Jeffrey Rath says he will appeal UCP expulsion, calls decision ‘arbitrary’
In a letter to the party’s executive director, Rath demanded the reasons for his removal and accused Premier Danielle Smith of misrepresenting the UCP’s founding principles.
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In a reply to UCP executive director Dustin van Vugt that Rath posted to X late Friday afternoon, he demanded the party give him the particulars of the alleged “cause” for his removal and said he would hire a lawyer once he receives them.
“Upon receipt of these particulars I will retain and instruct legal counsel to perfect an appeal of my arbitrary and obviously biased alleged removal as a party member,” Rath wrote.
The letter came hours after Smith confirmed the expulsion at a government news conference, saying van Vugt had found “multiple instances of a breach of the code of conduct that we require of our members.”
‘I respect the party’
Rath rejected van Vugt’s finding that he does not respect the UCP. “This is untrue. I respect the party whose members overwhelmingly favour independence,” he wrote.
He accused Smith of repeatedly claiming, falsely, that the UCP is a federalist party committed to keeping Alberta in a united Canada “regardless of the cost,” and said party president Rob Smith and other members had told her that was not true.
Rath wrote that despite those warnings, the premier has now told members that unless they accept “the false vision of Jason Kenney of the UCP as a federalist party,” those who favour independence should find a new party. He called that political malpractice and said it has made Smith unelectable in 2027.
“For her good and the good of the party a leadership review is required,” he wrote. “As a member I am entitled to advocate for a leadership review. This is expressly contemplated by our bylaws.”
In the post sharing the letter, Rath said challenging what he called Smith’s “anti-democratic dictatorship of the UCP” is the duty of every member who cares about Alberta’s future.
What the premier said
Smith was asked about Rath at the end of an unrelated news conference Friday. She said van Vugt, who has the power to cancel memberships, told the party’s board of directors on Thursday what he had found.
“It was his decision to pull the membership and cancel his AGM registration, and I’m supportive of that,” Smith said.
Asked whether others calling for a leadership review could also be removed, Smith said Rath’s opposition to her was not the issue. She noted he has never supported her, in the leadership race or since, and called that irrelevant.
“What is relevant is that he has said publicly things like he wants to come to the AGM to turn the UCP into an independence party, and we are not an independence party,” she said.
“Somebody whose objective and mission is to turn us into something we are not is not following the objective of our party.”
Smith said she understood van Vugt made the decision “after a lot of evidence and compilation.” Her comments can be seen starting at about the 45:40 mark of the Government of Alberta’s video of the news conference.
What happens next
Under the UCP’s membership rules, the executive director can suspend or revoke a membership “for Cause,” which includes unethical conduct and any act that harms the party or brings it into disrepute. Reasonable adversarial debate and respectful disagreement do not count as cause.
The party’s Code of Conduct Committee must confirm or overturn a revocation within 48 hours of the member being notified.
Earlier Friday, before the party’s decision was public, Rath wrote on X that he had received an email refunding his AGM ticket. He later posted that van Vugt “purports to terminate” his membership. He has said he still plans to attend the AGM, which runs Nov. 27 to 29 in Calgary.
Weeks of open conflict
About 75 per cent of Albertans voted Oct. 19 to remain in Canada. On referendum night, Rath said Alberta would never be independent while Smith, whom he called an “avowed federalist,” led the UCP. He has since urged constituency associations to call for a leadership review and pushed for a special general meeting to remove her.
Smith has told separatists in the party to accept the referendum result or leave. Earlier this week, asked about a new requirement that board candidates pledge to abide by the result, she said: “If you’re going to be a member of our party, you have to accept what Albertans told us.”
The dispute escalated this week when Rath posted screenshots of text messages he said Smith sent him in June 2025, while the province was changing its citizen petition rules. Rath claimed the message was meant for Thomas Lukaszuk, the former deputy premier who led the Forever Canadian petition. Lukaszuk said he was never in contact with Smith and argued the texts showed she had helped the separatists instead. In question period, Smith said she had explained the changing petition process to several people who asked.
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