EXCLUSIVE: Smith shelves constitutional reforms after Albertans reject referendum proposals

CALGARY — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government will be backing away from constitutional reforms following the defeat of the four proposed constitutional questions on the October 19 referendum ballot.Speaking to Western Standard publisher Derek Fildebrandt on Friday, the premier stated Albertans have sent her a clear message that they don’t want her government spending time on reforms that may never materialize."I don't believe that Albertans want me to waste a whole bunch of time on constitutional matters that may or may not go anywhere," Smith said."That's how I read it."Some of the proposed changes that were on the ballot included giving the Alberta government more authority to select judges who would be appointed to the province’s highest courts, abolishing the Senate, allowing provinces to opt out of federal programs, and giving provincial laws priority over federal legislation in certain areas of jurisdiction.Each of those questions received less than 50% of the vote, and Smith told Fildebrandt she believes voters carefully weighed each individual question rather than simply following campaign slogans such as “No to the Nine.”"We asked for them to vote yes to the rest, and people were thoughtful," Smith said, adding that she “doesn’t want these four constitutional priorities to be the ones that take the attention of the government for the next while.”.Smith lays down the law to UCP members regarding Alberta independence going forward.In a follow-up after the interview, the Premier's Office did add that any member of the UCP is free to advocate for constitutional reform even if the question had been defeated the referendum ballot.Smith did however say one constitutional issue remains on her own agenda — equalization.“I still feel like equalization because it had such a stronger level of support and because people still raise it as a source of frustration,” she said.“That's one that I feel like I can spend a lot of time trying to advance. Maybe there'll be other things.”In 2021, former premier Jason Kenney put a referendum question to Albertans regarding removing equalization payments from the Canadian Constitution.Despite the issue receiving 61.9% support, nothing has changed regarding the equalization system.Smith now says there may be an opening to work on the issue with other provinces that are also making transfer payments and are just as frustrated as Alberta.“I think I feel more confident that we can move forward and have constructive conversations around equalization because we're not the only ones frustrated by it,” Smith said.“Anyone who's in that position feels the same way we do. So we now have a coalition of other provinces: British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador, who are just as frustrated as we are.”

EXCLUSIVE: Smith shelves constitutional reforms after Albertans reject referendum proposals

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