UCP stands behind 'constitutional affairs' point man after comments on French language, King Charles III

OTTAWA — Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party will not be demoting caucus lead on constitutional relations, Red Deer MLA Jason Stephan, after his attacks on the French language and the monarchy.

“(Mr.) Stephan’s views do not impede his work as the Parliamentary Secretary for Constitutional Affairs,” said Sam Blackett, spokesman for Premier Danielle Smith.

Stephan wrote in an op-ed last week that Ottawa’s policy of official bilingualism is “rigged against Alberta,” noting that less than one per cent of residents spoke French exclusively.

“Every year the federal government takes Albertans’ tax dollars and spends billions to artificially sustain this mandate through government programs, including minority-language education, second-language instruction, and subsidies for official language minority communities,” wrote Stephan.

He added that French proficiency requirements tipped the scales toward central Canadians competing for federal judgeships and other plum government jobs.

Stephan wrote on his official MLA letterhead in July that it was time for Alberta to cut ties with the monarchy, calling the Crown antithetical to the province’s meritocratic culture.

“In Alberta, (w)e believe in earning your place —not inheriting it. Yet under our constitution the Head of State (King Charles III) did not earn that position. He was born into it,” read the statement.

“Alberta doesn’t need a king. (It) needs more popular sovereignty, more checks and balances (and) more independence,” wrote Stephan.

Stephan skipped the UCP’s official caucus swearing-in ceremony after winning re-election in May 2023 but reportedly swore an oath to the King in the fall.

Blackett said that Stephan’s opinions aren’t necessarily those of the party.

“MLAs are entitled to express their views as private members,” wrote Blackett.

UCP caucus communications director Shanna Schulhauser also defended Stephan’s right to speak for himself.

“We’ve been letting his columns stand as-is,” wrote Schulhauser in an email.

Stephan was appointed the UCP government’s parliamentary secretary for constitutional affairs in May, reporting to Attorney General Mickey Amery.

Amery’s office didn’t respond to an email about Stephan’s comments by press time.

The party said at the time that Stephan would play a key role in asserting Alberta’s constitutional jurisdiction in areas such as resource development, and defending the province’s rights from Ottawa.

The appointment came two weeks after Stephan told reporters that he wanted to see a question on independence put to Albertans on next year’s referendum ballot.

He’s been vocal in recent years about his belief that confederation isn’t working for Alberta.

Smith defended Stephan’s referendum endorsement when pressed by reporters .

“We all have different ideas about how we get respect from Ottawa … I’m not going to be demonizing anybody who may have a different view than me,” said Smith.

Smith has said she’d personally like to see Alberta stay in Canada but will put an independence question to Albertans next year if it receives enough signatures .

She also called herself a “monarchist” who supports the continued role of Charles III as head of state in a recent interview with ex-TVO anchor Steve Paikin.

A recent poll found that 48 per cent of UCP voters, and 46 per cent of all Albertans back the monarchy, with King Charles III enjoying a plus-22 net favourability rating in the province.

Stephan didn’t respond to multiple requests to be interviewed for this article.

National Post

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