Legitimizing conspiracy theories takes us all down a slippery slope

Alberta is sometimes known for its big, blue skies. Now, it’s known for the chemtrails that are supposedly being sprayed in those big, blue skies. I attended the Edmonton United Conservative Party (UCP) town hall on September 28 where Premier Danielle Smith entertained conspiracy theories. Chemtrails were only the tip of the iceberg.

During the Q&A, an individual asked Smith for “a safety data sheet of everything that is sprayed by those airplanes over Alberta.” The individual was referring to a conspiracy theory about airplanes spraying chemicals over people, otherwise known as chemtrails.

Smith openly legitimized something that she herself said there was no evidence of. After booing from the crowd she followed her initial response with by saying “if anyone is doing it, it’s the [United States] (U.S.) Department of Defense.” Smith said she “will do what [she] can to investigate,” and encouraged the individual to give her a special lead if they had one. I’d also love to know what sort of special lead they have. 

There’s a multitude of problems with Smith’s response. For starters, she could have simply said there’s no evidence of that happening. The end. Instead — whether she meant to or not — she legitimized a widely disproven conspiracy theory. As the premier of a province, Smith’s words hold a lot of weight in Alberta’s reputation on the global stage and in what people believe.

The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) denied it was spraying chemicals over Alberta. Smith’s office has now said Smith was just reiterating what other people had told her. In her initial response, Smith said that people had raised this issue at other town hall events. But that doesn’t mean it’s a legitimate claim, which Smith treated it as.

But beyond this one instance, Smith did this again in the town hall. Another attendee raised concerns about rezoning and 15-minute cities, which have been the source of conspiracy theories as well. The unfounded concern is that implementation of 15-minute cities would mean the government restricting or tracking individuals’ movements. 

Smith raised the theory that governments restrict people’s movement by creating 15-minute cities in her response. In her response, Smith made reference to Oxford, United Kingdom (U.K.) which became the target of 15-minute city conspiracy theorists during 2023. Smith was referring to Oxford, which made efforts to reduce traffic that were entirely separate from 15-minute cities. This is a conspiracy that Jordan Peterson, whom Smith has taken photos with and gone on his podcast, has joined in on. In reality, it would be entirely against the law and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to restrict people’s movement in Canada. Smith said her government wouldn’t let that happen, basically claiming to protect people from the boogieman.

Yet, much like with chemtrails, Smith openly talked about this like it’s a real issue. This isn’t concerning to watch only because it further spreads misinformation. It also displayed how easily Smith can be swayed by baseless claims if enough UCP supporters say something about it.

And even though Smith has supposedly heard of this theory before and thus had time to do her homework, she still entertained it. Does a handful of UCP members saying something outweigh the actual facts and evidence, or lack thereof?

Of course, this is nothing new for Smith. In the past Smith has participated in conspiracy theories about 100 per cent COVID-19 cures, “climate cops,” and an international common digital currency. She also supported an “Injection of Truth” event that centred around false claims about the effects of COVID-19 vaccines.

But now we are seeing these conspiracy theories influence legislation. Smith plans to enshrine the right to refuse vaccines into the Alberta Bill of Rights. Meanwhile, she also plans to restrict transgender youth’s access to gender-affirming care and their privacy at school. When asked about such plans at the town hall, Smith responded “you cannot make these decisions without your parental involvement and even to start social trends.” Being trans isn’t a social trend, nor can children medically transition without parental consent. There’s a lack of evidence that anyone is coercing or forcing people to take a vaccine. There’s even less evidence that restricting gender affirming care will help youth — in fact, there’s evidence that it’ll do the opposite. 

Smith is heading down a slippery slope and is taking all of Alberta with her. Albertans don’t benefit in any way from their premier taking conspiracy theories seriously. Especially when these conspiracies seem to be taking priority over facts when forming legislation.