Danielle Smith's ultimatum to UCP separatists — "Toe the party line or leave." I don't think this message is the right one. She should have said something along the lines of "Give me a year to prove I can get us a better deal". She needs to acknowledge that 500,000 people voted for option 2. That's 50% as much as the 990,000 votes that got here elected in 2023. Half the UCP is made-up of people who think we've tried too long to negotiate a better deal. It's not her party. I'm willing to make some compromises to keep the NDP out of power, but totally abandoning my vision for an independent Alberta is not one of them. We won't get fair representation in the House of Commons or the Senate. The rest of Canada will continue to advance socio-economic policies that are incompatible with our values. Carney will not change his stripes. He told us what he plans to do in his book, which is why he'll continue to nationalize our industries. A pipeline owned by a Crown corporation is not a win. We'll continue to subsidize the rest of Canada with our tax dollars and wealth transfer programs like Equalization, the CPP, and EI. Carney even said "No to the 9" when he came to visit last week. These are not unifying words. The next election is in 12 months. Maybe it is time to change leaders. calgaryherald.com/opinion/co… via @calgaryherald