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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will not attend Trump inauguration in-person as event moves indoors

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will not attend the inauguration of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump in person, now that the event is being moved indoors because of forecasted frigid temperatures in the U.S. capital.

Alberta's premier set to participate in Canadian embassy's inauguration day event: press secretary

A woman in a suit sits in front of a microphone at a table
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, left, will not be attending the inauguration of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump in-person, as the event has moved indoors. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will not attend the inauguration of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump in person, now that the event is being moved indoors.

Trump will take the oath of office from inside the Capitol Rotunda on Monday due to forecasts of frigid temperatures in the U.S. capital.

"Most ticketed guests will no longer be able to attend the [inauguration] ceremonies in person, including Premier Danielle Smith," Sam Blackett, the premier's press secretary, told CBC News in a statement. 

Blackett said the Premier's schedule for inauguration day in lieu of the change of plans is still being finalized, and could not confirm if Smith will watch the ceremony from another location.

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She is, however, slated to take part in the Canadian embassy's inauguration day event later in the afternoon. She will also attend the Republican Governors' Association evening reception. 

With only those in Trump's close circle able to attend the indoor ceremony, roughly 250,000 ticketed guests, as well as the tens of thousands expected to line the inaugural parade route, are left to find alternative plans. 

A woman and a man talk at a party.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Florida home, on Jan. 11. (Danielle Smith/X)

Trump said some supporters would be able to watch the ceremony from Washington's Capital One Arena — which has a capacity of about 20,000 — and that he would visit the arena after his swearing-in. 

Smith will stay in Washington until Thursday, during which time she is expected to meet with U.S. governors, elected officials and industry leaders. 

Her trip to Washington will occur alongside the anticipated implementation of tariffs on Canadian goods crossing the U.S. border, which Trump has threatened would be enacted Monday. 

The premier's 'Alberta First' approach to tackling the sanctions, marked by a visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago home last weekend, has been criticized by other Canadian premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as undermining a united front. 

Smith has said that her meeting with Trump at his Florida residence was "constructive," and that she won't support any federal government plan to deal with the tariffs that cuts off supply of Alberta energy and other products to the U.S. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kylee is a reporter with CBC Calgary. You can reach her at [email protected]

With files from the Associated Press