leadership, and continuing the work of building a stronger, more prosperous future for Alberta families and communities.".Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul is the fourth association to pass a review motion, joining Calgary-Buffalo, Highwood and Calgary-Currie. The group needs support from 22 associations to trigger a Special General Meeting (SGM), where Smith would face a party leadership review.The premier has received support motions from more than 60 UCP constituency association boards.Calls for a leadership review have amplified after Smith decided to actively campaign against Alberta independence, with some supporters of the movement arguing that the UCP leader's position betrayed party members."Constituency Associations have an important responsibility to advocate for their communities and ensure local concerns are heard," Cyr wrote. "That responsibility should remain central to our Association's work.""I recognize that many constituents are disappointed with the unofficial referendum results, while others welcomed the outcome. Both perspectives deserve respect. Whatever our views on Alberta's future within Canada, we must find common ground rather than allow those differences to divide our communities."Over 58% of Cyr's constituents voted to remain in Canada, 16 percentage points below Alberta's average. .Cyr's constituency association board is led by prominent Alberta independence supporter Mitch Sylvestre. However, Sylvestre told the Western Standard that Alberta independence had "nothing to do with this vote.""To tell you the truth, we can go back a couple of meetings and absolutely see how livid our people are over the MOU, Pathways coming right through our own area, the data centers that are coming here; I think those are the bigger issues," said Sylvestre."And the fact that, you know, we still don't have Alberta pension. The fact that we still don't have informed consent. I mean, we were the center of the Bill of Rights, basically, and we got thrown under the bus on that. So it was just one failure after another, and people are just fed up with the government. That's all there is to it."Sylvestre said a board member proposed the motion and that he did not have to vote..The motion follows Smith's call for unity among UCP members on Wednesday, as the party begins shifting its focus away from Alberta's referendum and toward the October 2027 provincial election.Smith addressed the Alberta independence debate, saying she holds no ill will toward those who voted for her government to pursue a binding independence referendum. However, she said the party must respect the will of the 75% of Albertans who voted to remain in Canada.Party members may hold differing opinions, but Smith said the UCP must focus on winning the October 2027 provincial election. Those who want to divide the UCP rather than focus on that goal should consider joining another party, she said.Cyr echoed a similar plea for unity in his letter."My hope is that our Constituency Association will reconsider and ultimately rescind this misguided motion," wrote Cyr. "I respect the democratic process but believe our Association's efforts would be better directed toward the needs of the communities we represent.""Our region is preparing for significant economic opportunities. The decisions we make today about highways, health care, education and infrastructure will determine whether our communities are ready for tomorrow. We should be building for that future, not allowing internal disputes to stand in the way.".Sylvestre said his board believes Smith is the one sowing division within the UCP, not party members."We're all conservatives," Sylvestre said. "We're all going to vote conservative. We're all going to vote UCP. That's never changed; whomever our MLA is, we're going to vote for them."He said the division stems from what he sees as a lack of action and broken promises by Smith's government."This government has been a very big disappointment," Sylvestre said. "We had such high hopes for this government. This government has been a very big disappointment, and the fact that they lined up with the globalists before this vote was also, you know, just one thing after another.""You couldn't script it to make people angrier than exactly what they do. Like, if you scripted that and you said, 'Okay, well, this is what we got to do to make people angry,' they've done it all. I just can't see how they're blaming anybody but themselves."
