EDMONTON—Danielle Smith, Alberta’s new premier-designate, could soon have a seat in the Legislative Assembly after one UCP MLA resigned and offered Smith her seat.
Among the seven candidates running to be leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) and Alberta premier, Smith was the only one not currently a sitting MLA. She won the race on Thursday night on the sixth ballot with 53.8 percent of the votes, beating out former Premier Jason Kenney’s finance minister Travis Toews who placed second with 46.2 percent.
Smith will run in the open seat in Brooks-Medicine Hat, sources who ran her leadership campaign confirmed to The Epoch Times on Friday.
There’s also an open seat in Calgary-Elbow, but Smith told CBC’s Power and Politics she’d prefer to represent a rural riding to show the importance of their representation in the legislature.
UCP MLA Michaela Frey said on Friday morning she provided her resignation to Smith, Speaker of the House Nathan Cooper, and the clerk of the assembly.
“I look forward to what comes next and encourage [Danielle Smith] to run in Brooks-Medicine Hat,” she wrote on Twitter.
“Our community would be well served by her leadership & representation.”
In 2019, Frey won her seat with 60.7 percent of the votes, followed by the NDP candidate with 17.9 percent.
Smith has said she’ll be looking to gain a seat in the legislature in a byelection ahead of Alberta’s next general election against Rachel Notley’s NDP in spring 2023.
