Ganley tees off on premier for Florida trip
By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on March 28, 2025.
Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
NDP MLA for Calgary-Mountain View Kathleen Ganley said during a Lethbridge visit on Thursday that Premiere Danielle Smith's visit to Florida is problematic for a multitude of reasons.LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com
Kathleen Ganley, NDP MLA for Calgary-Mountain View and a former candidate for leader of the party, was in Lethbridge this week to talk to residents about what the NDP has to offer them.
While in Lethbridge, Ganley sat down with the Herald to talk about a variety of subjects including the proposed changes to auto insurance, Premier Danielle Smith visit to Florida, and the delay in calling a by-election for the riding where Naheed Nenshi is running for.
Talking about the changes to auto insurance, Ganley said the UCP has managed to create “the worst of both worlds.”
“They haven’t move to a public insurance model that will bring down the cost, but at the same time they moved to a no-fault model where if you are injured by the actions of someone else you are not able to sue,” said Ganley.
She added that when people are picking between both systems, they are picking between two good things, but the UCP has taken away all the good things about them and are keeping only the bad, which will result in high costs and no right to sue.
Regarding Smith’s visit to Florida, which Smith has previously claimed to be part of a charm offensive to convince U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to work with Canada, Ganley said what Smith is doing is nothing short of fundraising for right-wing extremists.
“That is very problematic, she keeps trying to claim that she is going down there to go on his show (Ben Shapiro),” said Ganley. “But …she’s fundraising for him and she’s using taxpayer money to go down there.”
The NDP particularly has a problem with the premier using taxpayer money to fundraise for a cause that Smith is apparently committed to personally, with a person (Shapiro) who doesn’t believe that Canada should be a country.
“This is someone who is attacking our country and she hasn’t made any headway,” said Ganley. “She claims that she is trying to get them to get rid of tariffs, but she doesn’t even want them to anymore, she just wants them to delay the tariffs to influence a Canadian federal election.”
She said everything about Smith’s visit to Florida is problematic. The tariffs have the possibility to being incredibly harmful for Canadians, including Albertans, where many could lose their jobs, the cost of living will rise and it will have a massive impact in our economy.
“But rather than being worried about that, we have a Premier that is focused on hobnobbing with people who think we shouldn’t even have a country anymore.”
When talking about the delay in calling a by-election in the Edmonton-Strathcona riding where Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi is running, Ganley said the UCP is holding off because they are scared of having Nenshi in the Legislature.
“They could’ve called the by-election right away, but they have chosen no to,” she said. “Our leader is ready to go, he is excited to go into the House and go toe-to-toe with Smith and hold her to account on many of these things, so they are obviously very scared to have that happen.”
Ganley said the NDP can’t do anything about it as it is at the government’s discretion to call a by-election. The premier left the Calgary-Elbow riding vacant for a year before the 2023 provincial election.
“Because they were worried they were going to lose,” she said. “They left it vacant because for them it’s not about Albertans, it’s about themselves.”
In a hypothetical scenario where the UCP decides to not call a by-election in the Edmonton-Strathcona riding, leaving Nenshi out of the Legislature, Ganley said she would hope to see an increase in public pressure.
“Right now, (the UCP) are not allowing (the voters of Edmonton-Strathcona) to elect a representative to represent them in our democracy, so that is problematic from a public standpoint,” she said, “But they are doing it because they are scared of Naheed Nenshi.”
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Imagine that, dissing no fault insurance, a staple of ICBC in B.C. created by the father of the NDP in BC. Dave Barrett. Is she confused. Please explain how Smith is fundraising for Shapiro and if she is what is your problem, other than ideological disagreement. Who fund raises for you??? Maybe there are many who disagree with the unions fund raising for you!!! There are a few more important things that have come up before Nenshi, i.e. no government in Ottawa supported and held up by your National Leader. The tariff issue, in which Smith has secured a 10% instead of 25% on resources. What would Nenshi have done if he had a seat, roll over??? The usual whining from the NDP, all hat no cattle. Just complain, don’t offer solutions or alternatives.
Rachel Notley banned union and corporate donations to political parties in Alberta. The UCP reversed allowing corporate donations to political parties in Alberta. Who has donated to the UCP? Which wealthy corporations were they that donated to the UCP? Danielle Smith didn’t secure any 10% tariff on resources. All the have done is carry on with the fiscal ineptitude and poor planning that the Alberta PCs, ever since Peter Lougheed was no longer the premier of Alberta. So far, the UCP have made well over $80 billion in very costly debacles and mistakes, and the UCP have also treated the vulnerable, seniors, medical professionals, teachers, students, rural property owners, the environment and democracy in Alberta with disdain.