Recent quotes from Alberta’s Danielle Smith

EDMONTON – Some recent quotes from Alberta Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith:

Sept. 6: “(Prentice) has a tremendous road ahead of him in order to rebuild trust with Albertans and get a grip on a government that has spiralled out of control.” — after congratulating Jim Prentice on winning the Progressive Conservative leadership race

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Oct. 27: “I look forward to each of our candidates taking another shot at this in the general (election).” — after Wildrose loses four byelections to the Conservatives

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Oct. 28: “I’ve had two opportunities now to contest elections, both of them having not gone the way we planned. It seems to me this is a good opportunity for my members to make that choice once again.” — calling for a review of her leadership one day after byelection losses

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Nov. 3: “I got an overwhelming reaction from our members of caucus, our executive committee and others that it wasn’t me.” — taking back her call for a review of her leadership

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Nov. 3: “There’s no question that they have issues with some of the personnel decisions, some of the campaign decisions and some of the strategy decisions, but those can be fixed.” — speaking about Wildrose membership

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Nov. 14: “My time as leader of the official Opposition is coming to an end one way or the other in about 500 days.” — Smith to supporters at Wildrose annual general meeting

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Nov. 14: “If we win the election in 2016, I will be the premier and … if we don’t win … it will up to you as Wildrose members to choose a new leader. Either way we’re in for a big change.” — the same speech

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Nov. 14: “We needed a definitive statement to protect the equality of all Albertans, including our friends in the LGBTQ community, so we drafted and we passed one.” — hailing a motion on gay rights as a symbol of the party’s maturity.

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Nov. 15: “The nature of the debate was (the members) were concerned that there might be something excluded in that long list. I think that was a reasonable position to take. I certainly don’t think anyone should take offence.” — after party membership voted against motion.

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Nov. 26: “We were friends, and I say that in the past tense … She’s a member of the party across the aisle.” — speaking about Kerry Towle, one of two Wildrose caucus members to defect to the Conservatives

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Nov. 26: “We’ve been an incredibly effective Opposition. I’m now on my fourth premier. And we believe that there’s still a lot of work to do to hold them to account.” — on her remaining caucus after the defections

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Nov. 26: “There will be no more floor-crossings.” — the same speech

Dec. 17: “When I became Wildrose leader more than five years ago, I did so with one singular objective in mind: to return to government the conservative values and principles that I had spent my life defending. Under premier Prentice’s strong leadership, I believe we can work together to lead Alberta with a renewed focus on the values and principles that we share” — after crossing the floor with eight of her Wildrose members