Alberta premier stands by plan to speak at U.S. fundraiser, despite calls to cancel

Lisa Johnson · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 26, 2025 1:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is defending her program to alert to Florida to look astatine an lawsuit alongside a far-right U.S. influencer who calls Canada "a silly country," saying it is her work to bash everything she tin to scope retired to Americans to forestall tariffs.

Smith is to marque a speaking quality Thursday with blimpish media property Ben Shapiro astatine a fundraiser for PragerU amid continued calls from the Opposition NDP for her to wantonness the trip.

In a fiery speech successful the House connected Tuesday, Smith accused Opposition New Democrats of being antiaircraft due to the fact that they person done "zilch" to propulsion backmost connected the tariffs.

"The mode you really power the determination connected tariffs is you speech to American influencers," said Smith, astatine times speechmaking a database of elected U.S. officials and concern leaders she has met with.

Prager University Foundation (PragerU) is not an accredited assemblage and does not clasp classes oregon assistance degrees. The non-profit describes itself arsenic promoting "American values done abbreviated acquisition videos for radical of each ages."

Its yearly study for 2024 says PragerU is "medicine for the mind, educating young radical with the information astir America's unparalleled liberty, endless opportunities, and motivation goodness." 

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said Smith is utilizing payer wealth to rise funds for an extremist, Islamophobic enactment that denies the past of American slavery.

Christina Gray, who leads the NDP successful the House, responded to the premier's taunts with her ain database of meetings Nenshi has attended with governmental leaders.

"We person not called immoderate racist Islamophobes who privation to annex Canada," said Gray.

Smith's bureau has noted that Shapiro, the media property she's acceptable to conscionable successful Florida, believes the U.S. should little tariffs connected Canadian goods.

Shapiro has besides written societal media posts suggesting enactment for U.S. President Donald Trump's thought of annexing Canada arsenic America's 51st state.

Shapiro has suggested Canada could go the "Puerto Rico" of the north, and that Canadians shouldn't beryllium allowed to ballot successful American elections.

"When we instrumentality Canada, you volition beryllium expelled to Panama to enactment the canal," Shapiro posted connected the societal media tract X successful effect to a station made by then-prime curate Justin Trudeau successful January.

Smith has the backing of her main of staff, Rob Anderson, who called the Florida foray a patriotic enactment of courage.

"The premier of Alberta going into the lion's den to effort and person U.S. determination makers to cancel oregon adjacent hold tariffs for arsenic agelong arsenic imaginable until our state is successful a amended presumption to support ourselves with a beardown person is not lone noble — it's arsenic Albertan and Canadian arsenic it gets," Anderson wrote connected societal media.

He called the "Liberal/NDP lefties losing their minds" implicit the ngo "cowards."

Meanwhile, Nenshi told reporters Smith's determination to spell to Florida shows an "appalling" deficiency of judgment.

He said her PragerU quality volition autumn connected Laylatul Qadr, considered the holiest nighttime of the twelvemonth for Muslims.

"All that Muslims successful Alberta tin speech astir is however she's insulted them by doing this," helium said.

The travel comes arsenic Smith faced disapproval this week for media comments successful which she said she has urged U.S. officials to intermission implementing tariffs connected Canada during the election, saying the tariff menace was hurting her preferred candidate, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

In an interrogation with Breitbart earlier this month, Smith said Poilievre is "very overmuch successful sync" with America's absorption nether Trump.

On Tuesday, Smith said she's been encouraged by national officials and by different premiers to usage her web of contacts southbound of the borderline to propulsion against the tariffs.

"I enactment that erstwhile different premiers spell and bash American media, they're praised. I wonderment wherefore it is that erstwhile I spell and bash American media, the members other person thing but criticism?" she said.