TweetFresh meat Last week, he was publicly criticizing Premier Alison Redford for her over-priced $45,000 trip to South Africa (see below) and faced a threat of expulsion from the Progressive Conservative caucus. This week, coincidentally, Edmonton-Riverview PC MLA Steve Young faces a new set of revelations dating back to his time as
Continue readingAuthor: daveberta
daveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Interesting federal nomination races emerging across Alberta
TweetInteresting nomination races are emerging across Alberta as parties prepare to choose candidates to run in the next federal election, slated for October 2015. Below are some of the most recent updates from ridings across the province, where candidates are seeking nominations to run in two by-elections and the general
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Don Iveson asks: Do you support LRT expansion?
Tweet Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson took the the streets, and then to YouTube, to ask Edmontonians if they support expansion of Edmonton’s Light Rail Transit system. The campaign is part of Mr. Iveson’s bid to convince provincial and federal politicians to support the expansion of Edmonton’s light rail transit system,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Phone poll suggests NDP MLA testing waters for leadership bid?
TweetIs there an undeclared race underway to become leader of the Alberta NDP? An interactive voice response poll calling Albertans on February 11 suggests there just might be. The automated phone poll conducted by the Toronto-based Research House began with innocuous questions aimed at gaging opinions about the current Progressive Conservative government
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Fair Elections Act would introduce Alberta-style partisan elections officials
TweetA proposed amendment to Canada’s Elections Act would introduce handpicked partisan elections officials into the current non-partisan election process. The ‘Fair Elections Act,’ a sweeping act introduced by Conservative minister Pierre Poilievre, includes an amendment to Section 124 of the Elections Act which would give the incumbent candidate, riding association
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Alberta cities, province fly the Rainbow Flag for Sochi Olympics
TweetDefying the stereotypes of Alberta as a conservative backwater, Rainbow Pride Flag are flying outside of city halls in Edmonton, Calgary and St. Albert and the Alberta Legislature today in solidarity with the LGBTQ community in Russia. The a small but powerful gesture is a sign of support for a community
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Gun-toting conservatives take aim at Macleod by-election candidate
Tweet“Just say no-to-Barlow!” was the message broadcast to the 15,941 followers of the National Firearms Association Facebook page. The National Rifle Association‘s Canadian cousins hope to drag down John Barlow, a candidate for the Macleod Conservative Party of Canada by-election nomination who they claim supports the RCMP seizure of firearms from abandoned houses during last year’s
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Redford’s top advisor earns more than Obama’s top advisor, claims Wildrose
TweetPremier Alison Redford‘s chief of staff earns a bigger salary than his counterpart in the West Wing, claimed the official opposition Wildrose in a press release yesterday. As the salary disclosure ”sunshine list” of Alberta’s senior public servants who earn more than $100,000 annually was released late last week, opposition critics honed in on Ms.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Farewell Liberalberta? Alberta Liberals back in the red
Tweet Less than two years after adopting a new green and grey Liberalberta logo, the Alberta Liberal Party appears to have switched back to the party’s traditional red. A new website design launched last week shows the Liberals have also dropped the “-berta” portion of the logo, returning to plain ‘Liberal‘ name. The
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Five ways to save the Senate of Canada
Tweet Is the Senate of Canada broken? And if so, is it worth saving? Here are the positions held by Canada’s federal political parties: 1) Abolish the Senate The New Democratic Party of Canada, the official opposition since 2011, are staunchly in favour of entirely abolishing the Senate of Canada.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Cheer for the athletes but don’t be naive: the Olympics are about politics
TweetNational leaders covet the opportunity to host the international event and multi-national corporations invest billions of dollars in advertising to its massive world-wide audience. Competing in glorious national stadiums and sports centres in between commercial breaks, the athletes appear to be little more than commodities. Make no mistake, the Olympic
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: MLA Janice Sarich not jumping into federal politics
TweetEdmonton-Decore Progressive Conservative MLA Janice Sarich released this statement this morning announcing that she will not seek the Conservative Party nomination in the new federal riding of Edmonton-Griesbach: After a thorough exploration I have decided not to pursue a nomination for the federal Conservative Party of Canada. I have been
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Big names running for federal party nominations in Alberta
TweetThere has been plenty of activity this week as candidates from all political parties put forward their names to run in Canada’s next federal election, scheduled to be held in October 2015. Wooing voters and potential candidates alike, both New Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair and Liberal Party leader Justin
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Cancelled: Alison Redford’s expensive Afghanistan photo-op
TweetAlbertans discovered this week that Premier Alison Redford cancelled a secretly planned trip to war-torn Afghanistan after suicide bomber blew herself up in a Kabul restaurant , killing twenty-one people, including two Canadians. Ms. Redford was leading a trade mission through India last week and had secretly planned to stop
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Wildrose fundraised more than the Alberta PCs in 2013
TweetThe Wildrose Party raised more than the long-governing Progressive Conservatives in last year’s party fundraising, according to Elections Alberta financial disclosure reports released last week. The financial reports show Danielle Smith‘s Wildrose Party raised $2,690,710 compared to the $2,206,419 raised by Premier Alison Redford‘s Progressive Conservatives. The gap between the
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: He’s in: Ron Liepert challenges Rob Anders in Calgary Signal Hill
TweetFormer provincial cabinet minister and MLA Ron Liepert officially announced in a statement this morning his intentions to seek the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in the newly redistributed Calgary Signal Hill riding. Mr. Liepert’s candidacy has been widely suspected since the “timetodobetter.ca” group announced it would support a candidate
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Neil Young, the oil sands and shifting political loyalties in Fort McMurray
TweetPundits from across the country are waxing and waning over comments made by rock n’ roll icon Neil Young about Canada’s oil sands. Mr. Young’s inarticulate criticisms of the oil sands (and comparing Fort McMurray to Hiroshima) have not helped the discussion around the impact of natural resource development in Canada, but he does
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Fort McMurray MP Brian Jean resigns
TweetFort McMurray-Athabasca Conservative Member of Parliament Brian Jean announced his resignation today in a written statement to the media. Mr. Jean was first elected in 2004. He was re-elected in 2011 with 71.8% of the vote. His departure will trigger a second federal by-election in Alberta in 2014. In late
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: A dozen Alberta MLAs worth watching in 2014
TweetBecause politics is unpredictable, forecasting the future can be a tricky business for pundits, but here is a list of a dozen Alberta MLAs worth watching in 2014. Manmeet Bhullar (Calgary-Greenway): An up and comer in the PC ranks, Mr. Bhullar was rewarded for his time as the competent Service
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Ron Liepert versus Rob Anders: the next PC-Wildrose proxy war?
TweetWill former provincial cabinet minister Ron Liepert make the jump into federal politics? With the launch of the TimeToDoBetter.ca website today, rumours began to spread that the former two-term Calgary-West Progressive Conservative MLA turned consultant could challenge ultra-conservative Rob Anders for the Conservative Party nomination in the new Calgary Signal
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