Alberta's Smith defends gift of Saudi jet tour against accusations of entitlement

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she travelled on a private plane on behalf of the Saudi government during her trip to the Middle East last year.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is rejecting Opposition accusations of entitlement for using a private jet last fall courtesy of the Saudi government.

Smith and members of her United Conservative Party government staff travelled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to talk about collaborating on issues such as energy development and artificial intelligence.

In a raucous question period in the legislature Tuesday, Smith said it’s not unusual for the Alberta government to also charter flights for foreign dignitaries to tour the province’s oilsands.

“I am very transparent about my travels,” she said, adding her trip was announced and advertised.

The flights came to light in a committee hearing Tuesday when Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi asked the premier about missing receipts for a leg of the trip to the Middle East in late October and November.

New Democrats asked why what they called “lavish” gifts were kept secret until then.

Nenshi lambasted the premier, calling it inappropriate to accept gifts from a foreign government that are potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“This is so far out of the norm,” he said.

“Would the premier, had she still been the leader of the Opposition, allow for this level of entitlement?” said Nenshi.

Smith said three flights were needed 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, Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, 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 hotel rooms and flights were approved in advance by the ethics commissioner.

Nenshi pressed Smith to release the ethics commissioner’s written approval, and questioned whether social protocol justified taking advantage of the offer.

“Why didn’t the premier just say no?” he said.

Smith responded to Nenshi multiple times by listing the details of site tours hosted by the former NDP government for visitors, including an American think tank, congressional staff and governors.

“This is the kind of thing that we do with international and intergovernmental relations, and we’re going to keep on doing it,” said Smith.

Nenshi countered that Smith was making a false comparison, since Saudi Arabia is not a democracy and is one of Alberta’s “major competitors” in energy markets.

But Smith argued that Alberta has a lot to learn from the country’s advanced technology, and there are Alberta service companies that want to do business in Saudi Arabia.

“The second largest oil producer in the world and the fourth largest oil producer of the world – us – have a lot to talk about,” said Smith.

The heckling across the aisle became so heated, Speaker Ric McIver had to step in to call for order multiple times, including after government house leader Joseph Schow began listing tickets that Nenshi accepted to various events when he was Calgary mayor.

“Anybody want to do some work today?” quipped McIver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2026.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press