Leader of the Official Opposition
MLA, Highwood

Danielle Smith was elected as the Leader of the Wildrose on Oct 17, 2009.

Prior to her leadership victory, Danielle was the Director of Provincial Affairs for Alberta with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. She worked with all levels of government to represent the interests of CFIB’s 10,000 small business members in Alberta.

Before joining CFIB, Danielle had extensive experience in the media. She was an editorial writer and columnist at the Calgary Herald for six years. She served as host of Global Sunday, a national current affairs television talk show and was also the host of two programs on CKMX 1060 AM radio in Calgary – Health Frontiers and Standing Ground. She has made frequent guest appearances as a commentator on TV and radio.

Danielle’s public policy experience began with an internship at the Fraser Institute. She was also elected as a trustee for the Calgary Board of Education and served as the director of the Alberta Property Rights Initiative and the Canadian Property Rights Research Institute.

Danielle received a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Calgary. Danielle met her husband, David Moretta in 2006, and is a proud step-mother of David’s son Jonothan. Both Danielle and David now proudly call High River home with their two dogs Cain and Turk.