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Alberta Federation of Labour protesters chanted \u201cDanielle Smith has to go!\u201d denouncing the UCP government policies, in Edmonton, on May 29, 2026 (Matt Battochio, CityNews)<\/p>\nThousands of Albertans took to the streets across the province Friday denouncing Premier Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party (UCP) government\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n
Protestors in Edmonton marched through Jasper Avenuw from the Centennial Plaza past the Edmonton Convention Centre. The march in Edmonton was part of 21 rallies across 16 communities, organized by the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL). <\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have to support separatism, no we don\u2019t support a referendum, no we don\u2019t support privatizing healthcare, going after workers rights, thumbing our nose at the constitution and the courts,\u201d said Gil McGowan, president of the AFL. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re getting from our government and their supporters, but these Albertans have a different vision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Larry Wright, who participated in the rally in Edmonton, said \u201cI\u2019m just really disappointed in the direction our government has taken on so many issues, so much of her policies seem to be a playbook from Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another protester, Mable Chan-Simons, said, \u201cWe didn\u2019t ask for the referendum. So is that democracy when they do something the people didn\u2019t ask for?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alberta Federation of Labour protesters chanted \u201cDanielle Smith has to go!\u201d denouncing the UCP government policies, in Edmonton, on May 29, 2026 (Matt Battochio, CityNews)<\/p>\n
In a statement to CityNews, a spokesperson UCP attacked called the protest as a \u201cpolitical stunt\u201d by McGowan, who unsuccessfully ran for the Alberta NDP leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cGil McGowan, first attempted to launch a general strike, and it was a failure. Then he moved on to plan B, launching recalls against our UCP MLAs to topple this government, he again failed miserably. Now, Gil is on plan C, a province-wide protest,\u201d the UCP spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
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Protesters marched through downtown Edmonton, as part of province-wide rallies across Alberta, on May 29, 2026 (Matt Battochio, CityNews)<\/p>\n
McGowan defended the province-wide rallies where thousands of Albertans came out to express their anger. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, this does not look like a failure. This looks like Albertans rising up, pushing back and saying that Danielle Smith and the separatists do not speak for all of us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Several NDP MLAs also took part in Friday\u2019s protest saying that the UCP government had it priorities wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoverning is about choices and this is a UCP government that is choosing to go ahead with a referendum in the fall, spending hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars,\u201d said Janis Irwin, Alberta NDP MLA. \u201cThat money could be invested in education, today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Premier Smith has defended her referendum saying it\u2019s what 700,000 Albertans signed up for. Those numbers are disputed and nearly half of them have not been verified after a court order.<\/p>\n
\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n
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