Red Deer crowd backs CPP and RCMP exit, but Edmonton turnout pushes back on Smith's key proposals
Calls for Alberta to exit the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and establish a provincial police force drew both strong support and vocal opposition during the first two Alberta Next town halls led by Premier Danielle Smith.
At the Red Deer session, according to CBC News, roughly 80 percent of attendees supported both proposals when polled by Smith’s emcee Bruce McAllister.
However, the Edmonton town hall one day later revealed sharper divisions.
While a show of hands again indicated majority support, more than one-third of attendees openly challenged the panel’s recommendations, including speakers who urged the premier to abandon the pension idea altogether.
One Edmonton speaker, identified as Todd, said, “I can stick with the [Canadian Pension Plan], which is one of the most effective things in the world, or I can gamble with you idiots.”
Smith has framed the panel’s mission around exploring Alberta’s autonomy, including control over tax collection, immigration, and benefits administration.
These themes were introduced through government-produced videos at both events.
As reported by CBC News, one video proposed withholding provincial social programs from non-citizens or those without Alberta-approved immigration status — a proposal Smith later defended as an attempt to manage pressure on housing and social services.
Panel member Sumita Anand added, “Please instruct us to put reasonable check stops … so that we can make a better future for our children and our grandchildren here.”
Immigration drew criticism at both events.
According to The Globe and Mail, anthropology professor Jennifer Long questioned the premier’s priorities, asking why empty housing stock wasn’t being brought to market instead of restricting newcomers.
Another attendee accused the panel of “punching down on immigrants,” which Smith denied.
Some participants warned the information provided was slanted.
A Lacombe attendee said the government’s surveys and videos did not reflect broad public opinion and were skewed toward certain outcomes.
Outside the Red Deer venue, Heather Plaizier held a protest sign and said, “I feel like there’s kind of a set agenda and it doesn’t matter what we say.”
Still, Smith acknowledged the strong local appetite for constitutional reform.
At both events, several speakers called for Alberta to reopen the Constitution or hold a referendum on separation.
Smith initially appeared open to the idea, stating in Red Deer, “There is a real appetite to fix some of these things that are just foundational.”
However, by the end of the event, she added, “We know that once you open that up, you could end up having provinces stuff a bunch of things in there that we would have to compromise too much in order to agree to.”
According to CBC News, the panel’s six official videos took up more than 30 minutes of the two-and-a-half-hour Red Deer session.
The remainder was used for open-floor discussions, where attendees also debated equalization transfers, Quebec’s natural gas revenues, and Alberta’s treatment within Confederation.
A speaker from Stettler said Alberta should use a referendum as political leverage: “If they do not know that we are serious and we can leave at any point in time, we will not ever get a pipeline to the Atlantic Ocean.”
Smith’s office stated that over 450 people attended in Red Deer, with more than 30,000 tuning in online. Edmonton drew a reported 500 attendees.
According to The Globe and Mail, Smith’s team restricted reporters from speaking with attendees during the Red Deer event and limited camera access.
Reactions from political opponents were also swift.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi, speaking earlier in Red Deer, described the town halls as a “sham,” and said Smith’s panel was “conjuring up unreliable data to support things her government already wants to do.”
The Alberta Next tour continues with eight more stops, including Fort McMurray, Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Airdrie, Grande Prairie, Calgary, and a third return visit to Edmonton.
Smith’s office has said the panel will supplement town hall feedback with further public opinion polling.
