It’s a long way from Ottawa to Battle River-Crowfoot. Born and raised in Calgary, Conservative leader Pierre Poilieivre has for over 20 years represented the Ottawa area constituency of Carlton. In this year’s election, he was ignominiously defeated in his own riding by Liberal Bruce Fanjoy. Poilievre claims he lost because he threatened to cut civil service jobs if he became PM, but it may also have had something to do with his cheer-leading of the mob that paralyzed his constituents’ city in 2022.

In any case, his party leadership in jeopardy, he sought a sacrificial lamb. MP Damien Kurek nobly rose to the occasion and resigned from Battle River-Crowfoot, providing a safe riding for the embarrassed leader to regain a seat in the House. 

And very safe it is, possibly the safest Conservative seat in the country, giving conservatives some of the largest margins ever recorded in Canadian elections. Poilievre has returned to his roots, to Alberta. Or not quite to his roots, not to the big city of Calgary where he grew up but rather to a rural riding that sprawls from Edmonton to Medicine Hat, covering much of the eastern half of the province.

The conservatism here may be somewhat different from the conservatism Poilievre was used to in Ottawa. Indeed, this is anti-Ottawa country. It is separatist country. And, above all, it is Danielle Smith country.

We already see signs Pierre is channeling Danielle. The Conservatives have proposed a Canadian Sovereignty Act which they will introduce in the fall sitting of Parliament. The act “unites us to stand up for our country, our workers and our sovereignty.” Good stuff, but it sounds curiously similar to the Alberta Sovereignty Act passed by the UCP government in December 2022. And its demands are remarkably similar to the “or else” demands made by Smith for the trashing of climate change measures. Ironically, while the proposed act claims to be pro Canadian sovereignty, it could hardly fit more neatly into Donald Trump’s anti-climate action policies.

Supplemental to the act, the Conservatives want a commitment to “at least” two pipelines. Furthermore, Poilievre has stated that his party’s focus in the coming parliamentary sitting will be pushing the government to repeal the electric vehicle sales mandate. All in all, a made in Alberta oil agenda.

In Smith’s vocabulary, fighting climate change is attacking the oil industry. Poilievre is now speaking her language. Ensconced in the warm embrace of Smith’s base, where else might he go? The separatists have captured Danielle, can Poilievre escape their ardent embrace?

Smith claims to be a loyal Canadian and maybe she is, yet she shamelessly exploits the separatism threat as another stick to beat Ottawa with. She also needs to feed the beast in order to avoid the fate of her predecessor. Ex-premier Jason Kenney called the separatists and their ilk “lunatics” and paid the price.

Poilievre should be safer then the premier; the extremists don’t dominate the federal Conservatives the way they do the UCP, but these are determined people. They will present him a challenge as Alberta separatism fuelled by the premier clashes with a Canadian patriotism never more in demand. Is he for Alberta or is he for Canada? It will be interesting to see how the newly-minted Battle River-Crowfoot MP handles the conflicting passions.