Smith hears mixed reviews for Alberta Next pitches from Edmonton crowd
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The event was branded as the panel's Sherwood Park town hall but was held in an Edmonton hotel ballroom just west of the suburb community.
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Smith's panel along with the boisterous crowd of roughly 500 in attendance, and over 40,000 livestream viewers, heard from 72 speakers primarily on the six topics raised on the panel's website regarding Alberta's relationship with Ottawa.
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The second event in a cross-province series came after Smith and the panel debuted before a largely receptive town hall audience in Red Deer on Tuesday.
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On Wednesday, Smith drew a round of applause on entering the room to begin the event, but her opening remarks listing grievances against Ottawa were interrupted by heckles and laughter before concluding with another round of applause.
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'Alberta has an Ottawa problem,' she said. 'Regardless of what each of us believes about these issues or what path we think is best, we as Albertans have to be able to respectfully debate and discuss the issues her.'
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The discussion of topics to push back against Ottawa was preceded by the same videos that must be watched before taking one of the survey's on the panel's website, with the pre-recorded messages together taking up roughly half an hour of what was a two-hour and 45-minute-long event.
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The most vocal opposition from the crowd came from speakers addressing a potential Alberta pension plan.
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Two of the 11 speakers on the issue were in favour of leaving the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
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Those opposed to leaving CPP stressed the risks of a making that move as well as how the issue appeared to have been settled.
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'Why is this question even a question when we've already done this survey,' a speaker named Nicole asked, pointing to the province's own survey from 2023 that Postmedia prompted the province to publish after it withheld the results for 21 months. That survey showed just 10 per cent of respondents wanted a provincial pension plan.
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Fort Saskatchewan's Roberta Stasyk called a provincial plan 'a horrible idea' while questioning how it made Alberta look to the rest of Canada.
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'We sound like bratty children.'
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Toronto Sun
6 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
MAGA-affiliated musician Sean Feucht performs in Alfred after Gatineau concert is cancelled
The NCC had cancelled a permit for a concert at Jacques-Cartier Park due to "public safety concerns." Paula Tran Published Jul 26, 2025 • Last updated 22 hours ago • 3 minute read A photo of Sean Feucht before his performance at a Montreal church on Friday night. Photo by ALLEN MCINNIS / POSTMEDIA A MAGA-affiliated musician held a concert in a township just outside Ottawa on Saturday just a few days after the National Capital Commission cancelled a scheduled performance in Gatineau. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account In a social media post on Saturday morning, Sean Feucht said he would be performing in an open field on the 'corner of Peladeau Road and Highway 17' in Alfred, Ont., a township 70 kilometres east of Ottawa. The performance was part of the Let Us Worship movement, where Feucht falsely claimed that Christians are being persecuted in Canada. The NCC had cancelled Feucht's permit at Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau on Saturday due to what it called 'public safety concerns.' 'The NCC decided not to issue an event permit following consultation with the Gatineau Police and due to concerns about public safety and security,' Valérie Dufour, senior manager of strategic communications for the NCC, said in an emailed statement. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Officials in other Canadian cities had also cancelled scheduled Feucht concerts, including Halifax, Charlottetown and Quebec City. The City of Montreal fined a local church for hosting Feucht on Friday evening, saying the church had not obtained a permit to organize the concert. The city also said the event contradicted Montreal's values of inclusion, solidarity and respect. Const. Brianna Babin of the Ontario Provincial Police's East Division told the Ottawa Citizen that officers were aware of the concert at Alfred and were monitoring it. She added that officers were also talking to Cedar Shade Campground and the Township of Alfred and Plantagenet about the event. The campground told the Citizen it wasn't affiliated with Feucht's concert. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It's been very good for open communication in that regard, so we know what's happening. We have officers that are boots on the ground, like our road officers are doing patrols in the area,' Babin said. 'The thing is, with any type of big event like this …. for a big show, a big event, they would normally hire the OPP to come do traffic control, crowd control, security, that type of stuff. This is not the case for this one. It's not a paid duty (assignment), so it's just our road officers being aware and patrolling the area. 