Critics are holding Premier Danielle Smith and Alberta's United Conservative Party (UCP) government directly responsible for a severe surge in respiratory illnesses currently straining the province's hospitals. The accusation centers on the government's alleged failure to adequately promote vaccination against influenza, RSV, and COVID-19, a move attributed to appeasing a segment of its political base.
Vaccine Promotion Failure Strains Hospitals
According to public letters published in the Edmonton Journal on December 27, 2025, the provincial government has actively backed away from encouraging Albertans to get vaccinated. The writers argue this is a deliberate strategy to cater to a right-wing, anti-vaccination minority within the UCP's support base. This lack of promotion, coupled with making COVID-19 vaccines less accessible, has created a perfect storm.
"It doesn’t take rocket science to understand why hospitals are now slammed by these respiratory diseases and infections," writes Edmonton resident Sharon Flemming. She states that managing healthcare is a core government responsibility, and the current administration is "failing miserably." The result is emergency rooms and wards overwhelmed with preventable cases of flu, RSV, and COVID-19.
A Pattern of Ideological Healthcare Deterioration
The criticism extends beyond vaccine policy to a broader, systemic weakening of Alberta's public healthcare system. Another letter from Joann Limoges of Edmonton contends the system's decline is not accidental but a predictable result of deliberate UCP policy choices.
These choices allegedly include:
- Chronic underfunding of public health services.
- Repeated and disruptive restructuring of the system.
- Adversarial treatment of physicians and healthcare workers.
- Expanding the use of private contracts, which fragments care.
This approach, Limoges argues, has created uncertainty and fragmentation, leading to critical staff shortages, stretched services in both rural and urban areas, and longer wait times for patients. The government then uses these poor outcomes to justify further privatization, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of decline.
Public Backlash and Political Consequences
The frustration has sparked a strong desire for political change among the critics. Sharon Flemming expresses a clear intention to vote out the current government in the next election, calling for a leadership that is "more modern, scientific, ethical and honest."
She criticizes the UCP for listening only to a minority on a range of issues—from healthcare and education to the proposed provincial pension plan and provincial police force—instead of representing the majority of Albertans. Flemming labels the government "an absolute disgrace, disaster and calamity."
The letters collectively frame healthcare as a fundamental public service that requires trust, collaboration, and sustained investment. They conclude that the current government's ideological persistence and neglect are directly harming patients and destabilizing a system that once functioned effectively for all Albertans.
