Don Braid

Don Braid is a veteran political columnist with the Calgary Herald who focuses on the shifting power struggles inside Alberta politics, especially around the United Conservative Party, separatist movements and the referendum tools being used to reshape the province’s future. He writes a regular column that combines reported detail with clear, explanatory analysis, and he draws on decades of experience to situate fast-moving events in a longer political arc. His work tracks how party activists, cabinet ministers, local organizers and citizen petitions interact to push Alberta toward or away from confrontation with the rest of Canada.

Alberta separation and referendum campaigns

Braid devotes a large part of his recent column work to Alberta separation and the mechanics of referendums. In headline pieces such as his columns on whether Alberta will vote on separation in 2026 and on whether a “yes” vote on independence would force Premier Danielle Smith to act, he lays out the legal thresholds, petition requirements and timelines that underpin independence campaigns rather than treating them as abstract rhetoric. He follows the signature-gathering efforts of separatist groups and contrasts them with initiatives like Thomas Lukaszuk’s Forever Canadian campaign, noting when government rules or administrative hurdles favour one side over another. In columns on omnibus legislation that “enables” a separatist vote while changing recall rules, he parses how new laws alter Elections Alberta’s role, what questions can go to the courts and how different petitions are routed either to the legislature or to a provincewide vote. His through-line on this sub-beat is to show how separation is being pursued through concrete legal instruments - referendum laws, citizen initiatives and party rules - rather than treating it as a purely emotional cause.

UCP leadership, internal battles and party democracy

Braid’s columns return repeatedly to internal United Conservative Party tensions and leadership questions. In his work on whether the UCP is still a pro-Canada party, he reports on discussions among party leaders about a potential vote that could transform the UCP into a separatist party, quoting internal figures such as the party president and explaining how a “50 per cent plus one” result could trigger a special general meeting. He follows how party board members, federalist and independence supporters line up on these questions, and he treats leadership reviews and internal votes as central storylines rather than procedural footnotes.

The column on whether the UCP may approve Lukaszuk’s referendum question while Smith’s leadership faces threats fits the same pattern: he connects a specific referendum question to the premier’s hold on the party and to constituency associations pushing for reviews. Across these pieces he maps out thresholds for leadership reviews, the number of riding associations needed to force a vote, and the timing of party conventions, so that readers can see how internal rules, not just public polling, define a leader’s survival.

He also extends this lens to conservative politics beyond Alberta, as in his coverage of leadership review fights in Calgary that frame campaigns as “epic” contests over direction and control.

Local parties, city hall battles and provincial reach

Braid does not confine his coverage to the legislature and party headquarters; he also follows how provincial politics plays out in municipal arenas. In his column on an “upstart Calgary Party” that aims to boot the province out of city hall business, he profiles a new local party as a vehicle for resisting provincial intrusion into city governance. He explains how provincial laws and funding levers give a governing party influence over municipal decisions, and he uses the Calgary Party story to show how local actors organize to reclaim or defend their authority.

This strand of his work shows that he treats city hall as part of the same political ecosystem as the provincial cabinet and party boards, not as a separate beat. He tends to highlight how new parties, recall efforts and citizen-driven campaigns at the local level intersect with broader conservative and separatist projects in the province.

Long-view political analysis and institutional context

Braid’s professional profiles describe him as a proud mainstream media columnist with the Calgary Herald and as a politics reporter with roughly half a century of experience, and his columns reflect that long view.

He writes on major institutional events such as throne speeches, using pieces about King Charles III and Queen Camilla to comment on how speeches signal shifts in Canada’s external ties and trusted partners. In federal and provincial coverage, he links current leaders and party strategies to earlier eras, drawing on his long memory to compare today’s unrest to previous constitutional fights and party realignments.

His commentary on whether the UCP remains pro-Canada, and on how a governing party that began as a federalist project could become a vehicle for separatism, shows a particular interest in how party identities evolve over time. Across his work he favours clear, direct language, builds his arguments from reported facts and on-the-record quotes, and anchors day-to-day political conflict in the institutions - legislatures, parties, courts and referendums - that ultimately decide outcomes.