Danielle Smith is a Canadian politician and former journalist. On 31 March 2022, Smith announced her intention to run for the leadership of the United Conservative Party. On November 8, 2022, she became the MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat.
Danielle Smith Personal Life
Danielle Smith was born on 1st April 1971 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She has four siblings. She got her name after the song Marlena by The Four Seasons.
Her paternal great-grandfather was Philipus Kolodnicki, whose name was anglicized as “Philip Smith” when he arrived in Canada. In October 2022, she claimed that Kolodnicki left Ukraine after the First World War, which ended in 1918, to escape communism. Kolodnicki listed his country of origin as Austria and his race as Ruthenian, referring to the ancestors of modern Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Ruthenians.
As of 2012, Danielle claimed to have Cherokee roots through her great-grandmother, Mary Frances Crowe. Danielle also claimed that Crowe was part of the Trail of Tears and forcibly moved to Kansas in the 1830s.
The university had a strong political scene that crossed the political spectrum when she was a student, including fellow students Ezra Levant and Naheed Nenshi. She was active in the campus Progressive Conservatives and was later elected president of the club. She was also involved in political campaigning.
After completing her major in English, she began working as a waitress and as an extra in movie and TV productions.
Danielle Smith Career
Media
In 1998, Smith entered politics when she became a member of the Calgary Board of Education. She won, but less than a year later the president complained that the board was dysfunctional. In response, county Education Minister Lyle Oberg fired the entire board after 11 months in office. Smith endorsed Ted Morton in the PC leadership election in 2006. Morton lost to Ed Stelmach, and Smith became increasingly disillusioned with what she described as Stelmach’s “free-spending ways”. Smith cited the 2008 provincial budget as the turning point, arguing that the Stelmach government had “lost its way.”
After serving as a school board trustee, Smith joined the Calgary Herald as an editorial columnist. Her column covered city halls and health care reform, but she also ventured into provocative topics. In 2003, she wrote a column supporting the legalization of sex work and proposed the creation of a light district in Calgary.
That same year, she wrote that smoking cigarettes can “reduce the risk of disease.” She then hosted Charles Adler on the national current affairs show Global Sunday, Global Television’s Sunday Afternoon Interview. She also hosted two radio programs focused on health policy and property rights. She met her second husband, David Moretta, who was then an executive producer at Global and continued as a former executive producer at Sun Media. Smith was hired by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business in 2006 and became the provincial director for Alberta.
In June 2019, Smith registered as a lobbyist with the Alberta Enterprise Group, an organization Smith is also president. At the time, Smith lobbied the county government for the RStar program on behalf of the industry.
Politics
Smith left the PC Party in 2009 and joined the Wildrose Alliance. The Tories sent MLA Rob Anderson, one of the more conservative members of their party, to speak about Smith. Years later, Smith recalled Anderson telling him that despite the Conservatives’ reckless spending and unwillingness to listen to opponents, they were the only credible center-right party in the province. Smith refused to stay, saying there was no hope of restoring Alberta’s fiscal sanity under the Conservatives and that the Wildrose was the only credible option to elect a fiscally conservative government. As for her concerns, she told Anderson: “This (Conservative) government is beyond redemption. It’s out of control.” For much of the time leading up to the 2012 provincial election, Smith appeared poised to become the first woman to lead a party to victory in an Alberta election.
Many opinion polls showed that the Wildrose party could defeat the ruling Progressive Conservatives, also led by a woman, Premier Alison Redford. The PCs have ruled the province since 1971, the longest uninterrupted period of rule at the provincial level. The Wildrose Party won 34.3% of the vote in 17 seats, taking official opposition status from the Liberal Party of Alberta. Smith was elected to the legislature that same day from Highwood, south of Calgary, defeating John Barlow, editor of the Okotoks Western Wheel magazine.
Political experts said the Wildrose lost his lead over the Progressive Conservatives in the primary after Smith defended two Wildrose candidates who made controversial remarks. Allan Hunsperger, a candidate in the riding of Edmonton, wrote a blog post arguing that gay people will end up in a “lake of fire” if they don’t abandon their lifestyle. Ron Leech claimed he has a leg up in the Calgary riding because he is white. According to the National Post, the extreme views of Hunsperger and Leech and Smith’s refusal to condemn them cost him the opportunity to let Redford go.
In the end, the Wildrose lost ground, largely because it could not gain a foothold in urban areas. It only won two seats in Calgary and was completely shut out in Edmonton. Reviewing election results at the 2012 Wildrose AGM, Smith recommended suspending candidates who do not respectfully express their views in future elections. Smith asked members to adopt a forward-looking political platform for the next election. When Redford left politics in the spring of 2014 amid corruption allegations, Smith’s Wildrose Party was initially the biggest beneficiary. But that momentum stalled when former federal cabinet minister Jim Prentice became PC leader and prime minister.
Under Prentice, the PCs held four by-elections in October. Smith suffered another blow at the Wildrose convention when a vote on an anti-discrimination resolution she strongly supported was taken while she was out of the room. On 17 December 2014, Smith announced that she, deputy leader Rob Anderson and seven other Wildrose MLAs would cross the floor to join the PCs. Smith criticized two other Wildrose MLAs who went to PCs a month earlier; she publicly announced that “there are no more floor crossings”. However, it was later revealed that Smith and Prentice had been in talks about a possible merger for several months.
