{"id":462616,"date":"2026-02-08T23:09:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T23:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/462616\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T23:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T23:09:11","slug":"danielle-smith-defends-plan-to-withhold-funding-for-alberta-judges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/462616\/","title":{"rendered":"Danielle Smith defends plan to withhold funding for Alberta judges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith<\/a> defended her threat to withhold funding for judges<\/a> if her government doesn\u2019t get more say on their appointment on Saturday, saying it\u2019s a negotiating tactic.<\/p>\n

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Smith said during her call-in radio show she would rather get to a conclusion that\u2019s amenable, fair and includes parity in the appointment process.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a negotiating position, of course,\u201d she responded, after the radio show\u2019s host and moderator asked whether withholding funds is the best way to create judicial change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want some parity. So, we\u2019ve started the conversation and, hopefully we\u2019ll have some success on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s comments come after she called on Ottawa \u2014 in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney made public last week \u2014 to let Alberta have more of a say on future judicial appointments to the province\u2019s superior courts and the Supreme Court of Canada. She also threatened in the letter to withhold some court funding should Ottawa not agree to the new process she proposed.<\/p>\n

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Her office has noted the current federal judicial advisory committee for Alberta\u2019s superior courts only includes one provincial nominee, but three federal nominees. Smith proposed in the letter a new four-person committee, with equal representation, requiring ministerial approval from both levels before appointments proceed.<\/p>\n

Her proposal, she wrote, would help ensure judicial appointments \u201cappropriately reflect Alberta\u2019s distinct legal traditions,\u201d and strengthen public confidence in the administration of justice. She also called on Ottawa to relax bilingualism requirements for judges on the Supreme Court of Canada.<\/p>\n

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Groups representing lawyers and other legal professionals have said Smith\u2019s proposal compromises judicial independence and calls into question the integrity of sitting judges.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:56
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDanielle Smith threatens to withhold funding for judges without more input on selection\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Canadian Bar Association, which speaks for 40,000 lawyers, judges and legal professionals across the country, has also said it\u2019s concerned Smith\u2019s suggestion that courts don\u2019t reflect the \u201cvalues and expectations\u201d of Albertans underscores the political nature of her proposal.<\/p>\n

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Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser has said he has confidence in the current independent appointment process, and he plans to maintain it.<\/p>\n

During the call-in radio show, host Wayne Nelson told Smith that while some disagree with her demands, there are others who believe the judicial reform is needed but feel the premier is going about it the wrong way.<\/p>\n

\u201cCritics say using political influence in this way could undermine public trust, with some even drawing comparisons to President Trump. How do you respond to all these criticisms?\u201d Nelson asked.<\/p>\n

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Smith replied her government wants respect, but didn\u2019t address the Trump comparison.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that we\u2019ve been doing over the last couple of years is to get the same level of respect from the federal government that they afford Quebec,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

By law, three of nine seats on the Supreme Court are to be appointed from Quebec. The remaining seats, by tradition, are to be filled by three judges from Ontario, two from the western provinces or Northern Canada, and one from the Atlantic provinces.<\/p>\n

In an email on Saturday, Sam Blackett, a spokesman for the premier, called the comparisons between Smith and Trump \u201cabsurd.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny comparison of the Premier\u2019s actions to \u2018Trump-style\u2019 politics is absurd and merely a desperate attempt to diminish and distract from the real issues,\u201d Backett said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe provinces deserve to have a say in judicial appointments, such as in Quebec. The Premier believes Alberta should have a meaningful role in judicial appointments, as this would boost public confidence in the justice system, support national unity, and ensure appointments reflect the values and expectations of Albertans.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the show, Smith also repeated her criticism that the bilingual requirement \u201cdoes stack the deck against Alberta judges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supreme Court of Canada judges have been required since 2016 to have a functional understanding of both official languages.<\/p>\n

Smith has previously said the bilingualism rule \u201cfurther entrenches systemic barriers and alienation for western Canadians and does not reflect Canada\u2019s broader linguistic diversity, including the many Canadians who are bilingual in other languages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alberta\u2019s French lawyers association and the provincial chapter of the French Canadian Association have pushed back, saying the existing requirement protects and ensures access to justice.<\/p>\n

\u2014 With files from Jack Farrell and Lisa Johnson<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alberta Premier Danielle Smith defended her threat to withhold funding for judges if her government doesn\u2019t get more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462617,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[72183,7611,49,48,186160,53105,44,714],"class_list":["post-462616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alberta-justice","tag-alberta-legislature","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-court-of-kings-bench","tag-danielle-smith","tag-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}