A smaller caucus presents Smith some advantages

Much harrowing discontent from the punditry followed the 2023 Alberta election for returning the United Conservative Party with Danielle Smith at the helm. Smith won the popular vote and secured a majority government, but somehow these achievements are branded a loss.

Ironically, those decrying her win are practically the same people claiming that Smith’s becoming premier earlier was not legitimate because it was not the result of a general election. Now that she has, they denigrate her victory. Few want to acknowledge that the UCP was over 15 points behind in popular preference when Smith became leader, which makes her victory by a 9-point spread, 8 months later, even more remarkable

The narrative that the race was close serves to mask the NDP’s second consecutive loss with Rachel Notley as a leader. But one need not put down the government’s win to highlight the 15-seat gain that the NDP pulled from their loss.

As Barry Cooper has shown in this publication, Smith’s results for a majori…