Alberta Separatist Jeff Rath Has UCP Membership Terminated, Premier Smith Cites Code Breaches

The United Conservative Party has revoked the membership of Jeffrey Rath, the Calgary lawyer and Alberta independence advocate, after the party executive director found that he had breached its code of conduct multiple times. Premier Danielle Smith confirmed the decision on Friday, October 30, at the end of an unrelated government news conference. CBC reported the expulsion in a breaking news alert the same day.

Smith said the executive director, Dustin van Vugt, told the party board on Thursday that he had found "multiple instances of a breach of the code of conduct that we require of our members." "It was his decision to pull the membership and cancel his AGM registration, and I'm supportive of that," Smith said. She said she understood van Vugt made the decision "after a lot of evidence and compilation."

"We are not an independence party"

Asked whether others calling for a leadership review could also be removed, Smith said Rath's opposition to her was not the issue. "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."

What the party rules say

Under the UCP rules, the executive director can suspend or revoke a membership for cause, including 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 Code of Conduct Committee must confirm or overturn a revocation within 48 hours of the member being notified.

Rath calls it an attack on free speech

Rath has spent the weeks since the October 19 referendum campaigning to remove Smith as leader. He posted on Friday that van Vugt "purports to terminate" his membership and that Smith was claiming independence advocates are not welcome in the party. Earlier that day he wrote on X that an email had refunded his general meeting ticket, framing it as democracy and free speech in action. He told the Western Standard that calling for a leadership review is expressly allowed under the party bylaws, predicted the move would backfire on Smith, said he has not decided whether to appeal, and said he still plans to attend the AGM in Calgary from November 27 to 29.

Weeks of open conflict

About 75 percent of Albertans voted on October 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.

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, and claimed the message was meant for Thomas Lukaszuk, the former deputy premier who led the Forever Canadian petition. Smith said she had explained the changing petition process to several people who asked.

Rath was previously legal counsel to the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project. Its board members said the group terminated Mitch Sylvestre as chief executive and Rath as legal counsel on September 14, 2026, and removed both as directors 10 days later. Sylvestre disputed that account, and Rath described the meetings as imaginary.