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Or sign-in if you have an account.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith Photo by Dean Pilling/PostmediaCanada’s Progressive Conservatives were once mocked as the country’s “forward-backward party,” an organization set on moving ahead while standing firmly by the tried and true. Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorAlberta Premier Danielle Smith obviously imbibed this paradox at an early age, starting her political life as a PC member before flitting off to rival parties as opportunities arose, landing eventually with a group billing itself as the United Conservatives, though they’re anything but united.Part of the UCP wants to quit Canada, while another part wants to stay. Embracing the contradiction, Smith says she’d prefer to stay but has been busily furthering the interests of those who want to leave. She’s doing this, she says, because she believes Albertans have a right to be heard.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againSeven in 10 Albertans have consistently said that they don’t want to separate and see no need for a referendum on the matter, but they’re not the ones being heard. Nor are the First Nations that staunchly oppose her drive. Instead, Smith is helping the remaining minority get a chance to set the agenda to please themselves.If this makes little sense outside the premier’s office, it neatly reflects her career-long concern with self-preservation. From her origins with the PCs, she defected to the Wildrose Party. She then abandoned Wildrose to jump back to the PCs, taking eight other Wildrosers with her in a move the Western Standard’s Derek Fildebrandtcalled “the most appalling and treacherous move in the history of Canadian politics.” When Jason Kenney formed the UCP she happily decamped to that, as well, seeking his job after he was squeezed out. It’s not a record attesting to any great sense of party loyalty as much as to personal ambition.It suggests a craving to be on the winning team, no matter which one happens to be winning, or what it happens to stand for. To that end, it makes perfect sense for Smith to play both sides of the separatist divide, hoping she’ll have a place in whichever side ends up on top.I wouldn’t trust someone like that, and Smith gives precious little reason for Canadians to trust her. The UCP faction she’s seeking to appease gets its inspiration from MAGA, lives by “alternative facts,” thinks truth is whatever you claim it to be and is headed a by figure who recently confided his fear that King Charles III might seek to have him assassinated.If Smith wanted a chance to pick a side and stick to it, a recent court ruling against a referendum was an excellent opportunity. The judgment contained some curious reasoning, yet nonetheless represented a prime opportunity to come out fighting on behalf of federalism. Instead, Smith announced she’d appeal the ruling on the separatists’ behalf. Even in the pervading spirit of Canadian do-gooderhood, attempting to defeat yourself on behalf of your opponent goes well beyond the parameters of sound judgment or practical thinking. Smith took incoherence a step further last week when she declared that if the separatists couldn’t hold their own referendum, she’d hold one for them.It will put forward a question rife with gobbledygook. Come the fall, Albertans will be asked whether the province should remain in Canada, or “commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada.” To explain her decision, Smith delivered a 14-minute speech, which challenged the furthest removes of coherence. “Despite my personal support for remaining in Canada, I am deeply troubled by an erroneous court decision that interferes with the democratic rights of hundreds of thousands of Albertans,” she declared.So alarmed was she at the blow to democracy, she’s going to help separatists put a question to voters, which she personally opposes, and which she hopes they lose. As a loyal Canadian, she feels the people seeking to break up the country should have her help in furthering their endeavour, although she hopes they fail to achieve it.“Alberta’s future will be decided by Albertans, not the courts,” she asserted. She will therefore go to court to challenge the court, because the rule of law is paramount and where else can you affirm Albertans’ paramountcy other than via the courts?Of course, since legal battles take time, she’s going to give the malcontents a chance to achieve their goal before the courts can actually respond. The vote in October will ensure they get a shot at fracturing the country without waiting for a ruling on whether it’s legal or not.The matter of Canada’s future, Smith agreed, is of “monumental importance.” She therefore affirmed that she stands four-square with Canada, and will continue to do so all the way to the possible dismemberment of the country, which she so firmly opposes but is determinedly helping along. There’s no use trying to make sense out of any of this. Smith’s case has nothing to do with principle and everything to do with using Alberta’s resentment of federal policies as leverage to squeeze concessions from Ottawa.It’s a tactic that’s worked for Quebec time and again, but there’s a significant difference between the two. Quebec’s two referendums were called by separatist governments headed by separatist premiers elected on a separatist mandate. Quebecers knew what they were getting. Smith has no such mandate: the UCP didn’t win power on a pledge to seek independence, and a majority of voters say they have no desire to leave Canada or risk getting sucked into the United States.Canada isn’t at all a bad place. It’s been far too complacent for far too long and endured some terrible governments over the past decade, but it remains an excellent place to live, with the people and resources to see it through its trials. It’s unfortunate that an opportunist like Smith should come along at such a critical moment, to complicate what is already a challenging task.National Post Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.