EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she was unaware of her government's changes that resulted in the removal of publicly disclosed expense receipts earlier this month.
On Aug. 1, the province quietly published new rules axing a requirement for Smith, her ministers, deputy ministers and political staff to publicly post receipts for expenses over $100.
Her government is reverting to its previous rules after critics from across the political spectrum accused it of dodging responsibility.
At an unrelated event in Calgary, Smith said Thursday she was unaware of the changes at the time, and said it all came about because "something got lost in translation."
She said some members of her cabinet were concerned that staying at the same hotels might pose a security risk.
"The direction was to find a way to redact that information," she said, reiterating what she told members of a rowdy crowd demanding transparency at an Edmonton town hall last week.
She was responding in part to an accusation by her former infrastructure minister, Peter Guthrie, who was booted from Smith’s United Conservative Party caucus earlier this year.
Guthrie said on social media last week that Smith was being evasive and blaming her own cabinet.
"As a former cabinet member, I know this: under the Smith-Anderson duo-cracy, nothing moves without their permission," he said, referring to Smith's chief of staff, Rob Anderson.
"This premier grabs credit when things go right and skirts blame when they don’t."
Smith said the official policy has gone back to the original intent of the cabinet direction, which was to keep posting receipts but redact hotel information.
Her government is also promising to re-post eight years' worth of expense receipts that were deleted from its website.
Marisa Breeze, press secretary to Finance Minister Nate Horner, said deleted receipts are already being put back up on the government's public website.
The ministry expects them to be back in full by the end of this week or early next week, she said.
“This approach protects the safety of officials and preserves Alberta’s reputation as a national leader in transparency," Breeze said in an email.
When the story was first reported by the CBC, Smith was out of the country, but her itinerary said she would be briefed on government business.
Horner's office told the public broadcaster the original changes were to cut government red tape and bring Alberta's policies into alignment with other provinces.
Kris Sims, Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said this week the group is happy the UCP is fixing what appears to have been a mistake, and that it's important for taxpayers to have historical data on spending.
She said she understands hotel locations being redacted for safety, but that the original rules were put in place for a reason.
"I do think it was a mistake," she said.
Sims was not the only one who called the removal of receipts questionable.
Official Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said it's good the UCP cabinet partially reversed course, but that it shows the government is making up things as it goes along.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2025.
Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
