Alberta

I'm not Canadian, so I had to look up why her constituents are so pissed with her. My understanding is that she's part of the government specific to Alberta the province, rather than Canada as a whole. Sort of like how Kathy Hochul is the govenor of New York? Did I get it right?

Are these the reasons people are pissed with her?

In May 2023, the Alberta Ethics Commissioner found that Smith contravened the Conflict of Interest Act. She was found to have discussed criminal charges against Calgary pastor Artur Pawlowski with the justice minister at the time, Tyler Shandro, and with Pawlowski himself. Before this finding, Smith had publicly indicated she was in regular contact with Crown prosecutors regarding COVID-19 violations, though she later claimed she did not interfere in the justice process.

Smith and her cabinet ministers faced criticism for accepting free skybox tickets to Edmonton Oilers hockey games during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. This occurred after her government introduced changes to ethics rules that allowed politicians and staff to accept travel expenses and event tickets of any value if considered a "protocol" or "social obligation".

Smith was criticized for comments in an interview with Breitbart where she allegedly encouraged U.S. President Donald Trump to pause tariffs until after the Canadian federal election to improve Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s chances of winning. Critics, including former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, characterized this as "antithetical to democracy" and inciting foreign powers to interfere in Canadian sovereignty.

In late 2025, Smith’s government faced accusations of an "immoral" abuse of the Notwithstanding Clause to impose terms on striking Alberta teachers.

Allegations emerged that the Alberta Health Services (AHS) was pressured to approve private contracts, and that the former AHS CEO was fired just days before a meeting with the auditor general to discuss findings regarding private surgery facilities. A report by Judge Raymond Wyant found conflicts of interest within AHS but cleared Smith and her ministers of personal wrongdoing.

In late 2022, Smith was criticized for using "backdoor" means to pressure businesses to drop vaccine mandates instead of passing formal legislation, which legal experts called "problematic" and unethical.

In 2019, before becoming Premier, Smith registered as a lobbyist for the Alberta Enterprise Group while also serving as its president. In this role, she lobbied the provincial government on behalf of the industry for the RStar program.

Smith’s February 2024 announcement of a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for those 17 and under was described by critics as "dangerous" and targeting a group of children with a high propensity for self-harm.

Smith’s government has been criticized for cutting the firefighting budget—including terminating the Aerial Rapattack team—shortly before significant wildfires, and for "botched handling" of the provincial grid that led to price spikes.