Danielle Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honourable Danielle Smith MLA
Smith in 2014
19th Premier of Alberta
Incumbent
Assumed office October 11, 2022
Monarch	Charles III
Lieutenant Governor	Salma Lakhani
Deputy	Kaycee Madu Nathan Neudorf Mike Ellis
Preceded by	Jason Kenney
Leader of the United Conservative Party
Incumbent
Assumed office October 6, 2022
Preceded by	Jason Kenney
Leader of the Opposition in Alberta
In office April 24, 2012 – December 17, 2014
Premier	Alison Redford Dave Hancock Jim Prentice
Deputy	Rob Anderson
Preceded by	Raj Sherman
Succeeded by	Heather Forsyth
Leader of the Wildrose Party
In office October 17, 2009 – December 17, 2014
Deputy	Rob Anderson
Preceded by	Paul Hinman
Succeeded by	Heather Forsyth (interim)
Parliamentary constituencies Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta Incumbent Assumed office November 8, 2022 Preceded by Michaela Frey Constituency Brooks-Medicine Hat In office April 23, 2012 – May 5, 2015 Preceded by George Groeneveld Succeeded by Wayne Anderson Constituency Highwood
Personal details
Born	Marlaina Danielle Smith (1971-04-01) April 1, 1971 (age 54) Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Political party	United Conservative (since 2017)
Other political affiliations	Progressive Conservative (1998–2009; 2014–2017) Wildrose (2009–2014)
Spouses	Sean McKinsley ​ (divorced)​ David Moretta ​ (m. 2006)​
Residences	High River, Alberta, Canada
Alma mater	University of Calgary
Occupation	Politician journalist

Danielle Smith (born April 1, 1971) is a Canadian politician. She is currently the 19th premier of Alberta and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP). She took on these roles in October 2022.

Smith studied English and economics at the University of Calgary. Before becoming a provincial politician, she worked as a journalist in print, radio, and TV. She also worked for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. In 2009, she became the leader of the Wildrose Party. This party became the Official Opposition after the 2012 Alberta general election. Smith was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Highwood and served as Leader of the Opposition until 2014. She then joined the governing Progressive Conservatives.

Between 2015 and 2022, Smith hosted a talk radio show. When Premier Jason Kenney announced his resignation in May 2022, Smith decided to run for the leadership of the United Conservative Party. She won the leadership election on October 6, 2022. She became premier on October 11 and an MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat on November 8, 2022. Smith led the UCP to win another majority government in the 2023 Alberta general election.

Smith's main goal as premier has been to give Alberta more control over its own affairs. In 2022, her government passed the Alberta Sovereignty Act. This law aims to protect Alberta from federal policies that the province believes are harmful. Her government has also started to explore creating a pension plan just for Alberta residents, separate from the national Canada Pension Plan.

Growing Up in Calgary

Danielle Smith was born in Calgary, Alberta, on April 1, 1971. She is the second of five children. Her father, Doug Smith, worked as an oilfield consultant.

Her family lived in subsidized housing when she was young. To earn money as a student, she worked at McDonald's, a bingo hall, and as a busser in restaurants.

Smith has said her parents were "reliably conservative." She was a member of the Girl Guides of Canada. In 2013, she was featured in a museum exhibit about famous Girl Guides. She also enjoys fantasy novels, like Eragon.

Smith attended the University of Calgary. She earned degrees in English in 1993 and economics in 1995. The university was a lively place for political discussions. She met many future political figures there, including her mentor, Tom Flanagan. She was active in the campus Progressive Conservatives club and became its president.

Early Career in Media and Politics

Starting in Local Politics

In 1998, Smith entered politics by running for the board of trustees for the Calgary Board of Education. She won the election. However, the board faced problems, and the provincial government eventually dismissed the entire board after less than a year.

Smith later said this experience taught her to be more understanding of people with different opinions. After this, she worked to support ranchers and farmers with groups like the Alberta Property Rights Initiative.

Working as a Journalist

After her time on the school board, Smith became a columnist for the Calgary Herald newspaper. She wrote about city issues and health care.

