Do we like Danielle Smith?
Our score: 2 out of 10. Her government's trans laws and the way she has leaned on the courts weigh heavily, and I couldn't verify much real good to set against them.
Danielle Smith was born in 1971 and built her name as a journalist, radio host and lobbyist before politics. She led the Official Opposition in Alberta from 2012 to 2014, and has been premier since 2022. She is a long-time political operator who came back from the wilderness, and that matters for how she plays the game now.
Her first big stain came in May 2023, days before an election. Alberta's ethics commissioner found she broke conflict of interest rules by calling the justice minister about criminal charges faced by a Calgary pastor, though no sanctions were ordered. It's a finding about how she uses her office, not a crime, but it set the tone for her later stoushes with the courts.
On the harm test, the trans file is the big one. Alberta has laws on school names and pronouns, trans athletes in female amateur sport, and gender-affirming care for under-16s. A leaked justice department memo from September 2025 said her office wanted all three amended to operate notwithstanding the Charter. Egale Canada called that move “an unconscionable attack on 2SLGBTQI people”, and Prime Minister Mark Carney said he opposes pre-emptive use of the clause.
On migrants, she announced a fall referendum on immigration in a February 2026 provincewide address, and critics pushed back hard, calling it a crackdown on immigrants. In October, a majority voted yes on those questions, but the margins were tight. Earlier, within days of becoming premier in 2022, she called the unvaccinated “the most discriminated group”, and was reported as not apologising.
Her relationship with judges is the other running theme. In January 2026 she said on her radio show she wished she could “direct” judges on bail, and Alberta's three chief justices issued a rare joint statement defending judicial independence. A judge later quashed a separation petition in May 2026, and she called the ruling anti-democratic and appealed.
Abroad, she drew national fire in March 2025 over a Breitbart interview, with the headline quoting her saying “Let's just put things on pause” about tariffs. She denies seeking help from the Trump administration and says she acted in Alberta's best interest. On climate-adjacent claims, a Global News Reality Check rated her 2022 line about Ottawa spending carbon money to buy votes in Eastern Canada as misleading.