The UCP party board supports Alberta separation.
Claimed by: CBC News investigation, May–June 2026; separatist rally and party social media
Needs context: Accurate as written, but a key piece of context changes how it reads. How we rate.
Summary
Several elected United Conservative Party board members attended a large separatist rally at the legislature in fall 2025, and at least two current directors later gave interviews expressing personal support for Alberta independence. Party president Rob Smith said in May 2026 that the party would not take an official position on the October referendum, and on Facebook he welcomed board members' attendance at the rally. That is real evidence of separatist sympathy among some board members and other senior party organizers. It is not the same as the board adopting separation as party policy. Premier Danielle Smith said she speaks for the party and, after a public dispute with the president, the UCP issued a statement reaffirming a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada. The party's published statement of principles does not explicitly mention loyalty to Canada. Stating flatly that the board supports separation overstates a mixed picture of individual views, internal dispute, and a restated federalist party line from leadership.
Evidence
CBC reported that six elected UCP board directors posed at a fall 2025 separatist rally, that party president Rob Smith said seven of 18 board members attended and that he was glad they were there, and that directors Samantha Steinke and Vicki Kozmak-LeFrense later expressed personal support for independence in interviews.
Smith told CBC Radio in May 2026 that he would have attended the rally had he not had a wedding booked, and said the party would not take an official referendum position because members are split on both sides.
After Premier Danielle Smith overrode the president on May 27, 2026, the UCP issued a statement saying the party, caucus, and government believe in a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada and that this has always been the party position.