I Met Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and She is Wonderful

Yesterday I got to meet Alberta Premier Danielle Smith along with my friends Lois Cardinal and James (Jack) Decker (special shoutout to Lois, who deserves all the credit for making this happen).

I still can’t quite believe it happened, to be honest. The whole time I expected it to be some kind of elaborate prank. I didn’t fully believe it until we were sitting in her office, and even then, I briefly wondered if I was dreaming.

But I wasn’t dreaming, and we did actually meet.

Premier Smith started by asking about Lois’ story, which naturally led to a conversation about other topics related to gender ideology. She listened, she took notes, she asked questions, and we all felt heard. From what she said and what she asked, I could tell that she had been thinking about these issues and was trying to genuinely understand what is going on and what the best course of action would be to take.

I have never felt prouder and happier to be an Albertan.

As I’ve shared, I’m hoping to become a mother sometime in the near future. While starting this journey, I have felt very grateful to live where I do, especially under this government. But I have also had many concerns, particularly when it comes to education and what my future child might be taught and encounter in school.

I have never felt more optimistic about the future and about bringing a child into it. I think that the concerns of so many parents and so many regular Albertans are being heard.

Premier Smith keeps a ridiculously busy schedule, so the meeting seemed like it went by in a flash, but it felt very productive.

I’m not going to lie that I wanted a picture at the end, but I didn’t want to ask. We went over our allotted time and I didn’t want to impose further. Thankfully, Lois was brave enough to ask, and Premier Smith immediately and graciously accepted and took us over to the Canada and Alberta flags in the room so that they could be in the background.

Reader, I’m currently stuck between not wanting to believe this actually happened, and wishing I could relive the meeting over again. It was the coolest day of my life. Not only because it felt like all of my efforts and writing and speaking out amounted to something real, but because Premier Smith is a personal hero of mine besides the issues that I talk about.

I truly don’t feel like I deserved this opportunity, but I want all readers, followers, and supporters to know that I did my best to live up to it and speak not just for myself but for everyone who deserves to be heard.

Sometimes, I worry my focus is too broad. I feel like I think and write about every aspect of gender ideology, which often feels like too much to cram into my brain (and which is only made possible by the work of so many others.) But it’s all worth it when I can feel totally ready for a meeting like this—which was on quite short notice! And let me assure you, you couldn’t hope for better advocates than the other two who were with me.

Big things are happening, friends.

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