'Bite me': Alberta baker challenges premier's office over boycott tied to recall

The premier is one of 22 United Conservative Party legislators, along with one Opposition New Democrat, currently facing recall campaigns from unhappy constituents.

Brendan Hillson, owner of McBride’s, says he wanted to provide an indoor space for the canvassers during the winter months, even though the bakery isn’t in Smith’s riding of Brooks-Medicine Hat.

“She’s got the north half of the city, and the bakery is in the south half of the city,” Hillson said Thursday in an interview.

Hillson, whose bakery is in the riding is Cypress-Medicine Hat, said residents aren’t confined to north and south in the city and move around.

“Ideally, there would be some nice indoor signing locations that people would provide on the north side … but there are no spaces that I know of.”

Hillson has begun receiving backlash online for helping canvassers. Some on review websites, including Yelp, don’t mince words. 

“If you like to have their politics shoved down your throat to wash down the dry and stale doughnuts, this is the place for you,” one reviewer wrote Tuesday. 

Bruce McAllister, the executive director of the premier’s southern office, retweeted a post Wednesday calling for a boycott of McBride’s over his political comments.

Asked to respond to McAllister’s retweet, Smith’s press secretary said the premier believes private businesses have the right to “represent themselves as they so wish.”

“Consumers will decide where they wish to do business,” Sam Blackett said in a statement Thursday. 

Hillson is no stranger to mixing business and politics.

In 2019, the UCP government under then-premier Jason Kenney introduced legislation allowing school staff to inform parents if a student joined a gay-straight alliance club. In response, Hillson delivered a tray of rainbow doughnuts to his MLA’s office. The treats said, “It’s OK to be gay.”

Hillson also gave out free buttons at his bakery reading “Not Danielle,” when Smith ran for Alberta’s top job in 2023.

Hillson said he isn’t fazed by the recent online attacks, adding that his business has not been affected. 

He said he notices a surge in bad online reviews when he posts political comments on the bakery’s social media pages, but they usually subside after a few days.

“Nobody has been in here loud and nasty yet or anything, but the possibility exists,” he said. “I know when you look online, it looks like there’s a lot of hate, but in person, people are way nicer.”

As for McAllister, Hillson said the boycott retweet was not a surprise. He pointed to McAllister’s behaviour as a moderator during a Calgary town hall when he urged a teen be spanked for demanding answers on a looming teachers strike. McAllister later apologized.

“I just don’t care — I mean, he can bite me,” Hillson said. 

Earlier this month, Elections Alberta announced the recall petition for Smith, making her the first premier in 90 years to face such a campaign. 

The petitioner, Heather VanSnick, has until March 10 to collect just over 12,000 verified signatures to trigger a constituency-wide vote on whether Smith should stay on as MLA.

If a majority vote for her to go, a byelection would be held.

VanSnick, in a statement to Elections Alberta, says Smith doesn’t live in the riding, is failing to represent residents and is advancing policies that “weaken public services.”

Smith, in her written response to the petition, says she’s proud to represent the area and regularly meets residents at town halls. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2025.

— By Daniela Germano in Edmonton, with files from Lisa Johnson