Alberta's 'infamous' gold-coloured cat statue sparks legislature hissing match

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, left, tours the Saudi Arabia pavilion with Saudi Arabia Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud at the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

The mystery of a gold-coloured cat perched in the office of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is now a full-on hissing match.

It began in the house last week, when Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi publicly accused Smith of questionable judgment for accepting lavish gifts from foreign leaders, including a “giant golden cat.”

A statue of a gold-coloured feline can be seen in the background of one office picture sent out by Smith’s social media accounts in December, and has since become an internet meme, with the critter even hopping up on Smith’s lap to be petted in one false, manufactured video.

On Monday night, Smith’s chief of staff Rob Anderson weighed in on social media on what he called the “now infamous cat sculpture.”

“The cat sculpture is worth a few hundred dollars and is made of copper — not gold,” he wrote.

The premier’s office said last week the cat was not a personal present to Smith but was accepted on behalf of Albertans as a gesture of diplomatic goodwill.

It came from Saudi energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud when he attended the World Petroleum Conference in Calgary in 2023, and is being displayed in the United Conservative premier’s office in Calgary.

Anderson said it’s currently on display “out of respect for a country we are developing an important and growing trading relationship with.”

He dismissed as conspiracy loving tinfoil-hat wearers anyone who believes there is anything lavish or untoward about the cat statue. And he took sarcastic aim at Nenshi.

“Nenshi’s disrespect for foreign trading partners is yet more proof of his complete unfitness to lead … and I want to express my unwavering support for his continued leadership of the Alberta NDP."

Speaking to reporters Tuesday in the legislature, Nenshi said the cat is not only a symbol of entitlement, but of the UCP government’s lack of transparency and integrity.

“You know how you could have avoided this? Disclose the gifts you receive,” Nenshi said, directing his comments at the government.

“Instead, you hide, you obfuscate, you drunk tweet late at night — or do whatever it is Mr. Anderson is doing in order to try and defend himself — and he looks ridiculous,” he said.

Nenshi added that in having the statue appraised, the government should have also assessed it for security risks such as listening devices, but it’s unclear whether they did.

The premier’s press secretary Sam Blackett said in a statement last week the exchange of gifts is common diplomatic protocol and, in this instance, the premier presented the Saudi Arabian minister with a soapstone sculpture.

“Tangible gifts accepted on behalf of the province do not trigger disclosure requirements,” he wrote.

Blackett has so far declined to respond to questions from The Canadian Press seeking a paper trail of the statue’s appraised value and formal forfeiture to the province, along with requests to photograph the statue in person.

Former UCP cabinet minister Peter Guthrie, who now sits across the aisle from the government in the legislature and leads the Progressive Tory Party, told reporters that he’s seen the statue, and in his experience, it “looked pretty expensive.”

“For anybody to believe that this is something that has no worth would be rather foolish,” he said.

He added it raises questions about whether the gift was properly disclosed to the protocol office and if so, when.

The statue dispute comes after Smith disclosed that she and her staff took private jet trips while visiting the Middle East last fall, courtesy of the Saudi government.

Last week, facing heated accusations of entitlement and secrecy from the NDP, Smith said three flights were needed in the Middle East to make stops at a military airbase, an oilfield and a refinery.

She said she was there at the invitation of the Saudi energy minister, and if not for the offer, she and her staff would have had to drive for three days.

Smith has also said she stayed in accommodations provided by the Saudis, calling it social protocol, and that both the accommodations and flights were approved in advance by the province’s ethics commissioner.

She added it’s not unusual practice for the Alberta government to also charter flights for foreign dignitaries to tour the province’s oilsands.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2026.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press