Alberta premier suggests Mark Carney has issues with strong conservative women
By Canadian Press on April 7, 2025.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith responded Monday to Liberal Leader Mark Carney using her as a stump speech punchline, saying Carney has issues with assertive women of opposing ideologies.
“I’ve noticed this with progressive men and how much they talk about how much they support women until they meet a strong conservative woman,” Smith said in Edmonton, responding to questions at an unrelated news conference.
“This is a pretty consistent type of approach that I’ve seen, not only from the current prime minister, but the former one as well.”
The spat is the latest chapter of acrimony between Smith and Carney, whose relationship soured almost immediately after he was sworn in last month as prime minister.
On the stump in Victoria on the weekend, Carney joked about Canadian premiers appearing on Fox News, the conservative U.S media outlet, saying it would be a “bad idea” to put Smith on the network to advocate for cross-border diplomacy.
“We’re sending (Ontario Premier) Doug Ford on to Fox News to show them that we’re not messing around up here,” Carney said.
“And we’re going to send Danielle next, we’re … well, no, maybe we won’t send Danielle,” the Liberal leader said. “No, maybe we won’t. We won’t send Danielle. We’re going to keep her. No, it was a bad idea.”
Smith’s comments hearken back to a recent speech in the legislature in which she suggested criticism of her efforts to curtail U.S. tariffs is rooted in sexism.
“They want this lady and Alberta to just sit down and shut up,” Smith told Alberta legislators in late March.
As the election campaign nears the midpoint, Carney’s Liberal party has mined from Smith comments. It recently published an ad featuring her comments that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre would be “very much in sync” with America’s direction under President Donald Trump. Smith on Monday said Poilievre and Trump’s alignment is a question for Poilievre to answer, adding she doesn’t see parallels between the two.
“I’m focused on provincial politics and provincial policy, and I let the two political leaders who are front-runners battle it out with themselves,” Smith said.
The relationship has been frosty from the start.
Prior to election call, during Carney’s first week as prime minister, they met in Edmonton, but no customary photo of the two was taken.
Shortly after the meeting, Smith laid out a list of demands for the next federal government and threatened a national unity crisis if they’re not met.
Smith has expressed frustration with Carney’s unwillingness to end the proposed cap on oil and gas emissions. Carney publicly said in his Alberta visit that he wasn’t in favour of the cap, and has since confirmed his government would keep it.
Discussions around western grievances have gained steam as polls show the Liberals remain competitive under Carney.
Former federal Reform Party leader Preston Manning wrote in the Globe and Mail last week that a Carney government would fuel a western secession movement. Recent polls suggest minority support in the province for severing Alberta’s relationship with Canada.
Responding to a question about Manning’s piece, Smith said there’s frustration among Albertans with the past decade of Liberal governance and she has committed to a “What’s Next” panel if her pre-election demands aren’t met six months after the April 28 federal vote.
Smith has said she isn’t advocating for separation, but has noted there is a citizen-led process for initiating referendums.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2025.
Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press
24-23
What do you expect from a Globalist and also part of the ‘old boys club’! They haven’t changed much!
Ask the Brits how much respect they have for Mark Carney!
He has yet to shed his facade and when it comes off, after the election, people will be as dismayed with him as the MAGA crowd who are now realizing they voted for the wrong person.
If the Liberals would have been focused on Canada, and Canadian issues, instead of Global issues and funding other countries, telling them how they should be governing and alienating some of our allies as Trudeau did, then we wouldn’t need anyone going into the US to protect their provincial economies! The Liberals have failed most of the provinces for years, favouring Quebec, Ontario and BC!
The Liberals are the reason we find ouselves in this tariff war with the US! They would not listen to concerns from NATO and other allies and always assumed the US would protect the Arctic and other areas, which are Canadian sovereign territory and Canada should have protected. The Liberals bankrupt our military to a point we cannot even defend our own soil of attacked, and send our troops abroad ill-equipped to perform their duties while other nations in the coalition with them have better equipment, equipment made in Canada . . . that’s right, kit made here, but our own troops were not supplied that kit!
The Liberals allowed the cartels and organized crime to flourish in Canada, building drug labs that ship internationally, especially to Australia and New Zealand where they get premium prices for their drugs! Canada was allowed to become organized crime’s money laundering wonderland, which also help inflate real estate prices . . .hence rent prices, contributing to the housing crisis.
That is the Liberals doing!
If the Liberals governed with true leadership and concern for Canada and Canadians, we would not be facing a debt wall after they almost doubled our National Debt in just a few years, an increase of debt never before seen in Canada!
The list goes on and on . . . yet this smug World Economic Forum, Net Zero, Globalist ‘caretaker’ PM Carney, who has not been elected, a PM China is trying to get elected as we just saw in the news, has the right to attack our Premier for trying to protect our biggest provincial GDP of $140 billion per year, our oil and gas industry by using diplomatic efforts, as opposed to counter attacking, which only hurts Canadians economically further, and causes Trump to bring even more tariffs against our country . . . has the lack of wisdom and understanding and attacks our Premier!
If you have to attack our Premier so you can gain more votes, it shows that the Liberals lack integrity and do not have merit to win on their own, so they need to use deviance and attacks on others to win.
But then again, there doesn’t appear to be much integrity left in Ottawa!
You mentioned the word Liberals 8 times in this mess.
Maybe your time would be better spent attacking an over easy egg, rather than “themLibs”.
Myopic nonsense, this.
“The Liberals are the reason we find ourselves in this tariff war.” Really? REALLY?
Trump has announced tariffs on approximately 90 countries – 90 COUNTRIES! I guess those darn Liberals get around.
Diversity – Equity – Inclusivity.
I guess Smith is for it (when it is convenient)?
Maybe He has issues with conspiracy believing , incompetent loony tunes .