So I live in Alberta, and it's both completely unsurprising and startling how quick Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party are running the same Nazi playbook as the US. After all, Danielle Smith stated early on how much she idolizes Ron DeSantis. She said that in April of 2023 and in May of that year DeSantis banned puberty blockers and made accessing trans care much more difficult for adults.
In January 2026, a ban on trans youth puberty blockers in Alberta came into effect after Danielle Smith and the UCP invoked Canada's "Notwithstanding Clause" which allows a provincial government to override charter rights and freedoms if legislation is passed which restricts a charter right and the courts challenge it.
It is generally not used in Canada, though it is being invoked more and more in recent years in order to get away with legislation that harms trans, disabled, and indigenous rights.
They recently reduced the amount that disabled people get through AISH and also changed the program entirely to a new program called ADAP. Its effect is that it reduces the amount of money disabled people get but allows them to earn slightly more money while working. Which most disabled people can't do.
The UCP are also overriding indigenous rights in Alberta in order to put a non-binding referendum question on the ballot on October about Alberta separating from Canada. All because of a petition by people who perpetrated the largest data breach in Canadian history by doxxing over 3 million Albertans. The UCP in this case is literally ignoring the courts who have put an injuction on the referendum question and the validation of the separatist petition.
