They ousted Kenney. Now they want to oust Smith.

MEDICINE HAT — On Wednesday evening approximately 200 people met in Medicine Hat to hear a pitch that organizers made no effort to disguise: buy a United Conservative Party (UCP) membership, show up to the annual general meeting, and vote in candidates who support Alberta independence.

The crowd was overwhelmingly white, about 90% were over 50. A prayer opened the meeting with an intention to "bring this country back to you (God)." A number wore blue t-shirts emblazoned with "Faith, Family, Freedom." Separatist merch was available for purchase.

The central message, repeated by multiple speakers, was straightforward: the path to an independent Alberta runs through commandeering the existing United Conservative Party from within.

A proposed new federal party

Drew Barnes, the former Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA who was kicked out of the UCP caucus in 2023, spoke first at Wednesday's meeting, promoting a new federal party called "Alberta Now."

In a direct conversation with the Owl, Barnes said he had collected roughly 125 of the 250 signatures required by Elections Canada to register a new federal party.

He said he wanted to get 500 signatures so he could be sure that at least 250 were eligible or confirmed.

He plans to file the paperwork when he reaches that threshold.

Barnes described the party as modelled on the Bloc Québécois — fielding candidates only in Alberta's 37 federal ridings, advocating for provincial autonomy and lower taxes within Confederation, not separation.

The 50 per cent tax claim and what wasn't said

At the meeting, Barnes repeated a claim that Albertans pay a "50 per cent tax rate," a figure that applies only to the top tax bracket.

Fact Check

The highest level of federal taxes (33%) only applies to those with a taxable income of over $258,492.

The highest provincial rate (15%) only applies to those with a taxable income of over $370,220 .

The average annual total income per household in Alberta is about $120,000 which is not going to get taxed at the same rate as the high earners.

Barnes also pointed to U.S. states that produce oil and gas and have no state income tax as a model for Alberta.

There was no mention of the fact that those states lack universal healthcare. There are eight states with no state tax on earned wages, pensions, or retirement accounts. Washington state does levy a capital gains tax on certain high earners, but regular wages are not taxed. Five states have no statewide sales tax.

What Barnes did not mention: property taxes are higher in some of these states, plus sales taxes which Alberta currently does not have.

The Valleyview connection

Among those pushing UCP memberships was Nathan Steinke, who works for Todd Loewen, the UCP MLA for Central Peace-Notley and a former leadership rival to Smith. Steinke's wife Samantha is a town councillor in Valleyview, a town of just under 1800 people, and a UCP vice-president for communications.

Steinke's involvement in the Valleyview library controversy was documented by CBC's The Fifth Estate and the B.C.-based Freedom of Information and Privacy Association. In January, the library board moved to hire a corporate secretary to help ensure Robert's Rules of Order were followed. Steinke was hired for the role. He was reportedly at the library's open house on February 2 as a public member, though not an active library user. At that session, he expressed views that indicate his understanding of a library is grounded in the 19th century — for example, that a library is only for books.

According to the library's plan of service for 2024 to 2026 — which states that after assessing community needs — the library's areas of focus are to provide a comfortable space, stimulate imagination and satisfy curiosity, encourage information fluency, make informed decisions, and provide life skills for children and youth and celebrating diversity.

At Wednesday's meeting, Steinke pushed hard for people to sign up for UCP memberships so they could go to the AGM and vote their people in.

The Push to stack the Deck

Mitch Sylvestre, CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project has reportedly said he wants nothing to do with starting a new party. The plan is to get independent-minded MLAs nominated and to get UCP boards "over the line."

The math is simple: 22 of 87 constituency associations must request a special meeting for a leadership review. Sylvestre predicted she would struggle to reach 60 per cent support, down from the 91.5 per cent she received in 2024.

Speakers referenced David Parker and "Take Back Alberta," expressing disappointment that the people who did get seats on the provincial board did not produce the results they had hoped.

Sylvestre said he played a major role in getting Danielle Smith elected. He now appears to want her gone.

The last time a Conservative premier was re-elected was Alison Redford back in 2012. The conservatives, whether they were PC or UCP, have not been able to re-elect a premier. Every conservative premier since Ralph Klein have served less than 5 years.

The tactical logic of infiltration

Why not simply build a separatist party from scratch? The answer lies in Alberta's electoral history.

When the conservative vote has fractured — as it did in 2015, when the Wildrose and Progressive Conservatives split the right — the NDP won government with 40 per cent of the popular vote.

A dedicated separatist party would likely capture only the 20 to 35 per cent of Albertans who polling suggests support independence.

That is not enough to win a general election, but it is more than enough to hand one to the NDP.

By working through the UCP's nomination and board infrastructure, separatists can leverage the party's brand, donor lists, and organizational machinery — assets that a new party would take years and millions to build.

Mail-in voting and the "passport to vote" suggestion

The meeting also featured discussion about the integrity of mail-in voting. Sylvestre questioned how the province would verify the identities of the roughly 600,000 Albertans he claimed had applied for special ballots.

Elections Alberta has said that all special ballot applications are manually checked against the voter registration database, and that voters must include a copy of government-issued ID with their returned ballots. The claim that mail-in voting is "open to anybody" has been fact-checked and debunked; applications from out-of-province addresses are denied.

Sylvestre suggested that voters should have to use their passport to vote, saying that anybody could get an Alberta driver's licence and it was not hard to get a passport. A five-year passport costs $122.50 and takes 20 business days to process — it is unlikely that an application filed now would be returned in time for the October 19 referendum.

"We're not going to stop"

Sylvestre said they would not stop their campaign even if the October 19 referendum does not go their way.

The UCP's next annual convention is scheduled for November 27-29 in Calgary. Early bird tickets (without lunch) can be had for $199; after October 15 it will cost $399. Non-member observers pay $999.

Members must attend in person to be eligible to vote. Memberships must be purchased by November 6 to be eligible to vote.

Speakers stressed that for regional board representation, only the people that live in that area can vote. There are five regions — Edmonton, North, South, Calgary, Central. Only those who live in the Edmonton area can vote for the Edmonton representative, only those in the north can vote for the North representative, and so on.

The Referendum

The Referendum is October 19 2026. Advance polls are open from Oct 13-17 inclusive.

Check where to vote here.

Mitch Sylvestre wants another premier gone