At long last, Danielle Smith may have finally bitten off more than she can chew. The Alberta premier’s decision to call a referendum on a future referendum has infuriated her fellow premiers and provincial political opponents, who have all called out her selfish decision to gamble with the country’s future at a time when it’s already under threat. At the same time, it has also provoked the very people she was trying to placate: the separatists who now control her United Conservative Party. 

Self-appointed separatist leaders like Jeff Rath, Mitch Sylvestre, and David Parker have all sharply criticized her decision not to hold a referendum on their petition question in recent days, with Rath referring to it as a “betrayal.” Indeed, according to new reporting from CBC Calgary, they might already be organizing to oust her as UCP leader. If they can get the backing of just 21 of the UCP’s 87 riding associations (and there are more than that in rural Alberta alone) they can call a special general meeting to put her leadership to a vote. As Sylvestre told the CBC, “If there was a leadership review for her in the next two weeks … I would be surprised if she got her 70 per cent. As a matter of fact, I would be surprised if she got 60.”

So would I. UCP president Rob Smith (no relation) told journalists that while he thought a majority of his party’s members would vote against remaining in Canada, the party itself would stay........

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