Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says those looking to join the board of her United Conservative Party at its annual general meeting next month must now sign a declaration vowing not to advocate for separation.
Existing board members will also be expected to honour the pledge, Smith told reporters Tuesday, adding that anyone who wants to run for the party in next year’s election will also need to affirm pro-Canada views.
“We’re not an independence party,” Smith said when asked about the pledge form after pictures of it started circulating on social media.
“There’s lots of range for people to able to advocate on policy — but just not that.”
The form asks those seeking board positions to declare they will abide by and respect the results of last week’s referendum, where voters overwhelmingly supported Alberta staying in Canada.
If those putting their name on a ballot for a board position don’t sign the declaration, the form says they won’t be certified as candidates.
Smith said her party must respect the referendum results.
“The whole point of a political party is to faithfully represent your constituents,” she said.
“And if the constituents have told us they want us to go in a certain (pro-Canada) direction, to have credibility as a candidate you’re going to have to abide by what Albertans told us.”
She said the party has a number of board positions to fill next month at the party’s annual general meeting, which is to be held in Calgary. She also said the UCP still needs to name about two-thirds of candidates for the next election, which is scheduled for Oct. 18, 2027.
The declaration comes as Smith works to rein in separatists in her party ahead of the election. She has warned UCP members that it could go the way of the NDP should the party fracture over the separation issue.
Smith has already faced pushback.
A few United Conservative constituency associations have called for a leadership review, including on Monday when backbencher Scott Cyr’s Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul riding board narrowly passed a motion in a secret ballot.
Cyr announced the vote on Tuesday, saying in a social media post that he wholeheartedly disagreed with the outcome and called for UCP members to rally behind the premier.
“With the 2027 provincial election approaching, I am concerned about the consequences of continued internal division within the United Conservative Party,” he wrote.
Mitch Sylvestre, president of Cyr’s constituency association, is a prominent face in Alberta’s separatist movement.
Sylvestre and others behind the independence push have set their sights on ousting Smith as party leader over her support for keeping Alberta in Canada.
Smith on Tuesday wrote off the motion. She said dozens of other constituency associations have held their own votes in support of her continued leadership.
“You always have a certain percentage of the people in your party that just want to make sure that you know that there’s some unanswered issues that they want you to address,” she said at an unrelated news conference.
Smith last week encouraged separatist leaders within the UCP to turn the page or find a new party to join, but Sylvestre responded by saying he wouldn’t step down.
Tuesday also marked the first day of the fall legislature sitting, and the referendum and separatists within the UCP was a dominant theme in question period.
Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the referendum was a waste of time and money, and repeatedly asked the premier whether she regretted calling it
“We should never regret democracy,” Smith said in response.
She also said she was grateful for those who voted with her on keeping Alberta in Canada and repeated that it was the side she had campaigned on. That last comment drew laughs from the NDP benches.
Nenshi also questioned Smith’s commitment to standing up to separatists within her party’s fold. He asked whether the premier planned to show the door to caucus members who may have separatist leanings, such as backbencher Jason Stephan.
Stephan, who had publicly encouraged Albertans to cast their ballots in support of a second, binding vote on leaving Canada, announced on referendum night that he wouldn’t be seeking re-election next year.
Smith accused Nenshi of trying to sow division, and said she doesn’t want to judge people based on how they voted last week.
“Let’s judge people based on their actions going forward,” she said, and repeated that everyone on her side of the assembly believes in a “strong Alberta within a United Canada.”
The UCP also lost a legislature member heading into Tuesday.
Backbencher Shane Getson announced Monday he was quitting politics completely and immediately, citing unspecified personal reasons.
Smith’s party now has 46 seats in the legislature. The NDP has 39, and there is one Progressive Tory.
Smith’s office said Tuesday that a byelection wouldn’t be called for Getson’s former riding since the next general election is less than a year away.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2026.
Jack Farrell
