Danielle Smith, newly minted leader of the United Conservative Party of Alberta and thus, by default, also the Premier of Alberta, has a pretty easy gig right now.
Through absolutely no policy or effort of theirs, the UCP is currently benefiting from high oil and gas prices in a province whose revenues are largely dependent on oil and gas royalties. This means that they are currently flush with cash, and could very easily buy some political good will by giving raises to nurses and teachers, spending money on public health care to reduce waiting times, spending money on ambulances to improve response times, and maybe even helping Albertans cope with high inflation.
Danielle Smith is a die-hard, far-right culture warrior, though, so she's resolutely ignored all of that low-hanging political fruit in order to pick a fight with the federal Liberal Party of Canada instead. The result, the hilariously named Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act, has been so poorly received that Danielle Smith is now having to walk it back.
