Danielle Smith

Marlaina Danielle Smith (born April 1, 1971) is a Canadian politician, former lobbyist, and former columnist and media personality who has been serving as the 19th premier of Alberta and leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) since October 2022.

Smith attended the University of Calgary and earned degrees in English and economics.

After briefly serving as a trustee for the Calgary Board of Education, she worked as a journalist in print, radio and television, during which she shared opinions on politics and healthcare.

During this time she also worked as the director of provincial affairs for Alberta with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Marlaina Danielle Smith was born in Calgary on April 1, 1971, and is the second of five children.

Her father Doug Smith, is an oilfield consultant and previously a board member for the Wildrose Party.

She is named after the song Marlena by The Four Seasons.

Growing up, her family lived in subsidized housing.

As a student she worked at McDonald's, at a bingo parlour and at restaurants bussing tables.

Smith described her parents as "reliably conservative" in an interview with the National Post.

When Smith was a grade 8 student, she said she came home praising a teacher who spoke positively about communism.

Smith said she had family in Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time, and her father argued otherwise.

Smith attended the University of Calgary and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1993 and economics in 1995.

The university had a strong culture of conservative and progressive political activism and debate when Smith was a student.

Her fellow classmates included Ezra Levant; Rob Anders; Naheed Nenshi; and Kevin Bosch, who became an adviser to prime ministers Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau.

One of her classes was taught by former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed.

The same class had Ian Brodie, who became chief of staff for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as a teachers' aide.

It was at the University of Calgary where she met Tom Flanagan, a conservative political activist and advisor, who was one of her professors while Smith studied economics.

Flanagan became a mentor for Smith.

In 1996, Flanagan recommended Smith for a one-year public policy internship with the Fraser Institute.

During her time here, she coauthored a paper called "Environmental Indicators for Canada and the United States" with Boris DeWiel, Steven F. Hayward, and Laura Jones - which sought to "separate the facts from alarmist misinformation," and "bring balance to the environmental debate".

The report argued that "contrary to public opinion, in most instances objectives for protecting human health and the environment are being met, pollution and wastes are being controlled, and resources and land are being sustainably and effectively managed".

She entered provincial politics in 2009, becoming the leader of the Wildrose Party.

Smith contributed to the growth of the party; the party formed the Official Opposition after the 2012 election.

Flanagan later became her campaign manager during the 2012 Alberta general election.

She was active in the campus Progressive Conservatives and was eventually elected president of the club.

She also became involved in political campaigning and met her first husband, Sean McKinsley.

After graduating with an English major, Smith briefly lived in Vancouver where she worked as a waitress and as an extra in movie and TV productions.

She is also a past member of the Girl Guides of Canada and was featured in a 2013 museum exhibit about prominent Girl Guides at the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery.

She is an admirer of Ayn Rand, John Locke and Margaret Thatcher.

She is a fan of the young-adult fantasy novel Eragon by Christopher Paolini, and once considered becoming a novelist in the science fiction and fantasy genres.

Smith won a seat in the Legislative Assembly for Highwood in that election, and served as leader of the Opposition until 2014, when she resigned to join the governing Progressive Conservatives (PCs).

"Then he realized we needed to talk a lot more around the dinner table," Smith told The Canadian Press in 2014.

Smith was defeated in her bid for the PC nomination in Highwood for the 2015 election.

Between 2015 and 2022, Smith worked in talk radio and served as the president of the Alberta Enterprise Group.

Upon Premier Jason Kenney's resignation announcement on May 18, 2022, Smith announced her campaign in the United Conservative Party leadership election.

Smith's campaign gained national attention, particularly due to her proposals to extend Albertan autonomy.

On October 6, Smith won the leadership on the sixth count.

She was sworn in as premier on October 11 and became MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat on November 8, 2022.

She led the UCP to re-election as a majority government in the 2023 general election.