EDMONTON -- The executive director of Premier Danielle Smith's office says that instead of criticizing her, First Nations chiefs should fix their own communities, describing them as entrenched in poverty, drugs and violence.
Bruce McAllister, in a post on social media, says the chiefs should focus on their own problems rather than having "the gall" to accuse the premier of treason over Alberta's looming separation referendum.
McAllister also says the chiefs' misaligned priorities make him wonder if they're taking orders from someone else.
The post comes after the Assembly of Treaty Chiefs, representing First Nations across Alberta, voted to ask RCMP to look into whether the Oct. 19 referendum amounts to criminal treason by Smith and her United Conservative Party.
Smith responded to that by saying the chiefs should "check themselves" for such an inflammatory accusation.
Her government and the chiefs have been at odds in the separation debate, with First Nations winning a recent court decision to quash a separatist petition because the government neglected its duty to consult them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2026.