Alberta Premier Danielle Smith urged her progressive counterparts to reflect on their aggressive rhetoric after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Smith is among Canada’s premiers currently participating in the 2024 Council of the Federation, a biannual meeting attended by provincial and territorial leaders to promote cooperation.
“I’m glad that we’re beginning to see that they’ve recognized that things have gone too far. The way in which Conservative politicians have been characterized is outrageous, and I think led to the culture that we’ve seen in the U.S.,” said Smith.
“I certainly hope that some of the progressive politicians here are careful of their language because they’ve been talking about Conservative politicians in the same way, and they need to dial it down,” she added.
Smith was asked to provide examples of what kind of framing would be deemed outrageous.
“Have you not looked at the headlines about how Pierre Poilievre is described as dangerous? How the leader of the opposition in Alberta has described me as dangerous? When you start using that kind of rhetoric, that ends up creating an elevated risk for all of us,” she said.
The Alberta premier said that while political disagreements occur, leaders should focus on the issues. She said that’s what she enjoyed about the Council of the Federation, that politicians from different parties can come together and find areas of agreement.
Before the council’s summer meeting began, the premiers sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday, pleading for unification between the premiers and the federal government.
“To revive the collaborative spirit of the federation, we urge the federal government to refrain from unilateral actions in areas of provincial and territorial jurisdiction, particularly in health care, education, and housing,” reads the letter. “We urge you and your cabinet colleagues to seize this opportunity to enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would leave it up to his detail team to decide whether he would consider changing his participation in open-area events.
“I think it’s pretty hot down in the U.S.,” Ford said of the political rhetoric. “Everyone needs to step back; be united. And you can see here, no matter what political stripes the premiers come from, we are united as premiers and will always be that way.”
Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc said he was not worried about holding public events, as he trusted the RCMP to take the necessary steps to protect Canadian politicians.
“Yesterday, I convened a briefing with the Commissioner of the RCMP, the director of CSIS, (and) the Deputy Minister of Public Safety. They went through the threat landscape. They talked to me about the additional vigilance that they’ve put in place since the assassination attempt on former President Trump Saturday evening,” said LeBlanc.
He avoided specific measures but mentioned that he had reached out to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, assuring him that the RCMP had been in contact with his office and that the steps to maintain a safe democracy were in place.
“If you want to change the government, you participate in an election, and you go to vote. You don’t engage in acts of political violence. That’s what’s so disturbing about what we saw with former President Trump on Wednesday evening, where innocent people participating in a political event were severely injured or, in the case of one person, lost his life,” said Leblanc.