She’s off to Florida — Again.

Danielle Smith is migrating down south again, to Florida, to speak with Ben Shapiro, co-founder of The Daily Wire, an American conservative media company, and host of The Ben Shapiro Show podcast. Shapiro and Smith are the main attraction at a fundraiser event for PragerU on March 27 called the “East Coast Gala.”  PragerU is a U.S.-based, far-right think tank organization known for its climate change denialism, anti-immigration stances, disingenuous explanations of U.S. slavery, and anti-LGBT sentiments.

Smith’s travels to Florida were paid for using taxpayer dollars. Albertans are questioning the necessity of the premier attending the PragerU fundraising event, which costs attendees US$1,500 to attend. In addition to its controversies, PragerU is not an academic institution. In a caption to a video defending this frequent correction from the “left,” PragerU says, “We wear that criticism as a badge of honour,” as they see the universities of today as “overpriced indoctrination factories.” 

While the current trade war has Canadians refusing to support the U.S. economy, with many canceling trips down south of the border, the premier defends her trip to the event. A statement released by her press secretary, Sam Blackett, confirms she will not be canceling the trip and will instead go ahead with attending the event to further diplomacy regarding U.S. tariffs against Canada. Her voyage is considered an advocacy trip, so the travel expenses are covered.

How Smith expects diplomacy from the event’s audience and a guy who has already become comfortable calling Canada the 51^st state is a mystery. Especially since her previous efforts to visit Trump seemed to have already failed in preventing the trade war of now. Do her actions truly reflect her diplomatic strategy? Or do they support the more likely theory of her craving some warmer weather? 

Smith is no stranger to associating with right-wing figures with controversial views, already having spoken to Jordan B. Peterson and Tucker Carlson.

Shapiro is known for views controversial to the LGBTQIA+ community.. His promotion of Judeo-Christian values is often utilized to justify his disdain for the LGBTQIA+ community, anti-abortion stance, climate change skepticism, and overall disrespect for his political opponents.

It seems like Smith thinks her Florida vacation to visit the YouTube celebrity will help with Canada-U.S. diplomacy, as if her earlier Florida vacation this year to visit Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago hadn’t already failed to stave off the current trade war. Her trip is unlikely to yield any actual diplomatic results for Canadians wanting the trade war to come to a swift end. But at least Premier Smith will have a fun evening and a guaranteed riveting conversation with Shapiro on the taxpayer dollar.

Maybe the premier just likes trips to sunny Florida, and who wouldn’t if the trip costs you nothing?

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Graphic by Forrester Toews