Alison Redford is seen to have won the Alberta PC leadership on a policy-heavy campaign. She promised change, so one would imagine she’s eager to get going and introduce herself to voters through a bold agenda.After all, here’s what she said after winn…
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CalgaryGrit: Rejoice Liberals!
Down to third-party status federally. Teetering in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. In opposition everywhere else.Except in PEI.The province that makes up 9% of the federal Liberal caucus decides to stick with Ghiz:Ghiz’s Liberals return to pow…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The Sleepy World of Alberta Politics
Although 40 years of one-party rule and pre-ordained election results can make for dull politics, I will give Alberta’s PC dynasty credit for tossing the occasional surprise towards us political junkies.And surprise us they did on Saturday night. For t…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Turns out Albertans like "feminist lawyers", after all
Rob Anders, back in 2003:Anders, speaking of his Calgary West nomination opponent, Alison Redford, says he is confident he’ll have little trouble rounding up enough party votes to defeat Redford, “unless she’s got some magic support base of people who …
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The Sun Won’t Come Out For Hudak
The Toronto Star’s endorsement of Dalton McGuinty shouldn’t surprise anyone. Yes, they were briefly the “Orange Star” this spring, but anyone who has read their Ontario election coverage saw this one coming a mile away.Today’s Globe endorsement is like…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Entitled to their entitlements
Foreign Affairs Minister Baird demands gold on new business cardsMacKay racks up nearly $3-million in flights on VIP jetsPeter MacKay Under Fire For Using Search-And-Rescue Helicopter Following Vacation
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The Morning After
Last night was the lone televised debate of the Ontario election campaign. With the vote too close to call, a lot was riding on it, and after last night……not a heck of a lot changed. I have a hard time seeing how anyone would actually change their …
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Debate Live Blog
6:35 pm: Quite the tie Tim Hudak is sporting.6:46 pm: For those keeping track of mentions of random “hard working Ontarian” anecdotes, we’ve heard about the problems facing Ryan, Kevin (the Wallmart worker), and Katherine so far.6:54 pm: Interesting se…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Ontario Debates
No one knows who will win the Ontario election, two of the three leaders remain virtual unknowns, and the campaign still lacks a ballot question. Yet somehow, without warning, Ontario finds itself just 9 sleeps away from Voting Day.So tonight’s debate …
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Dean Del Mastro: Champion of Democracy and Scientific Polling Methodologies
The biggest fireworks so far in the sleepy Ontario election campaign have not come between the candidates, but between the pollsters. And there’s a new pollster on the block – Dean Del Mastro:Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s parliamentary secretary ha…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: "On October 6th vote for proper scaling of the Y-axis. Vote Liberal."
For those worried the Ontario election lacked a meaty ballot questions, comes the most exciting statistical controversy since the scrapping of the mandatory long form Census:There are 13 statistical graphs in the Changebook. Every single one reveals si…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Gary Mar is the Man
After Saturday’s first round of voting, it seems all but certain that Gary Mar will be the next Premier of Alberta:Gary Mar: 24195 (41%)Alison Redford: 11129 (19%)Doug Horner: 8635 (15%)Ted Morton: 6962 (12%)Rick Orman: 6005 (10%)Doug Griffiths: 2435 (…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: It’s bad enough the NDP are letting other candidates run
September 2nd: Thomas Mulcair says he won’t run for the leadership of the NDP unless the party agrees to hold its convention in late winter or early spring, because he wouldn’t be able to compete in a short race.September 19th: [Muclair] told reporters…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: This Week in Alberta – the PCs pick a leader
Given that general elections only matter in Alberta every 30 or 40 years, the PC leadership race is really the one chance Albertans get to have their say in who becomes Premier. Not surprisingly, over 140,000 Albertans voted in 2006, and we could see c…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: On Top
Yes, we all had a good snicker at last week’s Decima poll which showed the Liberals 11 points up in Ontario. But lo and behold, a double dose of polls last night, both showing Dalton McGuinty back on top:Nanos (Sep 10-11, n = 507 phone)Lib 38%PC 35%N…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: On Topp
I find the media generally tends to assign too much importance to endorsements during leadership races. After all, Christy Clark came out on top in BC earlier this year with a lone MLA backing her.But some endorsements do mater. And since Olivia Chow h…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The Alberta Test Drive
No surprise, as Raj Sherman wins the Alberta Liberal leadership race on the first ballot:Raj Sherman: 54% (4684 votes)Hugh MacDonald: 26% (2239 votes)Laurie Blakeman: 9% (854 votes)Bill Harvey: 7% (626 votes)Bruce Payne: 2% (197 votes)As I wrote on Fri…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The Race for Stornoway
The rules have been set. The NDP will select their next leader March 24th in Toronto. The entry fee will be $15,000, with a $500,000 spending limit. It will be one-member-one-vote, and unions will no longer receive a set percentage of the vote.Not that…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: This Week in Alberta – The Liberals Pick a Leader
It will be a busy fall politically, with provincial elections in Ontario, Saskatchewan, PEI, Newfoundland, and Manitoba. Although we likely won’t see an Alberta vote until 2012, the province will get a new Premier, thanks to Ed Stelmach’s surprise resi…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Ontario Votes 2011
The writ drops tomorrow in Ontario for an October 6th vote, but for all intents and purposes, the campaign is already well under way. So for those tuning in after a summer away from politics, here’s where the parties sit.THE PLAYERSGone for the PCs is …
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