Tucker Carlson brought controversy to Danielle Smith's Calgary — then took her somewhere dicier

Back at work in Alberta after two weeks of vacation, Premier Danielle Smith chose as her first public appearance in 2024 a conversation on stage with Tucker Carlson, the U.S. commentator whose views and remarks became too much for his Fox News bosses to tolerate.

On Tuesday night, they enjoyed a private dinner together in Calgary, these two former mainstream broadcasters, one now a government leader and one who's fielded speculation about becoming Donald Trump's vice-presidential running mate.

"And had the best time, thank you," Carlson told Smith at the start of their 17 minutes together at his sold-out speaking event. "Thank you for letting me, a rank foreigner, ask you questions."

There will always be those who say she's tacitly endorsing his comments or showing poor judgment doing an event with Carlson.

She'd had a ready response for those who question the appropriateness of Alberta's premier sharing a podium with the figure who cost his channel advertisers after saying immigrants make his United States "poorer and dirtier," and has steadily derided  Ukraine's defence against Russian invasion. Smith states she doesn't agree with every word uttered by any interviewers, from CBC and beyond.

It's true that Smith has not said anything that remotely compares to Carlson's words on immigrants, or transgender people, and ceased offering any Carlson-like skeptical commentary on Ukraine after becoming premier in late 2022.

There was merit in speaking with the popular U.S. media figure, her spokesperson insisted when the Carlson-Smith event was first announced last fall. A way to "share Alberta's message," he said — and indeed, near the conversation's end, the premier delivered the long-standing Alberta line that the United States should accept more oil exports from "safe Canada" instead of non-democracies like Iran and Venezuela.

That rosy message about Canada might get lost to U.S. viewers among Carlson's various complaints Wednesday that Canada is led by a dangerous and undemocratic regime that murders thousands with medically-assisted suicide; and has a prime minister who is a fascist from whom Canada should be liberated, as the commentator said in a video earlier that day.

Smith was opening herself up to criticism by associating with Carlson and that rhetoric, but most of that bombastic language is predictable fare for him. What would be unpredictable for Smith was those minutes of interaction directly with him. She had her own messages and agenda, and so did he.

One issue he wanted Smith's remarks on landed her in a dicey spot she hasn't much wanted to discuss: prosecutions of Albertans arrested during the pandemic.

He asked about the plight of four men arrested at the Coutts blockade in February 2022 and charged with conspiring to murder RCMP officers. Carlson called their legal detention as they await trial "a human rights violation" and argued their charges were dubious.

"Don't you think it would send a powerful message to go visit them in jail and find out what they've been accused of?" Carlson asked Smith.

There was a time, before she was premier, when she'd have been far more aligned with Carlson and many of the Albertans filling that convention centre hall that injustice was being done to those facing COVID- or convoy-related charges. She'd mused about amnesty for some Albertans facing prosecution for nonviolent offences while campaigning for the United Conservative leadership.

But weeks into her current job, she was told pardons and amnesty aren't possible with the stroke of a premier's pen. She's constrained in how she interacts with the police and court system, regardless of her beliefs. "This is part of the journey we've all gone on in the last year to realize just how much limitation there is," Smith told Carlson of her powers to intervene on cases.