Premier Danielle Smith took the stage at the Alberta Next panel, only to discover the audience came prepared for blood rather than polite policy chatter. What was billed as a “forward-looking conversation about Alberta’s future” quickly resembled a low-budget gladiator match in a convention centre.
Smith began with optimistic remarks about innovation and energy, but the crowd’s mood soured faster than a rig worker’s lunchbox yogurt. Attendees hurled sharp questions about health care, affordability, and why their utility bills now require financing plans rivaling a car loan.
The Premier tried her trademark mix of folksy reassurance and vague threats about Ottawa, but the audience, equal parts weary, angry, and caffeinated, wasn’t buying. One attendee muttered it felt like “being lectured by a landlord who just raised rent 40%.”
Smith survived without a microphone thrown, but barely. Alberta’s “next” remains uncertain. Smith’s “now,” however, looks distinctly uncomfortable.
