AIRDRIE – Premier Danielle Smith’s Alberta Next panel is in Airdrie tonight, as she marches through a final stretch of town halls surveying the public on the province’s relationship with the federal government.
It’s the eighth of 10 in-person town halls scheduled for the panel, which has been travelling across Alberta since mid-July to address grievances Smith says are fostering separatist sentiment.
The event in the Calgary bedroom community comes hot on the heels of a town hall in Lethbridge, where Smith met a mostly friendly crowd that cheered mentions of separation and widely supported the province’s proposals.
Some of the proposals include working to reform equalization payments and withholding social services from some immigrants, which has generated polarized reactions at other town halls.
The panel is set to reconvene Wednesday in Grande Prairie, followed by the final town hall Sept. 29 in Calgary.
Smith says the events and survey data collected by the province will help decide whether certain questions should be put forward in a referendum next year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2025.
