Third UCP riding joins push for Smith leadership review as grassroots campaign reaches 3 of 22

A third United Conservative Party constituency association has voted to support a special general meeting aimed at reviewing Premier Danielle Smith’s leadership, according to a new announcement by Alberta independence advocate Jeffrey Rath. The latest vote follows earlier resolutions passed by the Highwood and Calgary-Buffalo constituency association boards, bringing the grassroots campaign to three of the 22 associations required to compel the party to convene a special general meeting. The Highwood board was the first to act in September, followed by Calgary-Buffalo, as activists critical of Smith’s position on Alberta independence began organizing through the UCP’s constituency associations. Although the campaign remains well short of the required threshold, the third vote marks another step in an effort to bring the premier’s leadership directly before party members.

Under the UCP’s bylaws, a special general meeting must be called when one-quarter of constituency associations pass identical motions requesting one. With 87 constituency associations, that means organizers need 22 board resolutions, leaving the campaign 19 short of its target. A leadership review held through the party’s prescribed process would ask members whether they approve of the current leader, with support below 50 per cent triggering a leadership election. The effort is being driven in significant part by independence supporters who object to Smith’s decision to campaign for Alberta to remain within Canada ahead of the Oct. 19 referendum. Rath has repeatedly criticized the premier's approach to sovereignty and has encouraged grassroots members to use the party's internal rules to demand a leadership review. As one unnamed party official previously told Calgary Dispatch, “The grassroots know they have her on the ropes.”

The latest development highlights the continuing disagreement between Smith and the independence movement within her own party. Smith has maintained that Alberta should pursue greater autonomy while remaining in Confederation, while Rath and other separatist organizers argue that independence requires a more direct commitment from the province’s political leadership. Smith received 91.5 per cent support in her last scheduled leadership review in November 2024, but the current campaign is focused on forcing another vote outside the normal review schedule. Three constituency resolutions do not establish how the wider UCP membership would vote, nor do they automatically trigger a leadership contest. They do, however, demonstrate that opposition to Smith's leadership has moved beyond public criticism into formal constituency association decisions. With the referendum approaching, organizers will now be watching whether more riding boards join the campaign and bring the party closer to the 22-association threshold.