It was her promise to keep parents in control of their children's education that garnered the loudest cheers and rounds of applause for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at her party's annual general meeting this weekend in Calgary.
In a speech to her party delegates, she promised to fight the feds and build Alberta, but got the loudest applause when she promised to keep parents in control of their child's education.
“I want every parent listening today to hear me loud and clear: parents are the primary caregivers and educators of their children,” Smith said in her speech Saturday to 3,800 delegates at the United Conservative Party meeting.
“We cannot have a successful province or a successful society without strong and nurturing families,” she added.
“And regardless of how often the extreme left undermines the role of parents, I want you to know that parental rights and choice in your child's education is and will continue to be a fundamental core principle of this party and this government and we will never apologize for it.”
Smith's speech came prior to delegates debating and voting on about 30 resolutions.
They overwhelmingly passed a motion requiring parental consent if a child under the age of 16 wishes to use a different name or pronoun at school, mirroring legislation recently passed in Saskatchewan that has drawn harsh criticism from LGBTQ2S+ advocates.
Despite receiving overwhelming support during the vote, not all UCP members were in favour of the motion, including Blaine Badiuk of Lethbridge, who raised her concerns about it when she spoke at the convention and who wants to see the party craft a careful policy.
"When that kid comes, let's send them to actual help -- a school counsellor, a therapist, a psychologist, for example -- ideally to help that kid have the confidence and the support in order to come out to their parents," Badiuk told CTV News Edmonton. "That's the really important part. The kids have to have the agency to tell the parents themselves instead of others telling on behalf of them. "
Political strategist Stephen Carter told CTV News Edmonton he believes Smith is catering to social conservative members of the UCP and that it appears there is no room for progressive views in the party.
"Selling her soul for votes -- that's how you describe the situation," said Carter, who has worked as a chief of staff for a number of politicians, including Calgary mayors Jyoti Goindek and Naheed Nenshi, former Alberta Premier Alison Redford and for Smith, when she was leader of what was once the Wildrose Alliance Party.
"She is not this person, she is someone who understands the LGBTQS+ society. She understands what the threats are. She has stood with them many times before.
"But now, the first moment that her premiership becomes threatened by the Take Back Alberta takeover of the UCP, and she caves immediately. It's easy to sell a few children out if you get to stay the premier, I guess, and I think that it's disgusting."
Jason Schilling, the president of the Alberta Teachers Association, says the UCP party could hurt kids if it ever became government police, and that it could hurt kids and cause division.
"These are really complex conversations that need to happen between parents, families and schools, and politicizing this issue is something we don't need to see happen," Schilling said.
When asked about future legislation, several UCP MLAs told reporters they are not bound by the party resolutions and say they are consulting further with Albertans.
With files from The Canadian Press
