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For years, Alberta politics has included a powerful alliance between evangelical Christianity and the United Conservative Party government. That relationship surfaced very publicly at the May 4 Alberta Christian Leadership Summit, where Premier Danielle Smith and several cabinet ministers addressed an audience deeply concerned about abortion, medical assistance in dying, transgender rights, and what many participants described as Canada’s broader moral and cultural decline.
But what exactly was said inside the room? What did attendees want from the Alberta government? And how influential is this movement becoming within Alberta politics?
To answer those questions, I’m joined by Pastor Blaine Gregg of Spirit of Hope United Church in Edmonton. Gregg attended the summit as a progressive Christian and came away with deep concerns about both the political tone of the gathering and what he describes as an “assumed solidarity” among participants — the belief that conservative Christians alone represent the authentic Christian voice in Alberta.
In this conversation, Gregg describes an event where attendees openly encouraged the provincial government to go further on socially conservative policies, particularly around abortion access, MAID, and transgender issues. He argues many participants felt they were losing the broader cultural debate and increasingly viewed government power as the mechanism to enforce policies they could no longer persuade society to accept voluntarily.
We also explore a larger political idea that political scientists sometimes call “authoritarian libertarianism,” the combination of libertarian rhetoric about freedom and small government with the active use of state power to impose the values of a preferred social group.
Gregg says much of what he heard at the summit fit that pattern closely.
The discussion also touches on Alberta separatism, tensions between progressive and conservative Christian communities, and Danielle Smith’s unique political positioning. Gregg notes that while Smith herself did not frame her remarks in overtly religious language, many attendees clearly saw her government as the best available vehicle for advancing their agenda.
This is an important conversation because it sheds light on a political and cultural movement that is shaping Alberta policy in real time, but often operates outside mainstream public scrutiny.
