In her speech on Tuesday night, Premier Smith said her party is eyeing a bounce-back in Edmonton
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Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party (UCP) believes it is making inroads in Edmonton 11 months after losing its lone seat in Alberta’s capital city.
Premier Danielle Smith hosted a fundraising dinner in Edmonton on Tuesday night that the party says drew around 1,300 people, an increase of 300 over last year and about on par with a parallel event in Calgary held earlier this month.
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Smith told that crowd at the Edmonton Convention Centre that she believes support for her party is growing across the province.
“It’s been almost one year since we turned the tide, reversed what the polls were saying, and performed our little miracle on the prairie together,” she said, echoing a line she delivered in Calgary on election night last year.
“Our government is acting responsibly, defending the interests of everyone in this province, regardless of political stripe, and taking action on what’s truly needed.”
MLA Shane Getson told the crowd that Tuesday night’s event had raised $455,000 for the party, an amount it hoped to grow throughout the evening by a further $100,000 via individual donations.
As a result of last May’s election, the UCP lost its lone Edmonton MLA in former deputy premier and justice minister Kaycee Madu who was defeated by NDP challenger Nathan Ip.
In her speech on Tuesday night, Premier Smith said her party is eyeing a bounce-back in Edmonton.
“For what seems like decades, for some reason, we conservatives conceded the ground,” she said of the city.
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“Edmontonians want safe communities. They want to be able to walk to an Oilers game or take the transit to work without being harassed.”
Smith also cited in her speech her government’s policies regarding public safety, recovery from drug addiction, trans rights, and safe supply.
“Albertans are taking notice and they are continuing to move into our direction.”
She also included several shots at the federal government who had unveiled its new budget earlier in the day.
“I won’t stop defending this province, our people, or our rights as an equal part of Confederation,” she said, before going on to express her optimism at a coming change in government at the federal level.
“Hopefully, in the not-so-distant future we will have a federal government that understands how to build this nation, support each region, support the constitution and aspire us all to reach our full potential.”
Party president Rob Smith said Tuesday’s night’s turnout demonstrated the party’s presence in the city.
“These are all unprecedented numbers and at ticket prices that are also the highest they’ve ever been,” he said.
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“That passion absolutely is rooted in Danielle Smith.”
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He also pointed to the most recent financial figures published by Elections Alberta that showed the party had out-raised its NDP rivals by nearly a million-and-a-half dollars in 2023.
The UCP finished with just over $1 million in the bank compared to the Opposition New Democrats who finished last year with a $623,000 deficit, though the NDP say its election debts have been paid.
“We are feeling very, very positive about where we’re at,” Smith said, noting those figures don’t yet include money raised by riding associations.
“It has underscored the broad support our party has across Alberta.”
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