She then became the host of Global Sunday, a national interview show on Global Television. She also hosted two talk radio shows. In 2004, she was named one of Calgary's "Top 40 Under 40."

In 2006, Smith joined the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. She became a provincial director for Alberta.

Entering Provincial Politics (2009–2015)

Leading the Wildrose Party

In 2009, Smith left the Progressive Conservative Party and joined the Wildrose Alliance. She felt the Progressive Conservative government was spending too much.

Later that year, Smith was asked to run for the leadership of the Wildrose Party. She was elected leader on October 17, 2009. Under her leadership, support for the Wildrose Party grew. She even convinced some members of the Progressive Conservative party to join the Wildrose Party.

Smith in 2012

The 2012 Election

Before the 2012 Alberta general election, many thought Smith might become the first woman to lead a party to victory in Alberta. Polls showed the Wildrose Party could win against the Progressive Conservatives.

However, the Wildrose Party won 17 seats and became the Official Opposition. Smith was elected to the Legislature for Highwood. The Wildrose Party did not win many seats in the big cities like Calgary and Edmonton.

Joining the Progressive Conservatives

Smith and Jim Prentice announcing that she and eight other Wildrose MLAs would be joining the Progressive Conservatives.

In 2014, after the previous premier left, Jim Prentice became the new Progressive Conservative leader and premier. His party won several by-elections.

On December 17, 2014, Smith announced that she and eight other Wildrose MLAs were joining the Progressive Conservatives. This move, called "crossing the floor," meant they left their old party to join the governing party. Smith said she felt she had a lot in common with Premier Prentice on money matters. She believed it made more sense to work with the government than to oppose it. She later apologized for not talking to Albertans before making this big decision.

Smith tried to get the Progressive Conservative nomination to run in Highwood again, but she was not chosen.

Time Outside of Politics (2015–2022)

Talk Radio Host

After leaving provincial politics, Smith hosted a talk radio show on CHQR in Calgary. She left her show in February 2021.

In July 2021, Smith wrote an article supporting Jason Kenney's plan for a referendum on equalization payments.

Working as a Lobbyist

In June 2019, Smith registered as a lobbyist for the Alberta Enterprise Group. She was also the president of this group. She worked to influence the provincial government on behalf of businesses.

Premier of Alberta (2022–present)

Becoming UCP Leader

On May 18, 2022, Smith announced she would run for the leadership of the United Conservative Party of Alberta. This happened after Premier Jason Kenney resigned. Smith was seen as a strong candidate among party members.

A key part of Smith's campaign was her idea for an Alberta Sovereignty Act. This proposal aimed to give Alberta more independence within Canada. It suggested that the provincial legislature could decide to ignore federal laws that it felt interfered with Alberta's powers.

On October 6, Smith won the UCP leadership vote. She became the premier-designate. She was sworn in as the 19th premier on October 11, 2022. Since she was not a member of the Legislative Assembly at the time, she ran in a by-election for the seat of Brooks-Medicine Hat. She won this by-election on November 8, 2022.

First Term as Premier

After becoming premier, Smith stated that her government would not bring in any more rules to control the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta. She also said that people who chose not to get vaccinated should be protected.

In October 2022, Smith announced that Alberta would leave the World Economic Forum Global Coalition for Value in Healthcare. She said she did not want to work with a group that talked about controlling governments.

In December 2022, the legislature passed the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act. This law was a key promise from her leadership campaign.

In May 2023, large wildfires spread across Alberta, and the province declared a state of emergency. Questions were raised about cuts to the firefighting budget by the UCP government.

The 2023 Election and Beyond

In the May 2023 Alberta general election, Smith led the UCP to win a second majority government. They defeated the Alberta New Democratic Party led by Rachel Notley. The election was very close and intense. Smith was re-elected in her own riding.

The UCP won most of the seats outside of Edmonton and Calgary. Smith became the third woman to lead a party to victory in an Alberta general election.

In November 2024, Smith won a leadership review by UCP members with a strong majority of the vote.

Electoral History

2023 General Election

2022 By-election

2022 United Conservative Leadership Election

2012 General Election

2009 Wildrose Leadership Election