EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has demanded an apology from the town of Jasper for a report that criticizes her government’s handling of last summer’s devastating wildfire. Smith made her remarks during a press conference in Edmonton on Friday, where she also placed blame on the federal government for its response to the fire.

The report, released on Thursday, was commissioned by Jasper and is based on feedback from over 300 firefighters and front-line staff who fought the blaze. The fire destroyed about one-third of the buildings in Jasper, which is located within Jasper National Park, a federally managed area. Smith expressed disappointment, stating, “This report comes as a shot out of the blue. It’s unfair, it’s untrue and I would like them to withdraw it.”

She emphasized that the fire was a federal incident, occurring in a federal park, and criticized the report for politicizing what she described as a successful response. “We want to work collaboratively with our municipal and federal partners, but pointing fingers at others when they should be looking at what they can do to improve their own response would have been a far better outcome,” Smith said.

The report claims that Smith’s United Conservative Party government complicated the firefighting efforts by frequently requesting information and attempting to make decisions outside its jurisdiction. It noted that this jurisdictional overlap led to political challenges that distracted incident commanders from focusing on the wildfire response.

Smith countered that her government had no role in the events leading up to the fire and argued that the report failed to acknowledge Alberta’s contributions, which included $181 million in disaster recovery funding and timely deployment of resources. “I hope they go back to the drawing board,” she said, referring to the report’s findings.

In response to Smith’s demands, Jasper officials, including Mayor Richard Ireland, did not immediately comment on whether they would retract the report or issue an apology. Instead, they expressed gratitude for the provincial support during the fire response and rebuilding efforts. The town stated, “We hope this report contributes meaningfully to the shared knowledge that strengthens emergency preparedness across Alberta.”

Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi criticized Smith’s reaction, stating that it prioritized politics over the lives affected by the fire. “Rather than accepting responsibility and promising to do better, they do what they always do: lash out at any criticism, insult others and refuse to accept any blame for the mistakes they have made,” Nenshi said.

Bill Given, Jasper’s chief administrator, clarified that the report was not intended to assign blame but to identify areas for improvement. He noted that the report was based on independent consultants and aimed at fostering continuous improvement in emergency response. “We were specifically asking, ‘How can (the town) improve?’” Given said. “In order to find out how you can improve, you look for gaps, you look at overlaps, you look for weaknesses, and then you go to address them moving forward.”

Smith concluded by urging Parks Canada to expedite requests for assistance in future fire situations, citing issues with forest management in federal parks. Federal Public Safety Minister Eleanor Olszewski, when asked about Smith’s comments, stated that she was reviewing the report and planned to visit Jasper next week for the one-year anniversary of the fire.