Okotoks Councilwoman Carrie Fischer defeated Smith in her bid to become the PC candidate in Highwood on March 28, 2015. Smith’s defeat was handed to her crossing the floor, which angered many in her riding. Fischer then lost to Wildrose candidate Wayne Anderson in the general election.
On 31 March 2022, Smith announced her intention to run for the leadership of the United Conservative Party. Following Premier Jason Kenney’s resignation announcement on May 18, Smith announced her campaign in the leadership election scheduled for October 6. Smith’s campaign received national attention, particularly her proposals to expand Alberta’s autonomy. On October 6, Smith won the UCP leadership election, defeating six other candidates in the second round. In the sixth and final round of voting, she was declared the winner with 53 percent of the vote, defeating former Treasury Secretary Travis Toews. On November 8, 2022, she became the MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat.
Radio
From time to time, Smith continued to host talk radio on CHQR in Calgary. On 11 January 2021, she announced that she was leaving her talk show and Twitter, citing attacks by Twitter trolls on 19 February 2021. After becoming Prime Minister, it was revealed that she had commented on Locals.com on 29 April. live coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Smith defended the peace plan between Russia and Ukraine and supported Ukraine’s neutrality. She also removed posts in March that questioned whether Ukraine’s breakaway regions should govern independently and whether NATO played a role in the invasion. She was referring to a conspiracy theory promoted by Tucker Carlson that there are “secret US-funded biolabs” in Ukraine.
On October 16, she issued a statement saying she “stands with the Ukrainian people” and advocates diplomacy “to save millions of Ukrainian lives”. In July 2021, Smith wrote an opinion piece supporting Jason Kenney’s October 18, 2021 equalization fee referendum.
Premier of Alberta
In May 2022, Smith announced that she would launch a campaign to lead the United Conservative Party of Alberta following the resignation of current premier and UCP leader Jason Kenney. According to an internal poll released to the Calgary Sun, Smith was considered the front-runner among party members in the race to replace Kenney. On 6 October, Smith won the UCP leadership vote in the sixth ballot with 53.77% of the vote, becoming the prime ministerial candidate. She was sworn in as the 19th Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Relations on 11 October. Smith’s campaign was $26,792 short after spending $1,389,829 on a successful campaign.
After being sworn in as premier, Smith said she would not take additional measures to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta. He also said that unvaccinated people should be protected under the Alberta Human Rights Act; referring to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. On October 24, Smith withdrew Alberta from the World Economic Forum’s Global Health Coalition. Because Smith was not a member of the Legislative Assembly when he became premier, she ran in the November 8, 2022 by-election in Brooks-Medicine Hat in southern Alberta. Incumbent UCP MLA Michaela Frey has resigned. shortly after Smith was elected leader and prime minister and encouraged Smith to run.
Multi-year congress in Westminster systems requires incumbents who are safely in power to step down so that a newly elected leader can enter parliament. Smith won the by-election with 54.5 percent of the vote. Alberta’s ethics commissioner opened an investigation into Smith in April 2023 for her alleged obstruction of justice. Smith has previously promised amnesty for those guilty of COVID-19 crimes and said she is in regular communication with Crown prosecutors.
Danielle Smith Business
Danielle along with her husband David owns and runs The Dining Car, a fully renovated 1940s railcar dining car.
Danielle Smith Education
Danielle completed her schooling at a local school. Later, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Economics from the University of Calgary.
Danielle Smith Relationship
Danielle was previously married to Sean McKinsley, the two met during political campaigning, but things did not go well so they decided to part ways. Later in 2006, she got married to David Moretta. Danielle does not have any kids of her own but she is the stepmother of David’s son Jonathan.
Danielle Smith Net Worth
Danielle has a net worth of $5 million. She has gathered her fortune by having a long career previously in journalism and now in politics.
Latest News About Danielle Smith
Danielle Smith nods as she listens to a naturopathic talk
A naturopath presents his thoughts on cancer patients and how conventional medicine treats them. Smith agrees with Guest that doctors are not doing enough to promote disease prevention, saying that if a person comes into the hospital with stage 4 cancer, they need to consider “everything that was created before you got to stage 4” because “It’s all in your control.”
Danielle Smith Instagram Account
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Danielle Smith Physical Stats
| Weight | 58 kg |
| Height | 5 feet 7 in |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Eye Color | Brown |
Danielle Smith Wiki/Bio
| Name | Danielle Smith |
| Full name | Marlaina Danielle Smith |
| Date of Birth | 1st April 1971 |
| Age | 52 (as of 2023) |
| Birthplace | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Ethnicity | Cherokee |
| Zodiac Sign | Aries |
| Profession | politician and former journalist |
| Political Party | United Conservative Party |
| Parents | N/A |
| Siblings | 4 siblings |
| Spouse | David Moretta (m. 2006) |
| Children | Jonathan |
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