She won, but less than a year later, the chairwoman complained that the board had become dysfunctional. In 1998, Smith entered politics when she ran for the board of trustees of the Calgary Board of Education. Early political and media career Calgary Board of Education Īfter graduating with an English major, Smith briefly lived in Vancouver where she worked as a waitress and as an extra in movie and TV productions. She also became involved in political campaigning and met her first husband, Sean McKinsley. She was active in the campus Progressive Conservatives and was eventually elected president of the club. He become her campaign manager during the 2012 Alberta general election. In 1996, Flanagan recommended Smith for a one-year public policy internship with the Fraser Institute. It was at the University of Calgary where she met Tom Flanagan, a conservative political activist and advisor, who was one of her professors while Smith studied economics. The same class had Ian Brodie, who became chief of staff for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as a teachers' aide. One of her classes was taught by former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed. Her fellow classmates included Ezra Levant Rob Anders Naheed Nenshi and Kevin Bosch, who became an adviser to prime ministers Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau. The university had a strong culture of conservative and progressive political activism and debate when Smith was a student. Smith attended the University of Calgary and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1993 and economics in 1995. She is a fan of the young-adult fantasy novel Eragon by Christopher Paolini, and once considered becoming a novelist in the science fiction and fantasy genres. She is an admirer of Ayn Rand, John Locke and Margaret Thatcher. She is also a past member of the Girl Guides of Canada and was featured in a 2013 museum exhibit about prominent Girl Guides at the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery. "Then he realized we needed to talk a lot more around the dinner table," Smith told The Canadian Press in 2014. Smith said she had family in Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time, and her father argued otherwise. When Smith was a Grade 8 student, she said she came home praising a teacher who spoke positively about communism. Smith described her parents as "reliably conservative" in an interview with the National Post. As a student she worked at McDonald's, at a bingo parlour and at restaurants bussing tables. Growing up, her family lived in subsidized housing. She is named after the song Marlena by The Four Seasons. Marlaina Danielle Smith was born in Calgary on April 1, 1971, and is the second of five children. She led the UCP to re-election as a majority government in the 2023 general election. She was sworn in as premier on October 11 and became MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat on November 8, 2022. On October 6, Smith won the leadership on the sixth count. Smith's campaign gained national attention, particularly due to her proposals to extend Albertan autonomy. Upon Premier Jason Kenney's resignation announcement on May 18, 2022, Smith announced her campaign in the United Conservative Party leadership election. Smith was defeated in her bid for the PC nomination in Highwood for the 2015 election.īetween 20, Smith worked in talk radio and served as the president of the Alberta Enterprise Group. Smith won a seat in the Legislative Assembly for Highwood in that election, and served as leader of the Opposition until 2014, when she resigned to join the governing Progressive Conservatives (PCs). Smith contributed to the growth of the party the party formed the Official Opposition after the 2012 election. She entered provincial politics in 2009, becoming the leader of the Wildrose Party. During this time she also worked as the director of provincial affairs for Alberta with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. After briefly serving as a trustee for the Calgary Board of Education, she worked as a journalist in print, radio and television, during which she shared opinions on politics and healthcare. Smith attended the University of Calgary and earned degrees in English and economics. ![]() Marlaina Danielle Smith ECA MLA (born April 1, 1971) is a Canadian politician, former lobbyist, and former columnist and media personality who has been serving as the 19th premier of Alberta and leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) since October 2022.
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