Danielle Smith to UCP Separatists: Accept the Referendum Result or Join a Different Party

Alberta politics news: Danielle Smith has told the UCP Separatists inside her own party to accept the referendum result or find another party, after roughly 75 percent of Albertans voted to reject starting a legal process toward a binding separation referendum. It is the clearest line she has ever drawn against the independence movement, and it puts her on a collision course with UCP members who still want out of Canada.

By Maplestime News Desk | Canada | October 22, 2026

Sources: Calgary Dispatch, CBC The National Oct 21, VGMG | Last updated: October 22, 2026

Key Takeaways

• On Wednesday, October 21, Smith released a roughly 10-minute video to all UCP members saying the party “is not an independence party” and inviting pro-separatist members to join a different party. The video was posted on X just before 11 a.m.
• At a Calgary news conference the same day she echoed the message: “You get to have your say, but you don’t always get to have your way.”
• Near-complete unofficial results (VGMG): about 1.9 million votes counted from 90 percent of voting areas, roughly 75 percent to remain and 25 percent to start the process. Estimated turnout near 85 percent, a historic high. Certified results are due October 29.
• Smith announced Tuesday night she will not hold another referendum while she is premier. Separatist leaders are already pushing back: Mitch Sylvestre is pivoting to electing separatist allies to the UCP board and nominations, while Jeffrey Rath is calling for members to oust Smith before the UCP AGM on November 27 to 29.

What Smith Told The UCP Separatists

“The United Conservative Party is not an independence party, and for those few who cannot reconcile this fact and remain intent on dividing and turning our party into a vehicle for the independence movement, I would respectfully invite them to join a different party.”

That was the message in Smith’s video to members, and she doubled down in Calgary the same day. She also set a hard rule for the party’s future: UCP candidates and board members must support “a strong Alberta within a united Canada” from nomination day through caucus.

It is a remarkable reversal of the dynamic that has defined her premiership. Smith has spent years courting the province’s independence-minded flank, including floating the referendum itself. Now, with the vote decisively lost for the separatist side, she is telling UCP Separatists that their home is elsewhere.

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Why The UCP Separatists Are Not Walking Away

The separatist camp is not taking the hint. Mitch Sylvestre of the Alberta Prosperity Project is urging supporters to work inside the system instead, electing separatist-friendly allies to the UCP board and into nomination races. Jeffrey Rath has gone further, calling on members to remove Smith as leader before the November 27 to 29 AGM.

Their argument is simple: three quarters of voters rejected starting a legal process toward a referendum, but one quarter backed it, and that quarter is organized. A 25 percent minority with a ground game is a real threat at an AGM, where motivated delegates carry outsized weight.

What Comes Next For Alberta

Smith wants the party’s only focus to be “beating the NDP in every single riding in this province.” But between now and November 29, she has to survive a leadership pressure test from the very UCP Separatists she just told to leave. The certified results on October 29 will close the referendum chapter officially, but the fight inside the party is just getting started.

Maplestime will provide updates from Alberta and the UCP separatist fight as announcements are made.

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Is Smith’s message to the UCP Separatists a genuine break with the independence movement, or just damage control after the referendum flopped? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Albertan who voted last week.