UCP members push to oust Smith over separation stance

Some United Conservative Party members are preparing to challenge Premier Danielle Smith's leadership over her refusal to put Alberta separation directly to voters.

The Alberta Prosperity Project and allies say Smith is ignoring party members who want a binding referendum on independence. Instead of their question, the premier announced in May that Albertans will vote in October on whether to hold a later referendum on seceding — a softer approach that many separatists view as a betrayal.

Lawyer Jeffrey Rath and activist Mitch Sylvestre are now speaking publicly about moving to remove Smith as party leader through internal party mechanisms. "Her base will certainly remove her as leader if she continues to insult them," Rath told Postmedia last month.

Under UCP bylaws, a special general meeting can be called if one-quarter of the party's 87 constituency associations request it — that's 22 associations. If those requests specify a leadership review, the party must hold a vote "at the earliest possible time." A simple majority is enough for a leader to survive, but narrow victories carry real political damage.

Party president Rob Smith said last month he believes a majority of UCP members would support Alberta separation, though the premier has repeatedly affirmed her official position is keeping Alberta in Canada. At the party's annual general meeting late last year, Rath drew loud applause from delegates when he spoke about separation.

For now, the push to oust Smith remains talk among grassroots separatists — but the party's own bylaws give them a formal pathway to force the confrontation.