Bell: There's unrest in Danielle Smith's UCP as referendum brawl hits final round

Premier Danielle Smith wasn’t skating around the issue when she took to the CBC radio airwaves Thursday.

She wasn’t stickhandling around possible political potholes even though half or more than half of UCP supporters back Alberta splitting from Canada.

In other words, they oppose the premier’s stand.

“We’re loyal to a united Canada,” Smith tells the CBC listeners.

The premier says that loyalty to Canada is a founding principle of the party.

“That is what our founding principles say, that’s what I was elected on. That’s what our members were elected on. That’s what our party stands for.”

But if the independence crowd firmly settled into the UCP lose the referendum vote this coming Monday, they aren’t planning on going anywhere.

The separatists are not shutting up.

“I’m not interested in moving on. The supporters of independence will keep going, keep pushing,” says Keith Wilson, who has been speaking out on Alberta independence across the province.

“This is not something where you go: Aw shucks, we tried. I guess I’ll take up golf now.”

He is clearly unhappy with Smith.

“The premier has sold us short by promoting Option 1.”

Option 1 is Alberta remaining in Canada.

“Option 1 is surrender. She weakened our position by promoting people to say everything’s fine. It makes no sense.

“The fact the people in Ottawa who have the powers to do bad things to Albertans happen to be getting along with the premier, that’s something I’m supposed to take comfort in.

“Wow!”

Wilson is more than willing to take on Smith. He says the premier has changed her tune from the songsheet she sang from in the past.

This Wilson guy does not mince his message.

“I do not recognize her words and her positioning compared to the things she used to say six months ago, a year ago, two years ago, three years ago, five years ago.

“I find it troubling.”

What exactly does he find troubling?

“The direction she is moving in is inconsistent with the direction the majority of UCP members want the party to move in.”

Then he lays down the hammer.

“I do not understand how it is possible to carry on as leader of a political party when she is trying to take it in a direction that is opposite to what the majority of her party want,” says Wilson.

What direction is that?

“She has a good relationship with the prime minister so everything will be OK.”

The separatists really, really do not trust Prime Minister Mark Carney.

In another corner of the UCP universe, the party’s president Rob Smith, who still has a nasty habit of not returning phone calls, takes to Facebook telling us “emotions are running high” in the UCP.

He points out UCP members do not have to “pledge allegiance to either federalism or secession.”

No one will be disqualified from UCP membership. No way. Never.

Still, the UCP president says if the Remain in Canada side wins the Oct. 19 referendum vote, the party “will put independence on the shelf” and focus on winning the next Alberta election.

Cory Morgan is a long-time supporter of Alberta independence. He even wrote a book about it.

Morgan was there on the lonely front line when many present-day independence folks were politically asleep.

This is far from his first rodeo.

Morgan says if the Remain in Canada side wins, then independence folks should, at least in the short term, put to bed the idea of demanding another referendum and focus on “changing the hearts and minds of Albertans” and “creating the winning conditions” for a separatist victory.

He does add Smith has to realize the sensitivity of the situation.

He points to former premier Jason Kenney, who has made it clear he wants separatists in the UCP punted out of the party.

“If she takes Kenney’s advice and tries some sort of purge, that kind of language, then she is going to be inviting a leadership review,” says Morgan.

“So she’s going to have to be careful with how she phrases things.”

But there are those separatists out to get Smith. Go to social media and they will not be hard to find.

“I don’t think the support for disrupting the premier is going to be there as strongly as the vocal folks coming after her think it is.”