Typically, the keynote speech at a political function will be held toward the end of the event. Scheduling the biggest presentation for the later part of the gathering encourages delegates to stay for the full meeting and lets the leader send them away pumped up and on a high note.At the United Conservative Party AGM in Red Deer however, Premier Danielle Smith delivered her speech to the members in the morning. Good idea.There were factions trying to rouse division within the party and encouraging members to vote against Smith in a leadership review. In speaking early, Smith inspired and galvanized members before they headed to the ballot box to register their judgement upon her leadership.My own reading of the room from the beginning of the event led me to feel the party division was overblown, anyway. There were certainly people with concerns about some policies and directions taken by the party, but they weren’t there to try and eject the leader. But, the party leadership wisely took the threat of division seriously and that decided the tactical scheduling of her speech and the tone of it. Premier Smith’s speech was solid. It hit upon all the usual conservative points. She spoke of recent government accomplishments and then moved into policy points which would resonate with the traditional right flank of the party. Parental rights, school choice, blocking gender reassignment surgery and protecting women’s sports were all mentioned and were excitedly received by the room. Amending the Alberta Bill of Rights to safeguard firearm ownership, free speech, and bodily autonomy from vaccine mandates was covered as well. These are hot-button issues that critics use to try and paint the party as extreme. But Smith played it well; she decided it was more important to respond to the membership on contentious issues than to the opponents and progressive pundits.And, she was "unapologetic." Throughout the speech, she used the word several times. It’s an indication that Smith plans to push ahead with policies considered controversial and she won’t back down. When speaking of protecting free expression and speech from incursions from professional associations, Smith brought up Dr. Jordan Peterson as an example of why these associations need to be reined in. Peterson has long counseled against trying to pacify opponents through apologies and it appears the premier has taken that advice to heart.As she drew her remarks to a close, Smith never mentioned the leadership review directly. But, her words were well chosen, with that in mind. She invited raucous debate and critique from members. She tasked members with holding the party and leadership accountable. She then directed them to take those concerns to policy discussions and exercises like the “accountability session” scheduled for right after her speech. In a panel style, Smith took the stage to respond to policy concerns.She encouraged party unity and noted that conservative unity was essential for the movement and that the family must stay together.When the speech ended, it was greeted with a long and enthusiastic standing ovation. That’s typical in these sorts of affairs. Still, had there been the widespread discontent within the party that we had been led to think, it is very well hidden. Only a handful of people could be seen among the crowd of thousands who remained seated or appeared non-plussed with the leader.The AGM is striking in its record-breaking size. Having 6,000+ delegates coming to a political convention in Canada was unimaginable only a few years ago. It is a heartening exercise in political engagement and is a positive democratic development. Unfortunately, it had been marred by fringe factions trying to divide the party and used unseemly tactics in an attempt to foster division. None of it worked. Smith has emerged from the review with her leadership stronger than ever. I feel sorry however, that it may have left a bad taste in the mouths of some of the delegates who were attending an AGM for the first time. Being barraged with pamphlets and text messages trying to bring down the movement doesn’t offer a positive start for a maiden move into participatory democracy.What now?The party is taking potential unrest among the members seriously. And, it should. Conservative movements constantly fall to self-inflicted wounds and infighting. In a few more years, an effective movement to unseat the UCP leader may form if the party takes the support of its members for granted. For now though, Premier Danielle Smith will remain comfortably in the leader’s seat with the support of most of the members — 91.5% to be exact. Good work. And a great speech.
Typically, the keynote speech at a political function will be held toward the end of the event. Scheduling the biggest presentation for the later part of the gathering encourages delegates to stay for the full meeting and lets the leader send them away pumped up and on a high note.At the United Conservative Party AGM in Red Deer however, Premier Danielle Smith delivered her speech to the members in the morning. Good idea.There were factions trying to rouse division within the party and encouraging members to vote against Smith in a leadership review. In speaking early, Smith inspired and galvanized members before they headed to the ballot box to register their judgement upon her leadership.My own reading of the room from the beginning of the event led me to feel the party division was overblown, anyway. There were certainly people with concerns about some policies and directions taken by the party, but they weren’t there to try and eject the leader. But, the party leadership wisely took the threat of division seriously and that decided the tactical scheduling of her speech and the tone of it. Premier Smith’s speech was solid. It hit upon all the usual conservative points. She spoke of recent government accomplishments and then moved into policy points which would resonate with the traditional right flank of the party. Parental rights, school choice, blocking gender reassignment surgery and protecting women’s sports were all mentioned and were excitedly received by the room. Amending the Alberta Bill of Rights to safeguard firearm ownership, free speech, and bodily autonomy from vaccine mandates was covered as well. These are hot-button issues that critics use to try and paint the party as extreme. But Smith played it well; she decided it was more important to respond to the membership on contentious issues than to the opponents and progressive pundits.And, she was "unapologetic." Throughout the speech, she used the word several times. It’s an indication that Smith plans to push ahead with policies considered controversial and she won’t back down. When speaking of protecting free expression and speech from incursions from professional associations, Smith brought up Dr. Jordan Peterson as an example of why these associations need to be reined in. Peterson has long counseled against trying to pacify opponents through apologies and it appears the premier has taken that advice to heart.As she drew her remarks to a close, Smith never mentioned the leadership review directly. But, her words were well chosen, with that in mind. She invited raucous debate and critique from members. She tasked members with holding the party and leadership accountable. She then directed them to take those concerns to policy discussions and exercises like the “accountability session” scheduled for right after her speech. In a panel style, Smith took the stage to respond to policy concerns.She encouraged party unity and noted that conservative unity was essential for the movement and that the family must stay together.When the speech ended, it was greeted with a long and enthusiastic standing ovation. That’s typical in these sorts of affairs. Still, had there been the widespread discontent within the party that we had been led to think, it is very well hidden. Only a handful of people could be seen among the crowd of thousands who remained seated or appeared non-plussed with the leader.The AGM is striking in its record-breaking size. Having 6,000+ delegates coming to a political convention in Canada was unimaginable only a few years ago. It is a heartening exercise in political engagement and is a positive democratic development. Unfortunately, it had been marred by fringe factions trying to divide the party and used unseemly tactics in an attempt to foster division. None of it worked. Smith has emerged from the review with her leadership stronger than ever. I feel sorry however, that it may have left a bad taste in the mouths of some of the delegates who were attending an AGM for the first time. Being barraged with pamphlets and text messages trying to bring down the movement doesn’t offer a positive start for a maiden move into participatory democracy.What now?The party is taking potential unrest among the members seriously. And, it should. Conservative movements constantly fall to self-inflicted wounds and infighting. In a few more years, an effective movement to unseat the UCP leader may form if the party takes the support of its members for granted. For now though, Premier Danielle Smith will remain comfortably in the leader’s seat with the support of most of the members — 91.5% to be exact. Good work. And a great speech.
