Alberta Premier Danielle Smith addresses United Conservative Party party members at their annual meeting in Red Deer, Alta., on Nov. 2.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

A political fight unlike any other in Canada will play out in Alberta this fall.

Alberta’s NDP and other critics say the United Conservative Party’s sweeping proposed laws on sex ed, pronouns and transgender youth – even banning some medical treatments with prescriptive rules – are an example of gross government overreach that could harm vulnerable kids. Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said in an interview that if his party forms government, they will repeal the whole package.

On the other side, Premier Danielle Smith is confident she has the backing of a significant swath of Albertans, and perhaps Canadians more broadly, who quietly support parts of her push. She is also acting with an understanding of the wider world, where the medical approach to gender dysphoria is evolving.

It’s a subject that many didn’t want to become central in Alberta. It drags the province into the politics of the U.S., where those under the age of 18 are now barred from accessing gender-affirming treatments, to some degree, in half of the 50 states.

But here we are. The UCP introduced a trio of bills on Oct. 31, kicking........

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