'The campground has hired their own security for the event. Should anything transpire, the OPP is aware of it and the surrounding detachment areas as well. We're all in the loop.' Babin said she couldn't give an estimate of how many people attended the concert as of 3:50 p.m. on Saturday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I touched base with the sergeant around one o'clock, and he had let me know that the stage was set up, but there was nobody there at that time. Nothing had started filling up,' Babin said. 'Now I know the concert just started at three, so I don't know the numbers … If there's no reason for us to be inside there, then we wouldn't even know.' Feucht, an American Christian nationalist, has previously opposed abortion rights, COVID-19 public-health restrictions and the LGBTQ2S+ community. He calls himself a speaker, author, missionary, artist and activist. He unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the United States Congress in California in 2020 and has held prayer concerts against COVID-19 restrictions. His political views has grabbed the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, and Feucht was invited to the White House for a faith briefing in December 2019, one week before Trump was first impeached by the House of Representatives for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Feucht is a Trump supporter, most recently calling on fans to pray after the president was diagnosed with a chronic venous insufficiency, a condition in which an individual's leg veins don't allow blood to flow back towards the heart. This can cause blood to collect in the legs. With files from The Canadian Press. Join us! The Ottawa Citizen is hosting an exclusive food and beverage tasting event where you can try bites from some of the city's best restaurants and sample beverages from breweries and wineries. Meet the chefs and try their signature dishes with members of the Citizen news team. Learn more about Ottawa Citizen Best Restaurants and buy a ticket here . Read More Sports Columnists Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA
Vancouver Sun
a day ago
- Vancouver Sun
Newcomers face rising racism in Alberta as province debates immigration policy
Alberta resident Shamaila Akram says she can handle the increase in racial slurs and derogatory comments being thrown at her, but she worries about her newcomer and immigrant clients. As debates unfold over Canada's immigration system, those who provide help to newcomers in Alberta say there has been an uptick of hostility toward immigrants. 'I hear from people in my own communities — women specifically who wear hijabs — many bad things and we realize there is a need to educate people,' said Akram, with Calgary's Centre for Newcomers. 'Clients are coming with severe anxiety and sometimes panic attacks after hearing racial slurs outside our door. We have instances where they're being harassed while walking in (the) downtown.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. People have also screamed, 'Go back to where you came from!' at Akram while she has been with her children multiple times this year, she said, and some have been aggressive. The Canadian Anti-Hate Network says charged debates about immigration in Canada and the United States are behind the rise in hostility toward immigrants online and in person. 'We have been noticing a large increase in online hatred towards migrants, and especially towards South Asian communities lately,' said Evan Balgord, the organization's executive director. 'We are seeing classically racist narratives being spread that groups of people are dirty, criminal, incompatible with society and dangerous.' In Calgary, Kelly Ernst, the Centre for Newcomers' chief program officer, says it has had to increase building security, reduce its online program marketing and bolster the number of workers on its crisis line for newcomers. Racialized workers at the centre are increasingly being harassed, and he said people often walk by screaming at the centre. Ernst said he and those working with immigrants noticed the increase in the last year as the immigration system returned to the spotlight. He said the ongoing Alberta Next panel led by Premier Danielle Smith that's touring the province to hear public grievances with the federal government is stoking that anger. 'Since (the) Alberta Next panel raised its ugly head, it's also created additional hostility with some of the comments associated to that,' he said. Ernst said he agrees that the population of newcomers in Canada and Alberta has exploded, but said governments need to stop using immigrants as scapegoats for housing and infrastructure issues. 'It's not the people themselves that are creating that particular strain,' Ernst said. 'The problem is government policy.' The Alberta Next panel has already made stops in Red Deer and Edmonton and will return to Edmonton again, with visits to Fort McMurray and Lloydminster in August. Six surveys launched on the panel's website help inform what questions the government is putting to locals, and one of them is about immigration. 