Danielle Smith's pre-recorded policy announcements

Another way for politicians to control the message and avoid facing tough questions

Premier Danielle Smith delivered a pre-recorded televised address on September 17 (screenshot source: Your Alberta/YouTube)

In the span of one week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith released two pre-recorded video messages announcing major changes to the United Conservative Party government’s political agenda. 

The first was an 8-minute broadcast online and on television featuring Smith announcing new funding for school construction and taking political jabs at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the federal government’s immigration policies.

A second 3-minute video featured the Premier announcing the rumoured amendments to the Alberta Bill of Rights she argued would enshrine protections for people who refuse get vaccinated and people who own firearms and property.

Putting aside the content of the two announcements, the use of this kind of pre-recorded video to announce big government policy changes is worth noting. Politicians like Smith are increasingly relying on this form of communication to make important announcements, and they do this for a few reasons.

Releasing a pre-recorded video allows the politician greater control over their message. Recording a video in advance, instead of broadcasting it live in studio or at a press conference, means there’s little chance of making mistakes as numerous versions can be taped and edited to smooth out any rough edges. This usually means the announcement ends up feeling more like a political infomercial than a fireside chat.

Pre-recording video announcements also means the politician doesn’t even have to be in the province when the message is broadcast. On the day the first announcement was released, Smith was 3,269 kilometres away in New York City.

Not making the announcement in-person at a televised press conference means that the politician doesn’t have to immediately face questions from reporters about the announcement. Instead, sympathetic political columnists are typically given a scoop ahead of time. 

Following Smith’s two announcements, it wasn’t until the next day that reporters got to ask the Premier why her government wants to use public money to build private schools, or ask Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange if she could provide a single example of “the right to bodily autonomy” being violated during the COVID-19 pandemic (she could not).

Pre-recorded announcements about big government policy changes are not new, especially in an age when a YouTube video or Instagram reel can sometimes get more views than a TV commercial. But the tendency by politicians to make these important announcements in ways that gets them off the hook from answering tough questions is a troubling trend.

Smith listening to 5,000 Albertans

Smith may shrug off hard questions from reporters in the Press Gallery in Edmonton, but she can’t be accused of not listening intently to what’s on the minds of the 5,000 UCP members who are expected to travel to Red Deer on November 1 and 2 to vote on the future of her leadership.

That leadership review is top of mind for Smith and will be driving the Alberta government’s political agenda until November 3.