Bell: Danielle Smith's ultimatum to UCP separatists — toe the party line or leave

Boom! 

Let Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s words speak for themselves. 

In a blockbuster video sent out to members of the United Conservative party Smith lays down the law. 

Smith tells members the UCP “cannot permit the next year to be one of internal division and endless debate about separation when Albertans have spoken so clearly against it.” 

The premier says the party’s position must be “clear and unambiguous.” 

A strong Alberta within a united Canada is the position of the UCP and the Smith government. 

So here goes. The rubber hits the road. 

Candidates under the UCP banner need to be committed to support and abide by this position and, if elected, they must back this pro-Canada position for the whole time they are a UCP member of the legislature. 

Smith is not done. 

Every member of the UCP provincial board and UCP board members in every riding in Alberta will be expected to uphold the pro-Canada position and focus on winning the next election in 2027. 

Now this part is what some separatist leaders should read very carefully. 

“There may be individuals that would rather spend the next 12 months sowing division to circumvent the will of Albertans by trying to turn our party into something it is not,” Smith tells UCP members. 

“The United Conservative party is not an independence party.” 

Here we go. Put this quotation up on the fridge. 

“For those few who cannot reconcile this fact and remain intent on dividing and turning our party into a vehicle for the independence movement …” 

Ready? 

“I would respectfully invite them to join a different party.” 

Keep reading. Smith has said a mouthful and serves up more syllables. 

“I am simply not prepared to watch a few individuals tear apart the incredible conservative movement we have built together only to see the disastrous NDP become the government of our province.” 

Smith also repeats what she told Albertans on TV Tuesday. 

As long as Smith is premier there will NOT be a referendum on separation. 

Smith also says the UCP has always been a big tent. 

It has to be since it was formed out of the Progressive Conservatives and the Wildrose, two very different political cats. 

The premier tells UCP members she holds no ill will to any of them for how they voted or who they campaigned for. 

But the reality is the reality and separatism took a beating. 

Smith says the party and the government she leads has a responsibility to accept the results. 

Besides there is an election this time next year. 

Smith takes the time to play the Nenshi NDP card, something every UCP member can applaud. 

She throws everything including the kitchen sink at the UCP’s opponents. 

The only thing Smith leaves out is plague, pestilence and the fires of Hell. 

The premier says “the socialist NDP led by Naheed Nenshi” would be “a recipe for disaster.” 

Everything the Smith government brought in while in office would be in ruins the moment the NDP were handed the keys to power. 

Smith has a list of reversals to make UCP members cringe.

Reopening drug sites. Defunding the police. Bringing in soft on crime policies. 

Want more UCP hot buttons? 

Allowing kids to undergo irreversible treatments to change their gender without the knowledge of their parents. 

Shutting down school choice and closing independent schools. 

In Smith’s vision of an NDP future, leftist eco-extremists will be intent on phasing oil and gas. 

There would be open border immigration, massive deficits, higher taxes, a provincial carbon tax, higher electricity prices, censoring free speech and … 

Now here is one item sure to get the attention of those separatists who only got into the political game recently. 

“Taking your freedom to control what medical treatments and vaccinations you and your family wish to receive.” 

So there it is. 

For loyal readers of this column and viewers of my recent TV appearances you know Smith has been telegraphing what she’s doing now for quite some time. 

When it became clear the separatists were not gaining support, and didn’t even look like they wanted to gain support, Smith told Albertans to stay tuned for what she would say after referendum voting day. 

And now the separatists in the UCP have a big decision to make.