Smith’s leadership review & the attempts to undermine her
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
212.25018
Summary
Learn English with Jason Kenney. Alberta's premier, Rachel Notley, was in Red Deer, Alberta this past weekend, attending the United Conservative Party's AGM, where she was greeted by the largest political convention in Canadian history.
Transcript
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the largest political convention in Canadian history was held.
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I saw Alberta Conservatives at both their best and at their worst.
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Going back in 2009, I was VP policy of a party, the Wild Rose Party.
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And I organized the AGM that year at a recreation center in northwest Calgary.
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So with about 300 people in attendance, we deliberated policy and elected a board
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with the sound of basketballs pounding behind a thin wall divider separating us from a gymnasium.
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And we felt the election and the event went excellently.
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We were certain we were on the path to dislodge the progressive Conservatives
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We were particularly buoyed by a young lady named Daniel Smith,
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who announced that day she was going to pursue the leadership of our little party.
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The events held in that hall did indeed lead to the end of the PC dynasty,
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and Daniel Smith did eventually become Alberta's premier.
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The path was wilder and more convoluted than any of us could ever have imagined at that time.
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We also never imagined we'd seen AGM with over 6,000 members,
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participating as happened with the UCP and Red Deer last weekend.
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It was amazing to observe, actually, the organizational talent applied to hosting thousands of delegates,
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Just feeding the few hundred people at the 2009 event took weeks of preparation
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In Red Deer, everything from the registrations to the meals went incredibly smoothly at the UCP gathering.
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And more impressive than that logistical feat, though, was that massive turnout.
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I've attended dozens of conventions, special meetings, leadership events over the years.
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There's a core of party stalwarts who parentally attend to these events, and they're important,
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and you become accustomed to seeing their faces at these.
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They're the folks who hold things together during the tougher times in politics.
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But what was most striking to me last weekend was the number of new faces.
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Thousands of people who have never attended a political event in their lives chose to spend hundreds of dollars
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of their hard-earned money and dedicate a weekend to taking part in the AGM.
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And despite the wishful thinking of opponents of the party and the massive turnout of new people to the convention,
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it wasn't inspired by negativity or an intent to oppose the leader.
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Those folks came out to be supportive of the leader and take part in molding the party.
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By the way, lots of people came to greet us at the Western Standard Broadcast booth on the convention floor.
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One who stood out to me was a gentleman who was perhaps in his early 60s.
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He was visibly excited, almost giddy, as he explained how he never realized before
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how he could take part in things like this, and he was ecstatic about being able to contribute.
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This guy's now going to be surely a political junkie for life,
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and I suspect I'll see him attending future events.
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And the hospitality events, you know, suites at these events, they're nothing new,
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but they usually used to be comprised of a pair of adjoining hotel rooms with bathtubs packed with ice and beer.
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Delegates traveled from room to room and enjoyed free eats and drinks from numerous organizations,
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Delegates, they mingled, networked, and bonded.
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And in these suites' first-time convention, attendees discovered that actually politics can be fun at times, too.
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So a lot of them are going to be back, and it's great development.
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Now, unfortunately, last weekend, delegates got to see the uglier side of partisan politics, too.
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Factions predominantly driven by chronically malcontent fringe operators worked their hardest to sow dissent among the membership.
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They distributed fake brochures, implying Daniel Smith was taking part in some Islamic-inspired conspiracy,
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and they managed to get the phone numbers of delegates and harassed them in the night with phone calls claiming to be part of, you know,
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Brochures were put on windshields every hotel in town, claiming Smith was actually being supported by the NDP.
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And ridiculous report cards were handed out, giving Smith a failing grade as a leader.
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All the attempts to undermine Smith still failed dismally, as she garnered 91.5% support from the memberships in that leadership review.
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Members saw through the sleazy tactics and chose to support the leader.
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Legacy media pundits hoping for internal party division, well, they left disappointed.
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Smith has a very solid mandate from her members.
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You see opponents are dismissing the turnout of the AGM as being a tiny minority of Albertans.
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A precedent's been set, and the UCP offered a demonstration of strength unlike any other party has.
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They not only have a massive membership base, but they have an active one.
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The members are willing to participate rather than just talk.
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These are the donors, the door knockers, and the voters who are going to ensure the UCP wins the next election.
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We don't want to presume yet, but it's a pretty darn good start, and it's pretty foolhardy to dismiss them.
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So, I mean, while some of the first-time delegates had a bad taste left in their mouths from the campaign of weasels trying to unseat the leader,
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most still left the convention feeling optimistic and will remain involved.
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And no matter what party stripe one has, they should be impressed and encouraged when grassroots members get up and take part in the process.
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So rather than ignoring the momentum of the UCP and its members, other parties should be studying and learning to emulate them.
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Last weekend's event was a victory for democracy in Alberta.
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I certainly see them as the best party for Alberta, as it says.
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That could change in the course of a few years.
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But what I'm excited about was seeing thousands of people getting together, taking part.
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That's how things get better, no matter what stripe you're at.
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So last weekend, hey, it was a success, and hats off to the UCP organizers and the leader, and, of course, the people who got up and went and took part in it.
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Look forward to seeing them in Edmonton next year as we observe that one.
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And, well, we'll see what is coming up in the party front from then.