August 15, 2025
RED FM News Desk
A travelling panel gathering public feedback on Alberta’s grievances with Ottawa struggled to keep an emotional crowd on track during its third summer town hall Thursday night.
Premier Danielle Smith and members of her Alberta Next panel drew their largest audience yet — nearly 750 people — to an Edmonton venue to brainstorm ideas for possible future referendum questions.
But division and frustration in the room quickly spilled into open anger, profanity, and pointed challenges to Smith’s United Conservative Party government on issues far beyond the agenda, including health care, accountability, and transparency.
One flashpoint came when Smith was asked why her government had recently removed a requirement for ministers and senior staff to publicly release receipts for expense claims over $100. Smith said the change had been intended to redact the names of frequently used hotels for security reasons, but something had “gone awry.” She then made an unplanned policy reversal announcement.
“We’re going to see if we can maybe try to track down what happened and do a reversal,” she told the crowd.
Smith opened the meeting with a warm welcome, telling attendees, “When Edmonton speaks, we listen.” The remark was met with audible scoffs from one end of the room.
As lines at the two open microphones swelled, the discussion grew harder to control. Off-topic remarks and pointed challenges drew repeated interventions from both the audience and the moderator, former broadcaster Bruce McAllister.
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