After working just one year and 32 days of her four-year contract, Athana Mentzelopoulos is no longer president and CEO of Alberta Health Services. Did the former Alberta and B.C. senior civil servant jump or was she pushed? It’s not clear. We’ll likely never get a straight answer from Premier Danielle Smith or anyone else […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Assailing UCP’s sham consultations, Public Interest Alberta plans to publish ‘People’s Budget’
When it comes to developing sweeping policy changes or building provincial budgets, Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government likes to do it in the dark. But, a sympathetic Albertan might ask, what about all those telephone town halls? What about all those online surveys? Didn’t the government even strike a star-studded panel to engage Albertans about […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
If there’s a federal election by spring, what will the UCP do about that Edmonton-Strathcona by-election?
The announcement of Justin Trudeau’s resignation plan yesterday leaves Alberta’s United Conservative Party with the conundrum of what to do about the timing of the Edmonton-Strathcona by-election, in which Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi intends to run to replace his predecessor, Rachel Notley. Given the timing of Ms. Notley’s resignation last month, the by-election will […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Rod Sykes, mayor of Calgary from 1969 to 1977, dead at 95
Rod Sykes, mayor of Calgary from 1969 to 1977, has died. During his three consecutive terms in office, James Rodney Winter Sykes put in motion major projects that continue to benefit Alberta’s largest city, among them development of the iconic Calgary Tower, Calgary’s downtown convention centre, and the city’s sprawling light-rail transit system. He was […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Naheed Nenshi will run in the by-election to replace Rachel Notley as MLA for Edmonton-Strathcona
The Alberta NDP’s worst-kept secret has now been confirmed: Party Leader Naheed Nenshi will run in the by-election to replace former leader and premier Rachel Notley as MLA for the Edmonton-Strathcona riding. Ms. Notley’s resignation as an MLA took effect on Monday, but even before she’d announced her plan to leave politics on Dec. 12, […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Alberta cabinet ministers Mickey Amery and Mike Ellis to ‘strengthen cross-border collaboration’ on Lone Star State junket
Give the United Conservative Party Government its due – it didn’t publish a really embarrassing news release insulting the intelligence of Albertans until the second day of 2025. Granted, Premier Danielle Smith’s short message on New Year’s Day did include a gratuitous and tendentious shot at Ottawa for alleged interference in provincial jurisdiction, but that’s […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
It’s 2025 and John Brown’s body lies a-moulderin’ in the grave, but Luigi marches on!
Happy New Year, I guess. This year may not turn out to be much better than the last one, but I do have a question for the first day of 2025: What happens to our Canadian public health care system if Donald Trump and sundry unsavoury Canadian characters like Stockwell Day succeed in their effort […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Despite the optimism of its spokespeople, big Trump tariffs would spell a bleak future for Alberta’s beef industry
Despite a few squawks about the potential impact of Donald Trump’s promised 25-per-cent tariff on All Things Canadian, at least in its public statements Alberta’s cattle industry has been surprisingly upbeat. Ho-hum, we’ve heard it all before seems to be a typical reaction from cattle industry organizations, cheerfully repeated by the media. Perhaps that’s because […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Another day, another UCP announcement; another year of AlbertaPolitics.ca … its 18th, as a matter of fact!
This blog marks the beginning of its 18th year of publication today. That, as I observed last year on this date, makes it something of an institution in Alberta political commentary. That post wasn’t a bad piece, if I may say so myself, and the questions I was entertaining about revenue and the most appropriate […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Edmonton NDP MP urges Trudeau Government to adopt her private member’s bill to make it harder for provinces to quit the CPP
Edmonton Strathcona MP Heather McPherson wants the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to adopt her private member’s bill, which would require the consent of at least two-thirds of the provinces enrolled in the Canada Pension Plan before a province could withdraw from the fund, as government legislation. The New Democratic Party Member of Parliament […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Chief Actuary’s report on UCP plan to raid Canada Pension Plan fund: Forget about getting 53%
Let’s cut right to the chase: What the analysis made public yesterday by the Chief Actuary of Canada shows is that if Alberta were to split from the Canada Pension Plan it would only be entitled to 20 to 25 per cent of the CPP investment fund, or about $120 billion to $150 billion. In […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Danielle Smith congratulates the loser of the Lethbridge-West by-election; family docs’ pay deal is finally done
Had the United Conservative Party’s John Middleton-Hope won Wednesday’s by-election in Lethbridge-West, one wonders if Health Minister Adriana LaGrange would have invited him along yesterday to help her make her long-overdue announcement of the government’s funding agreement with Alberta doctors? Alas for the UCP, Mr. Middleton-Hope was not the winner of the by-election. The Alberta […]