EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith defended her threat to withhold funding for judges if her government doesn’t get more say on their appointment on Saturday, saying it’s a negotiating tactic.

Smith said during her call-in radio show she would rather get a fair conclusion and parity in the appointment process and she has started the conversation on it.

Her comments come after she called on Ottawa — in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney made public this week — to let her province have more of a say on how judges are selected and threatened to withhold some court funding should Ottawa not agree to the new process she proposed.

She also called on Ottawa to relax bilingualism requirements for judges on the Supreme Court of Canada, which since 2016 have required them to have a functional understanding of both official languages.

During the call-in radio show, host Wayne Nelson tells Smith that while some disagree with her demands, there are others who agree that the judicial reform is needed, but they add that the premier is going about it the wrong way and are comparing her to Trump.

Smith didn’t address the Trump comparison in her response, and instead said that everything her government has been doing in the last few years has been about getting respect from Ottawa as well as making changes that the people want.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2026.

The Canadian Press