Alberta Premier Danielle Smith — who once told former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson she wished he would put a federal cabinet minister in his “crosshairs” — called on “progressive” politicians to temper their language Monday after former U.S. president Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt.
Speaking to reporters as premiers gather in Halifax for the annual Council of the Federation, Smith said she’s concerned about the language sometimes used to describe Canadian conservatives.
“Have you not looked at the headlines about how [Conservative Leader] Pierre Poilievre is described as dangerous? How the leader of the opposition in Alberta has described me as dangerous? When you start using that kind of rhetoric, that ends up creating an elevated risk for all of us,” she said.
“And I think we have to be very mindful that we can have a disagreement in politics, but we have to stick to the issues.”
On Saturday, Trump was injured in the upper part of his right ear when shots were fired at the stage where he was addressing a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. A Trump supporter was killed and two others were wounded before Secret Service agents shot dead the 20-year-old suspected gunman, whose motive has yet to be established.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters that the assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump at a public rally is concerning and that kind of political violence is “unacceptable.” Smith added the way conservative politicians have been characterized is “outrageous” and said she hopes “progressive politicians here are careful of their language.”
“It’s unacceptable and I’m glad that we’re beginning to see that they recognize that things have gone too far,” Smith said.
“The way in which conservative politicians have been characterized is outrageous and I think led to the culture that we’ve seen in the U.S., and I certainly hope that some of the progressive politicians here are careful of their language because they’ve been talking about conservative politicians in the same way and they need to dial it down.”
But Smith herself has been criticized for using aggressive language to discuss political opponents.
Earlier this year, she was roundly condemned over comments she made to Carlson, a controversial conservative commentator, about federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Smith and Guilbeault have been at odds over the federal government’s climate policies, which the premier has said are far too restrictive and are punishing Albertans who rely on fossil fuels.
During a conversation about the pitfalls of solar panels, Smith reportedly said to Carlson, “I wish you would put Steven Guilbeault in your crosshairs.”
“He’s an environmental zealot. He happens to be our environmental minister federally. He believes he has the expertise and knowledge to tell us in Alberta how to run our power grid,” Smith added.
At the time, Guilbeault said he felt “targeted” by the Smith-Carlson fireside chat.
Smith’s press secretary accused the the minister of falsely implying the premier was inciting violence against him.
“The premier has been calling for him to be fired for months and will continue to do so,” Sam Blackett told Reuters in an email.
Assassination attempt to be discussed by premiers
When asked Monday if she needs to reflect on her own comments, Smith said she focuses on issues.
“I think we should be focused on issues … and you start calling and start describing people in a way that is inappropriate and creates a dangerous environment, I think people need to be self-reflective of that,” she said.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said he expects the shooting to come up during the premiers’ meetings over the next few days. Canada-U.S. relations were already on the agenda, along with perennial political issues like housing, health care and affordability.
“I think it’s important we understand the impact of any presidency moving forward,” Furey said.
“What happened is historic and it will definitely change the landscape of democracy in the United States and by extension in Canada … So that will definitely feed into conversations today and the analysis of a post-assassination attempt world.”
Furey urged his provincial counterparts to keep their disagreements civil.
“Rhetoric really needs to becomes less personal, less aggressive, and stick to the content,” he said
“Canadians want and deserve a conversation about where the country is going, not about the personalities who are trying to articulate that vision.”
Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King said the shooting will be “on the top of everybody’s mind.”
“I’m a politician so it’s a concern to me, but I think it’s a public concern,” he said.
“I just think the discourse has really changed and has really deteriorated between the people and the people like me who are serving them.”
Minister in contact with RCMP, CSIS
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc has said top security officials in Canada have assured him they have increased their vigilance following the attack on Trump.
Speaking in Caissie Cape, N.B., LeBlanc said Monday he has “every confidence that the RCMP take all the steps necessary to protect Canadian politicians.”
“I convened a briefing with the commissioner of the RCMP, the director of CSIS, the deputy minister of public safety. They went through the threat landscape. They talked to me about the additional vigilance that they’ve put in place since the assassination attempt on former president Trump Saturday evening,” he said.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc responds to questions about whether he has security concerns following the attempted assassination of former U.S. president Donald Trump.
“CSIS is always at work collecting information that helps the RCMP adjust the security posture where necessary. You’ll understand that we don’t discuss details of particular security measures. That’s one of the pieces of advice that we get.”
LeBlanc said he also reached out to Poilievre to assure him that the RCMP were in contact with his office.
“There again, all of the appropriate steps will be in place to ensure that people can participate in a democracy in a safe way,” he said.
“If you want to change the government, you participate in an election and you go to vote. You don’t engage in acts of political violence.”