[RedHot25]

This is just Don purely speculating, but nonetheless...

https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/co...ocratic-powers

Smith, of course, has declared herself the UCP candidate in a Brooks-Medicine Hat byelection to be held Nov. 8. Elbow stays vacant, to be “covered” by adjacent UCP minister Tyler Shandro.

There won’t be an MLA of any party in Elbow until next May 29 — if Smith decides to hold the general election at all.

A startling thought? It sure is. But if Smith is so ready to made a riding wait, maybe she’ll make the whole province wait, too.

The Elections Act calls for a vote every four years on a specific date. But that is not binding. There’s no stricture against letting the government run to its full term of five years, the constitutional limit.

That could mean an election in May 2024, not 2023. Come spring, what happens if the polls are dreadful for the UCP, showing a clear NDP victory?

Smith adamantly insists that she will respect the symbolic law. She seems to mean it.

But precedents exist for long election delay by new premiers who win their party leadership.