UCP general meeting kicks off in Calgary with high turnout, questions of unity

A strikingly large crowd streamed into Calgary's BMO Centre on Friday afternoon for the first day of the United Conservative Party's annual general meeting, expected to be a crucial weekend to gauge party unity in light of the involvement of the social conservative group Take Back Alberta.

Friday was a chance for attendees to get oriented, and to vote on less dramatic governance resolutions — such as whether leadership reviews should take place two years instead of three after an election, and whether paper membership cards could be issued to party members. Both of those did not pass.

But most of the fireworks will come on Saturday, with controversial policy resolutions to be voted on and board elections to be held.

Political watchers are paying close attention to see how this weekend's meeting, the second under Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, will be received by the crowd of at least 3,728, a figure the party says is the largest in Alberta's history. The UCP's founding convention in 2018 drew around 2,500 members.

Many attending for the first time

As the doors opened to the event centre, members filed into the meeting hall along stanchions divided by black curtains. Many in this line said they were attending a political AGM for the first time, and many said it was the efforts of the social conservative group Take Back Alberta that had drawn them there. 

Some still expressed grudges over how pandemic-era policies were handled by government, while others said they were here to weigh in on policies tied to the economy.

"I guess we tend to be Take Back Alberta people, but we'll see. I hope the people who work in there really do unify," said first-time attendee Verlin Rau.

"I want to see what they're doing on things like policy and governance, and things like that," said Tom Howard, another attendee in line.

A short walk away, in Stampede Park's Big Four Roadhouse, tables clad with black cloth were littered with pamphlets and handouts from party board hopefuls.

"There's a lot of talk about party unity. How do we build unity? By building trust," read one printed on yellow paper.

These normally sleepy elections have drawn increased attention this year due to Take Back Alberta's goal of taking a majority of the board for the stated reason of guaranteeing grassroots representation in government.

David Parker, the group's leader, was visible on the meeting floor on Friday. The night prior to the event, he wrote on X, previously Twitter, that this weekend would begin "a new age in Alberta."

"After this AGM, the grassroots of the UCP will be in charge," he wrote. "Those who do not listen to the grassroots or attempt to thwart their involvement in the decision making process, will be removed from power."

Social issues clearly front-of-mind

On stage in the Big Four Roadhouse, sessions with provincial ministers were underway even as registrants in the BMO Hall waited in line.

The sessions, focused on crime, energy and the environment, kicked off with a talk from Energy and Minerals Minister Brian Jean and Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz. Their efforts talking up Alberta's opposition to federal net-zero rules and to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were warmly received by the party faithful.

"Smith is gonna kick some butt," Jean said, referring to the prime minister.

But where the crowd really came alive was during the question-and-answer sessions with Jean and Schulz, and with Minister of Justice Mickey Amery and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis. During one of those portions, an attendee referenced what they said were pressing issues of gender and sexuality in schools, something often referenced by Take Back Alberta leader Parker and others as "parental rights." 

The crowd loudly applauded those sentiments. Requiring the written consent of parents whenever a student under 16 wants to change their name or pronouns at school is one of many controversial party positions reflected amongst the 30 policy resolutions that will be voted on by party members on Saturday.

Other resolutions include prohibiting the implementation of so-called '15-minute cities,' ending funding for supervised consumption sites and opposing net-zero power rules in Canada by 2035.

Party resolutions are brought forward by party members and are non-binding, but they do provide grassroots direction on what it thinks the government's policies should be.

Mixed views on unity

Talk to people ordering tacos from food trucks outside the Big Four Roadhouse, or party members lingering in the hallways, and opinions vary on how much unity there is currently in the party.

Many, including those affiliated with Take Back Alberta, say they think Smith is equipped to help keep people across the conservative spectrum together.

Others aren't so thrilled with the influx of members from Take Back Alberta and its implications for party policy moving forward. Denise Hamilton, a director with the Calgary-Beddington constituency association, said she would welcome the members as friendly members of the UCP, but didn't want them to take over the party.

"We can't just go one way or the other. You tip the scales, and you're way off balance. So it worries me, worries me a lot," Hamilton said. "If they had just wanted to come and run for each board, and just like the rest of us, want to do the hard work — sure, please join us. 

"But if you came in here, just to take us over, because you have your own agenda, and you don't want to fit in with the regular agenda, then I'm not with that."

Such dynamics are likely to continue on Saturday, when most of the action is scheduled to take place. Speeches from candidates running for seats on the party's board will begin early in the morning, and voting will take place until 2 p.m. Smith will also deliver her keynote address on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.