EDMONTON — The United Conservative Party’s 2025 Annual General Meeting kicked off Friday in Alberta’s capital, drawing roughly 4,000 people and setting the stage for a closely watched race for the UCP president.Challenging incumbent Rob Smith is Darrell Komick, president of the Calgary-Lougheed UCP Constituency Association.The convention comes just days after Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on energy — a development that has quickly drawn division among Smith's critics and supporters and has influenced broader debates about Alberta autonomy, federal relations, independence, and conservative priorities.In an interview with the Western Standard, Komick expressed skepticism about the Carney–Smith memorandum, suggesting the federal government is presenting it as a win for Alberta while key details remain uncertain.“I made New Year’s resolutions too," Komick said."The premier went in there with her heart on her sleeve, sadly, Mark Carney has packaged this to look like it's a big win for Alberta. Now, I would like to be wrong on this particular point, but in a very short time, we'll see what happens. "We’re going to have a $135-per-ton carbon tax before we have the pipeline. Should the incentive not be when you actually start the flow of bitumen?”He emphasized that “the devil’s in the details” and said the coming months will determine whether Alberta benefits as promised..Smith defends federal MOU at UCP AGM, calls carbon tax agreement a win for Alberta.Komick also argued that the MOU will not dampen independence sentiment — a view recently echoed by independence figures such as Jeffrey Rath of the Alberta Prosperity Project.“It does nothing for slowing down independence or the talk of independence,” he said.Komick said many Albertans are motivated by a desire to protect the province’s existing powers rather than negotiate new ones.“I mean, Alberta is for people that want to come here. They want prosperity, they want to contribute to the society in a meaningful, productive way, and they want to add value,” Komick stated.“It’s a bright future for Alberta, but we need to understand what the benefits of Alberta are, and we need to enhance those.”Komick said he believes a majority of AGM attendees support, at minimum, a continued discussion about Alberta sovereignty moving forward.“You can probably see 60% of the people here who represent the idea that there should be a discussion on sovereignty,” he said, adding he expects some form of referendum — whether initiated by activists or by the provincial government — to be “inevitable.”He said many Albertans feel unheard within Confederation, fuelling a desire for renewed conversations about Alberta’s future.“Regardless of your political stripe, you should want to put Alberta first,” he said.“Alberta is your home. Alberta is where prosperity comes from.”Switching gears, Komick criticized the “ideological recalls” recently targeting UCP MLAs, arguing they amount to politically motivated efforts.“We're in a situation where [the people behind the recalls] are amplifying it because they are upset that the government said, ‘Do not use children as a battering ram to make your ideological stand.’”.IN-DEPTH: Resolutions to be debated at UCP AGM Saturday.If elected UCP president, Komick said his priority would be strengthening constituency associations (CAs) across the province.“We need to focus on identifying the vote in those CAs,” he said.“Strong CAs mean that when you get an ideological situation like the recall, there is insurance for [dealing with the] stupidity.”He said he wants better tools, structure, and support to keep local associations active between elections.“That certainly would be something that I would look to as the insurer — that the CAs are given form and structure and assistance to be successful, because we are as successful as our membership,” he said.“You can see that success demonstrated here with 4,000 people at our convention.”Mobilizing that energy, Komick added, is essential to future electoral success.“We need to mobilize the 4,000 people at this convention and another 50,000 party members to be engaged between elections, because that’s where elections are really fought,” he said.“Elections are not fought in that 30-day window. Elections are fought before that — and that’s the shift we need to make."