'If Alberta isn't satisfied with the number or economic qualifications of newcomers moving to our province, we may have the option to withhold provincial social programs to any non-citizen or non-permanent resident who does not have an Alberta-approved immigration status,' says a video participants are required to view before taking the immigration survey. The Alberta Next Panel is asking YOU: Should Alberta take control of our own immigration system to ensure a more sustainable number of newcomers to contribute to our economy? Watch the video. Take the survey: The speaker in the video says although the federal government decides who is let into Canada, provinces pay for most social programs that they need. The video says immigration is to blame for high housing costs and unemployment rates, adding that 'many of the divisions and disputes that plague other countries have begun making their way into ours.' Smith's press secretary Sam Blackett said in a statement this week that the number of newcomers entering Canada needs to be sustainable. 'Everyone wanting to come should be committed to upholding the Canadian values of hard work, love of freedom and peaceful co-existence,' he said. '(Former prime minister) Justin Trudeau's Liberals upended Canada's immigration system for over a decade by instituting essentially an open borders policy that permitted millions annually to enter Canada, often without any sort of proper vetting, job prospects or needed employment skills. 'The results have been disastrous. Housing prices have skyrocketed, and unemployment keeps increasing as immigration outpaces job growth.' He said the province and federal government have a shared responsibility to manage the population. Alberta Immigration Minister Joseph Schow, in a statement, added, 'Alberta's government stands firmly against racism and continues working to build a province where everyone is respected _ no matter their cultural background or where they come from. 'Immigrants have been contributors to the economic and social fabric of Alberta, and they deserve to feel safe and respected in their communities.' Laurie Hauer, the interim executive director of Edmonton's Newcomer Centre, said education is the key. 'Immigration is vital for our economic growth, and it's really important to get that message out to people and understand those elements because what's coming out right now is just constantly, 'Immigrants are the problem,'' Hauer said. She said several of the centre's clients and workers have been accosted in the last year. Akram added, 'We need to work on ways of making our communities more safer rather than scapegoating the vulnerable and racialized minority groups. 'We're very proud of our diversity but we need to make sure that this pride is reflected in how we protect and support each other.' — With files from Jack Farrell in Edmonton Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Edmonton Journal
a day ago
- Edmonton Journal
Newcomers face rising racism in Alberta as province debates immigration policy
Alberta resident Shamaila Akram says she can handle the increase in racial slurs and derogatory comments being thrown at her, but she worries about her newcomer and immigrant clients. Article content As debates unfold over Canada's immigration system, those who provide help to newcomers in Alberta say there has been an uptick of hostility toward immigrants. Article content Article content 'I hear from people in my own communities — women specifically who wear hijabs — many bad things and we realize there is a need to educate people,' said Akram, with Calgary's Centre for Newcomers. Article content Article content 'Clients are coming with severe anxiety and sometimes panic attacks after hearing racial slurs outside our door. We have instances where they're being harassed while walking in (the) downtown.' Article content Article content The Canadian Anti-Hate Network says charged debates about immigration in Canada and the United States are behind the rise in hostility toward immigrants online and in person. Article content Article content Racialized workers at the centre are increasingly being harassed, and he said people often walk by screaming at the centre. Article content Ernst said he and those working with immigrants noticed the increase in the last year as the immigration system returned to the spotlight. Article content Article content He said the ongoing Alberta Next panel led by Premier Danielle Smith that's touring the province to hear public grievances with the federal government is stoking that anger. Article content 'Since (the) Alberta Next panel raised its ugly head, it's also created additional hostility with some of the comments associated to that,' he said. Article content Ernst said he agrees that the population of newcomers in Canada and Alberta has exploded, but said governments need to stop using immigrants as scapegoats for housing and infrastructure issues. Article content 'It's not the people themselves that are creating that particular strain,' Ernst said. 'The problem is government policy.' Article content The Alberta Next panel has already made stops in Red Deer and Edmonton and will return to Edmonton again, with visits to Fort McMurray and Lloydminster in August. Article content Six surveys launched on the panel's website help inform what questions the government is putting to locals, and one of them is about immigration. Article content 'If Alberta isn't satisfied with the number or economic qualifications of newcomers moving to our province, we may have the option to withhold provincial social programs to any non-citizen or non-permanent resident who does not have an Alberta-approved immigration status,' says a video participants are required to view before taking the immigration survey.
