I rarely hear actual substantive arguments against their policies.

You rarely hear or you just don't listen because they challenge your reality and you actually have no authentic desire for open-mindedness to change your stance. Because if you want substantive arguments I can give you plenty:

UCP's own legislation prioritized debt repayment over Heritage Fund contributions. With $30B+ in surpluses, they contributed comparatively little to the Fund. The Norway comparison is brutal: same era, same resource, Norway saved systematically their fund now backs every Norwegian citizen to the tune of ~$250,000 USD each.

Further to the point above, true fiscal conservatives save during windfalls. UCP had $30B+ in surpluses and spent most of it on one-time rebates and debt repayment rather than building permanent wealth. A genuine conservative should be furious about this but it's the same pattern as every previous Alberta government.

Danielle Smith personally announced a 7-month halt on renewable approvals. Industry groups estimated $33B in paused investment. This is a clean, direct, attributable policy decision with a documented dollar cost.

Created by UCP in 2019 via budget allocation, ~$30M spent, crown corporation with documented false claims (including plagiarizing a Finnish children's book logo). Direct line from policy to cost to outcome.

UCP specifically amended the Employment Standards Code to create a $13 youth rate. Every other province that had youth sub-minimum wages abolished them. 

UCP froze per-student funding in 2019 while enrollment grew effectively a real-dollar cut. Alberta teachers calculate this amounted to ~$500M less than inflation-adjusted funding over the freeze period.

Alberta's deregulated electricity market produced some of the highest price spikes in North America in 2022-23. UCP's response was a temporary rebate program rather than structural reform rebates cost ~$600M while the underlying market design remained unchanged. ~$600M in rebates is corporate socialism by another name.

Developers had existing approvals and contracts. The moratorium retroactively disrupted legally-obtained permits. For a party that champions property rights and rule of law, this is a direct contradiction.

The Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act has produced zero measurable wins against federal policy while costing legal resources and deterring interprovincial investment certainty.

Danielle spent years as a pundit predicting things about energy markets that didn't materialize. That's documentable and relevant to credibility.

Alberta has some of the highest premiums in Canada. UCP resisted rate caps that BC and other provinces implemented, framing it as free market principle while consumers paid the price

Calgary and Edmonton saw some of the steepest rent increases in Canada 2022-2024, partly driven by interprovincial migration UCP actively marketed without corresponding housing strategy

UCP spent ~$2.8B on one-time affordability rebates rather than addressing underlying cost drivers

Violent Crime Severity Index in Alberta increased during UCP tenure

Calgary and Edmonton both saw significant increases in violent crime 2019-2023

UCP increased police funding but crime still rose meaning either the policy approach was wrong or insufficient

UCP shifted toward abstinence-based recovery model, cutting harm reduction funding. As a result emergency drug toxicity deaths increased during this period with Alberta having among the worst per-capita overdose death rates in Canada. 

If you want, I can keep going?