Say what you will about the big strategic brains behind Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government, at least they didn’t repeat their midsummer “energy rebate” bungle. Mind you, they’re bringing in so much money thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump’s war of choice on Iran, which was only supposed to last a week or two, that […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
After the referendum, Alberta will be angrier, more divided, more radicalized, and a worse place to invest
Whatever happens on Oct. 19, the United Conservative Party of Premier Danielle Smith will have left Alberta a worse place than it was before the 10 referenda scheduled to be voted on that day. After the ballots have been counted, Alberta will be angrier, more divided, more radicalized, and not incidentally a worse place to […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
UCP voters’ list change shows ‘fundamental misunderstanding’ of scrutineers’ role in democracy, former elections official says
The United Conservative Party decision to provide Alberta political parties with a “list of electors” with no electors listed in it for the Oct. 19 referendum vote either “demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of election scrutineers or disdain for the role that they play,” says former Alberta election commissioner Lorne Gibson. Mr. Gibson, […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
‘Holding back tears,’ Danielle Smith spins an ‘emotional’ tall tale about the poor little rich kid of Confederation
According to a news account by The Canadian Press that will be read across the Dominion, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith delivered an emotional appeal to Albertans to remain in Canada yesterday as “Conservative elder statesman” Preston Manning benevolently looked on. I’ll concede this much about Premier Smith’s performance as the warm-up act for Mr. Manning’s […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
As divisive separation vote nears, UCP suddenly changes voter list rules, hampering scrutineers
As Alberta careens toward a chaotic and divisive vote on separation seemingly drafted to discourage the United Conservative Party’s dominant separatist faction from trying to force Premier Danielle Smith out as party leader, her cabinet on Thursday approved a temporary policy the Opposition NDP says is intended to help separatists. The cabinet order – Order-in-Council […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Even with no realistic scenario, ‘independent advisory panel’ couldn’t make Alberta separation look good
At the end of their exertions, even the reliable team of neoliberal apparatchiks assembled by Premier Danielle Smith’s favourite economist last June couldn’t come up with a “scenario” in which Alberta separation could be made to look like a good idea. The final report on the cost of Alberta separating from Canada by the “independent […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Modest success of the Progressive Tory Party candidate in Calgary-Shaw may be bad omen for UCP
On the day of the Calgary-Shaw by-election, a photo began to appear on social media of United Conservative Party candidate Mike Derry’s campaign manager, Craig Chandler, planting signs begging Conservatives not to split their vote in the riding. “Don’t split the vote! Vote UCP!” urged the message, which showed up close to official signs encouraging […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
NDP wins Calgary-Shaw by-election in closely fought contest
Alberta NDP candidate Kyle Campbell won the Calgary-Shaw by-election last night, beating the United Conservative Party’s Mike Derry in a contest that looked too close for comfort most of the evening as vote numbers trickled onto Elections Alberta’s website. But the final unofficial result – 7,461 votes for Mr. Campbell to 6,879 for Mr. Derry […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Tomorrow is by-election day in Calgary-Shaw; voters there have an opportunity to spank the UPC – but will they?
Tomorrow is by-election day in Calgary-Shaw. Voters in that riding in the city’s far south will have an opportunity not just to spank the United Conservative Party of Premier Danielle Smith for its devotion to private health care, open-pit coal mining, AI data centres and questionable ethics, but to send a message to Donald Trump […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Despite UCP scheme to fuel AI data centres, there’s nothing wrong with Crown corporations
Admittedly, the revelation by The Narwhal yesterday that Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government is seriously pondering a scheme to create public corporations to build and operate pipelines to carry natural gas to a multitude of AI data centres across the province, and to force private companies to invest in the project, comes as a shocker. […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
The lies Alberta separatists tell: A Top Ten List
There’s a substantial and growing body of economic research that separation would be a catastrophe for Alberta and Albertans, especially working people. As economist Jim Stanford observed in his Aug. 31 report on the false promises made by Alberta’s separatists and the grave risks their scheme presents, “economists are unanimous that the costs of establishing […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Blame Ottawa? Most of Alberta’s economic discontent has roots in policies cooked up right here at home
Conventional wisdom in Canadian political and media circles seems to be that Albertans are almost to a man and woman deeply discontented with their relationship with the rest of Canada. Yet recent polling about the divisive and deceptively worded separation referendum foisted on Albertans by their province’s now separatist dominated United Conservative Party Government strongly […]