Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told the legislature she “refused to be silenced” by those who criticized her decision to travel to the United States to speak with Ben Shapiro, one of the most popular political commentators in the world — and one whose audience is full of President Donald Trump's supporters.

The decision is part of Smith's ongoing efforts to lower the temperature on trade hostilities between Canada and the U.S., which has seen the premier advocating for the importance of Alberta's oil and gas to the American economy.

On Thursday's Rebel Roundup livestream, Sheila Gunn Reid and Tamara Ugolini praised Smith for her stance, acknowledging that Canada needs to pitch a positive economic message to President Donald Trump.

“We don't need to go on Democrat media, on MSNBC and CNN, and talk to Trump's enemies,” said Sheila. “If this were left up to Ottawa, there would be not a single export from Alberta and all of our families would be unemployed.”

Smith's approach is drastically different than that of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, noted Tamara. “It's just such weak cowardice [from Ford],” she said. “She's taken a tough approach, she's been there since day one trying to negotiate, trying to tighten up our boarders, trying to increase security, to clean up our streets.”

For these efforts, “she's been called a traitor by the media and politicians in the east of the country,” remarked Sheila. “If you're fighting for Alberta jobs, you're fighting for everybody else's jobs too. She's the only one with a decent relationship with the Trump administration.”

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