Photo: The Canadian Press

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at the Canada Strong and Free Network in Ottawa on Thursday, March 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says conservatives must learn how to win in "big cities."

Smith made the comment to a room of conservatives gathered in Ottawa for the annual conference of the Canada Strong and Free Network, formerly called the Manning Centre.

With Albertans set to go the polls in a provincial election this year, Smith says the United Conservative Party has more ground to gain in the province's two largest cities: Calgary and Edmonton. 

Smith replaced Jason Kenney as party leader and premier last fall, after he resigned following a leadership review where he received only 51 per cent support. 

Kenney faced considerable backlash leading up to that vote for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Smith told today's crowd that the party had lost "a lot" of its base. 

Smith's belief that conservatives must make inroads in large cities is shared by the federal Conservatives, with Leader Pierre Poilievre spending many of his weekends in Metro Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area — areas where his party has struggled to gain ground in the past several elections.