All seven Alberta United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership candidates gathered to debate the important issues facing the province at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, where they spoke out against their opponents. .Alberta UCP leadership candidate Danielle Smith said she will lead with her Alberta Sovereignty Act. .“It just says we want to be treated just like Quebec,” said Smith at the Tuesday event. .“It is simply about defending our constitutional areas of jurisdiction and the rights and freedoms of our citizens.”.Candidate Travis Toews said Smith is not about leadership and unity. .“We had a fractured conservative movement and that fracture contributed to an NDP government,” said Toews. .“Mere months before the 2015 election, the leader of her majesty's official opposition but then leader of the Wildrose party, crossed the floor.”.Candidate Rajan Sawhney said people can determine who is most ethical based on past behaviour, as it indicates future actions. Sawhney said she will not “send Alberta into a constitutional quagmire.” .Smith said leadership is not about governing by polls, but involves having bold ideas. .Toews was asked whether or not he would run again if he loses. He deflected by saying his decision will be reserved until after the leadership race. .Smith said Alberta needs a provincial police force tasked with fighting rural property crimes. .“I think we all know that our rural neighbours feel like they have to take matters into their own hands some times, because we end up having the RCMP not close enough to respond to their calls,” she said. .“It’s terrifying to them.” .Sawhney said deciding who polices rural communities could become complicated because of the Alberta Sovereignty Act. She implored Smith to wait to receive a mandate before imposing this act. .UCP leadership candidate Todd Loewen said Alberta shares some blame for high inflation because the province has $112 billion in debt. He said Toews oversaw the Alberta government spending too much money..“That’s affecting the cost of everything here,” said Loewen. .“We need to take the surpluses we have and pay down debt as soon as possible.” .Sawhney and UCP leadership candidate Leela Aheer said they would index social program benefits to inflation. Sawhney and Aheer said vulnerable people must be supported. .Aheer said she supports school choice and wants to see more funding go to public schools. .“We have so many issues that teachers are dealing with,” she said. .“I think that we should give a huge shoutout to our teachers, our administrators, and organizers.” .Loewen said Alberta’s curriculum needs to focus on the basics rather than ideology. He went on to say he would change the post-secondary education system to lead to more students being trained as healthcare workers. .Smith said the press conference Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held with German officials was disgraceful. She called Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault “an environmental extremist.” .Leadership candidate Rebecca Schulz said she disagrees with Smith supporting net zero. While Alberta needs a credible climate plan, Schulz said doing what Trudeau wants is too far. .“But buying into Trudeau’s net zero plan is very confusing for those of us, especially when you’re saying you want us to do things our own way,” she said. .“It doesn’t make sense.” .Loewen kicked off the concluding remarks by saying he is “not a smooth-talking politician.” He added he is a conservative politician when true conservatism is tough to find. .Smith acknowledged while she did make mistakes, she has learned from them and will not be bullied or pushed around. .UCP leadership candidate Brian Jean said all of his opponents will be in his cabinet. He said he will correct mistakes from the last few years. .This debate came after six of the seven UCP leadership candidates signed a pledge from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) at the Citadel Theatre to never impose a provincial sales tax and not raise taxes if they become the next Alberta premier. .READ MORE: Alberta UCP leadership candidates commit to not raise taxes.“The reason why we do this is because, as we know, politicians like to make all sorts of great promises when they’re running for office,” said CTF Alberta director Kris Sims. .“Holding them to those promises gets a little bit trickier.”
