Alberta UCP leadership candidates face off in first debate

Several political punches were thrown at Wednesday night’s United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership debate in Medicine Hat as candidates called each other out, vying to be Alberta’s next top conservative.

About every single leadership contestant disagreed with former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith’s Alberta Sovereignty Act platform.

Former Kenney cabinet ministers Rebecca Schulz and Rajan Sawhney were front and centre, taking aim at Smith.

“What you’re doing right now is you’re writing cheques you can’t cash and making promises you can’t keep. That sovereignty act you’re running on, Ms. Smith, is a great fear for our energy industry. They think that creating chaos is going to create additional investment uncertainty,” Schulz said.

Brian Jean, another former Wildrose Party leader, called the sovereignty act a “fiscal fairy tale.”

Smith immediately blamed the federal government.

“Ottawa has created the chaos,” she rebutted.

Sawhney, as well as others, also took shots at Smith over her claims in a recent podcast that a potential cancer patient can control the disease in early stages.

“Ms. Smith, you have a platform, you are an influencer, you have people who listen to what you say. Those kinds of irresponsible comments actually speak to me that there is an issue with impulsiveness here, and there’s an issue with somebody making rash statements,” Sawhney said.

Smith tried to clarify her statements about the disease.

“I know that if somebody has a pre-existing condition, if they have kind of genetic predisposition towards cancer, if they’re beginning to see early symptoms, it would be the very best way for us to diagnose, and then we can get them to wrap around services that they need,” she said.

But Sawhney wasn’t buying it and pointed out Smith made a subsequent video doubling down on her views on Monday.

Despite all the flak against Smith, she wasn’t the only candidate in the hot seat on Wednesday, former Finance Minister Travis Toews was grilled by Todd Loewen over comments he would consider a provincial sales tax (PST) post-pandemic.

“When we have a musing about a PST, I think Albertans are very concerned about that. I am against, and I have never been in favour or even mused about a PST like you have,” Loewen said to Toews. “I think we need to set the record straight.”

“And I will set the record straight,” Toews immediately chimed in.

“There’s only one leadership hopeful that I’m aware of on this stage that has not only mused about a PST, but actually advocated for a PST, and Todd Loewen, that’s the leadership hopeful standing right next to you [Danielle Smith]. I have never mused about a PST.”

Toews was referring to Smith’s newspaper column a few years ago which suggested a PST may be needed to get Alberta’s finances in order.

However, Smith says as energy prices have skyrocketed and Alberta’s anticipated deficit now becoming a surplus, she rejects the premise of a sales tax.

READ MORE:

• Does the truth still matter in Alberta politics?

• Smith slammed for cancer misinformation in UCP Leadership debate

• Alberta house leader doubtful Danielle Smith’s controversial sovereignty bill would pass

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Even though Smith is the perceived front-runner, political scientist Lori Williams tells CityNews there was no clear winner emerging from the debate.

“A number of candidates made it clear this will be quite consequential, that this will be the next premier and the person leading them into the next election, and many of them talked about the chances of winning against Rachel Notley, and many of them expressed concerns that Danielle Smith just wasn’t appealing to the mainstream concerns of Albertans,” Williams said.

“In the process, criticizing the policies that some of these candidates disagree with, they also tried to get the message out about what they stand for and what they think is a better path forward, what will be the most successful path for the interest of Alberta and its citizens.”

However, Williams adds the debate did prove there could be viable leadership candidates other than Toews, Smith, and Jean, who are perceived to be in the lead.

“Viewers could get a better sense of the alternatives that they have before them,” she explained.

“There may be other candidates that have ideas or proposals that may be appealing, and even if they’re only appealing as a second choice and [as we’ve seen in previous] leadership elections where the frontrunner on the first ballot doesn’t win on a subsequent ballot. So, this may open up the possibility for victory for somebody other than those front three, certainly let Albertans know what they stand for and what their competencies are.”

This is the only debate scheduled before the Aug. 12 cut-off for UCP members to sign up to vote in the leadership race.