PHOTOS: Dunvegan-Central Peace … where your vote counts for more than double! (Town of Fairview photo.) Below: Progress Alberta’s Duncan Kinney, NDP House Leader Brian Mason, Justice Myra Bielby of the Alberta Court of Appeal and former Progressive Conservative Deputy Premier Doug Horner. By trying to ensure the boundaries of
Continue readingAuthor: David Climenhaga
Alberta Politics: Lid’s still on the unite-the-right soup the Wildrose Party’s leader is cooking up, but there are hints about the recipe
PHOTOS: Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean gets ready to explain his plan to unite Alberta’s right under his leadership as a giant bull crashes through the wall behind him. The circumstances portrayed in this photo, found on the wildrose.ca website, may not have been exactly as just described. Below: Justin
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Even some farm leaders admit the Alberta NDP’s notorious Bill 6 is an improvement
PHOTOS: Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier as he walked through an anti-NDP demonstration in front of the Alberta Legislature shortly before the passage of Bill 6 in December 2015. Below: NDP Labour Minister Christina Gray, Alberta Federation of Agriculture President Lynn Jacobson and Wildrose Agriculture Critic Dave Schneider. The New Democratic
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Anticipated court scrap between government and home schoolers ends with whimper, not bang
PHOTOS: The school run by the Trinity Christian School Association in Cold Lake (photo from the group’s website). Below: Alberta Education Minister David Eggen, Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley, NDP MLA Heather Sweet, and Progressive Conservative Party interim Leader Ric McIver. The resolution yesterday of the much-anticipated cage fight between
Continue readingAlberta Politics: St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse says he won’t seek fourth term in surprise announcement this morning
PHOTOS: St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse at a Remembrance Day ceremony (Alberta Native News photo). Below: Councillor Cam MacKay, Councillor Cathy Heron, former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk and former Wildrose candidate Shelley Biermanski. ST. ALBERT, Alberta In a lengthy statement on Facebook posted early this morning, St. Albert Mayor Nolan
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Fred Henry, departing Catholic bishop, held strong pro-labour stance in addition to controversial social conservative views
PHOTOS: Frederick Henry during his 19 years as Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Calgary. (Screen shot from a diocese video.) Below: Two scenes from the picket line at the Calgary Herald during the 1999-2000 strike. In the first, striker Murdoch Macleod and others bravely face down a truck
Continue readingAlberta Politics: ‘The Darkest Dark,’ kids’ book by Chris Hadfield, Eric Fan and Terry Fan moves to top Edmonton fiction spot
Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended December 31, 2016, compiled on January 3, 2017 by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. The Darkest Dark (Children’s) – Chris Hadfield,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Oh the irony! Saskatchewan adopts Alberta’s single health region model, hated by Brad Wall’s fervent admirers
PHOTOS: Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, who Alberta conservatives say is the real leader of Western Canada. Below: Saskatchewan Health Minister Jim Reiter, former Alberta premier Ed Stelmach, and Mr. Stelmach’s health minister, Ron Liepert. Premier Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party Government – which all Albertans have been taught by the opposition
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Past PC taxes disappear down conservative Memory Hole amid apocalyptic claims about similar NDP policies
PHOTOS: Then finance minister Robin Campbell and premier Jim Prentice explain their plan to increase taxes in March 2015. Criticism was mild. Below: Premier Ralph Klein and Stockwell Day, who was Mr. Klein’s provincial treasurer in the late 1990s (CBC photo); Wildrose MLA Heather Forsyth, who was interim Opposition leaders
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta’s carbon tax: Science is political when it doesn’t suit Wildrose agenda; politics is scientific when it does
PHOTOS: Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips at yesterday’s Edmonton press conference on the imposition Jan. 1 of the NDP Government’s carbon tax. Below: Wildrose Electricity and Renewables Critic Don MacIntyre. Both are CBC photos. Alberta has had a carbon tax for two days now and as Environment Minister Shannon Phillips
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney – just visiting Alberta? – piously congratulates Michael Ignatieff for Order of Canada
PHOTOS: A screen shot from the Conservative Party of Canada’s vile “Just Visiting” ads, which were designed to undermine then Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff in the spring of 2009. They worked. Below: Dr. Ignatieff, who on Friday was awarded an Order of Canada, and Jason Kenney, candidate for the leadership
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Happy New Year! AlbertaPolitics.ca’s Top Ten political predictions for 2017
PHOTOS: Your blogger, in hat, contemplates the difference between the renamed Conservative Party of Alberta and the renamed Conservative Party of Alberta. That’s not a typo. See Prediction No. 9 below for an explanation. Actual Alberta political commentators may not appear exactly as illustrated in this screenshot. Below (with predictions):
Continue readingAlberta Politics: A Happy New Year to all – seriously, to all of you – as AlbertaPolitics.ca begins its 10th year of publication
PHOTOS: Some of the high points … This one was taken about the time I broke the story that Danielle Smith would be running for the leadership of the “upstart” Wildrose Party. Below: chats, and photos, with Ed Stelmach, Alison Redford, Jim Prentice and Rachel Notley. Dear Readers, On this
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Deep irony in the deep state: Some thoughts about those post-Christmas American ‘spy’ expulsions
PHOTOS: A couple of Russian “intelligence operatives” pensively contemplate the news they’re about to be kicked out of the United States for acting like journalists. Actual GRU deep cover agents may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Russian President Vladimir Putin disguised as well-known journalist Clark Kent; U.S. President-elect Donald
Continue readingAlberta Politics: ‘Do Not Say We Have Nothing’ by Madeleine Thien remains atop Audreys Books Edmonton Bestseller List
Here is this week’s list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton, compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. Do Not Say We Have Nothing – Madeleine Thien 2. The Darkest Dark (Children’s) – Chris Hadfield, Eric Fan, Terry
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Top 10 Alberta political news stories of 2016: AlbertaPolitics.ca’s picks
PHOTOS: Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley. Below: Calgary MLA Sandra Jansen, elected as a Progressive Conservative and now a member of the NDP, Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee, and the late Jim Prentice, the last PC premier of Alberta. 2016: It was the International Year of the Bean. I kid
Continue readingAlberta Politics: How to put Christ back in Christmas: It starts with Christians pressing ‘Reset’
ILLUSTRATIONS: Santa Claus … not Jesus. Below: Karl Marx (not mentioned in the story) … also not Santa Claus. Jesus Christ (quoted at length) … not Santa Claus either. This is an edited version of a post that first appeared in this space in 2012. With the Right in Alberta
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Merry Christmas to all! Santa is bringing presents for everyone this holiday, regardless of political orientation
PHOTOS: Merry Christmas! Your blogger with a man who can penetrate North American air defences with ease. Russian President Vladimir Putin may not appear exactly as illustrated. (Joke.) Below: Political strategist Stephen Carter with the same blogger; Alberta pollster Janet Brown; Conservative strategist Alan Hallman, who is now associated with
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien tops this week’s Audreys Books Edmonton Bestseller List
Here is this week’s list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton, compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. Do Not Say We Have Nothing – Madeleine Thien 2. A Wake for the Dreamland – Laurel
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Is veteran Tory’s bid to run as Liberal in by-election to replace ex-PM a sign of sagging Conservative fortunes nationally?
PHOTOS: Veteran Conservative Lee Richardson with Alberta premier Alison Redford, who he served as principal secretary. Below: Prime minister John Diefenbaker, who Mr. Richardson served as executive assistant, and Alberta premier Peter Lougheed, for whom he was chief of staff. Understanding history requires a long view, and the picture that
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