I’m from rural Alberta, and one thing I can’t quite understand is why so many of my small-town compatriots have flocked to Danielle Smith’s United Conservative leadership campaign..While it’s not unusual to see a candidate from Calgary or Edmonton tap into the rural vote, it is a little unusual when that candidate is up against someone who actually represents a rural constituency..Yes, Smith lives in High River now. (She was MLA for Highwood, when the PC's were unseated in 2015.) But, she spent most of her life in the city..So how did someone from Calgary wind up becoming the voice of rural Albertans? People who live three, four, and five hours from a major city? I would love to sit down with some of these folks and ask them, "Why Danielle?". Travis ToewsTravis Toews .Understandably, many of them are upset with Trudeau, and see Smith’s Sovereignty Act as a chance to even the scales between Edmonton and Ottawa, but when you set aside her largest campaign promise — which in theory gives her supporters what they want — Danielle Smith is still an urbanite halfway between a career politician and a media personality, two things rural conservatives typically love to hate..Travis Toews on the other hand, is a born and bred Peace Country rancher, sure, he isn’t promising a Sovereignty Act, but if you’re from rural Alberta, you can bet your boots he knows where you’re coming from. He didn’t just grow up on a ranch, he still lives on one. And, he has been an advocate for the agriculture industry and issues like rural crime prevention since long before Smith set out on the campaign trail..A former President of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Toews is also a trained accountant, and is as comfortable talking to a boardroom full of executives as he is on a horse. He’s measured and humble, with decades of private sector experience — a real contrast to Smith..Those who are unsatisfied with the previous leadership of the party say Toews is too close to Kenney to bring real change, but Toews is as different to Kenney as he is to Danielle. In fact, Smith and Kenney have a lot more in common when it comes to making big promises. Sadly, as we’ve seen time and again in politics, it’s one thing to make assurances and another to deliver..United Conservative members really need to boil this whole campaign down to one thing: who of the seven candidates on the ballot can win the next election? Because while the UCP membership has the unique opportunity of picking its premier right now, it’s all Albertans who in just a few months will decide how long the new leader gets to keep the job. In a democracy, it’s majority rules, and if a recent Angus Reid poll is right, then 53% of Albertans don’t want an Alberta Sovereignty Act, which means the majority of Albertans don’t want Smith — the only candidate proposing this ill-thought out piece of legislation — as premier..I don’t need to spell out what happens next..The NDP can already smell blood. The next election is a a little more than six months away, and the UCP doesn’t have time to convince the half of Albertans that don’t want it they need a Sovereignty Act. Danielle Smith decided to drive a wedge through the United Conservatives where there didn’t need to be one, and frankly, if COVID policy was on the verge of splitting the right, this Sovereignty Act seems to be coming just as close..Right now, Alberta needs stability — and who couldn’t use some stability after the two years we’ve just had?.The UCP, meanwhile, needs to demonstrate to Albertans it's the only party capable of bringing that stability to the province; it can’t do that when it’s divided, but Smith doesn’t seem to care..Conversely, Toews made party unity a core component of his campaign, assuring Albertans a vote for him is a vote for a united party and a secure future..I think it’s time for Smith’s supporters to take off the Sovereignty Act-tinted glasses. Because from the way I see it, if you’re from rural Alberta, Toews should be an obvious first choice as a guy who really understands what it’s like to be a country kid..At the end of the day, one thing's for certain. Nobody voting in this race wants four years of another NDP government, and Toews is the candidate best positioned to ensure that doesn’t happen.
