What would have Elizabeth May have done in Rachel Notley’s shoes? The leader of the Green Party of Canada says she would have summoned up the memory of Peter Lougheed, founder of Alberta’s 44-year Progressive Conservative Dynasty, but not the way the province’s first NDP premier has. “I think that
Continue readingAuthor: David Climenhaga
Alberta Politics: Be careful what you wish for, Conservatives: Canadians may like a tougher Trudeau
Memo to Conservatives, New Democrats and others who are crowing about how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to have been revealed as a harsher and less cuddly politician than he has been thought to be till now: Be careful what you wish for. If Mr. Trudeau is revealed as a
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Deficit hawks fall silent in Washington but screech in Alberta and Canada – what gives?
It’s starting to feel like spring, the days are longer, and the deficit hawks, apparently, have all flown north for the summer. As a result, nowadays, the hawks’ angry shrieks are seldom heard in Washington! “The federal budget deficit is ballooning on President Trump’s watch and few in Washington seem
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Kate A. Boorman’s What We Buried remains atop Audreys Books Edmonton Fiction Bestsellers List for second week
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton during the week ended March 3, 2019. The lists are compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. What We Buried – Kate A. Boorman *
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP candidate who played role in Kamikaze Campaign forced to walk the plank
Another United Conservative Party candidate has been sent packing for being neither “forthright” nor “forthcoming” with party Leader Jason Kenney. Leastways, that’s the UCP’s story, and they’re stickin’ to it. Randy Kerr, recently chosen as UCP candidate in the Calgary-Beddington riding and a prominent figure in the party’s rapidly metastasizing
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP leadership campaign reveals ‘how an aggressive campaign could hijack online votes,’ U.S. journalist writes
Digital-election-theft allegations swirling around the 2017 United Conservative Party leadership campaign should be a sharp warning for the U.S. Democratic Party, which plans to use similar technology in some of its 2020 presidential primary races, says an American journalist who specializes in covering election technology and democratic issues. While a
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Liberals could have helped themselves and helped Canadians by going for full national pharmacare now, but … nope!
When Canadians heard Monday there was to be a big announcement on pharmacare yesterday, many of us concluded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s shell-shocked strategic brain trust was finally ready to start acting like a Natural Governing Party again, instead of like lemmings racing for a cliff. It would have been
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP video of MLA and NDP advisor is certainly creepy – but is it ethical or even legal?
There’s no question the thought of United Conservative Party operatives skulking around inside an important provincial government office building making videos of people coming and going is unsavoury, not to mention downright creepy. But is this ethical? Is it even legal? Is it appropriate behaviour for a political party that
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney invites the tax-cut fairy back to Alberta! She’s bringing snake oil!
Oh for crying out loud! The tax cut fairy has returned to Alberta! She’s brought snake oil! United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, lately rebranded The Policy Guy ™, has promised a massive cut in business taxes to create jobs. In Calgary yesterday, Mr. Kenney vowed to slash the lowest
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Could Justin Trudeau be coated with Trump-like Teflon? It’s possible, and here’s why …
Is the SNC-Lavalin Affair really the Trudeau crusher Andrew Scheer and his strategic team obviously think it is? No sooner had former justice minister Jody Wilson-Reybould completed her startling testimony last Wednesday before the House of Commons Justice Committee – replete with detailed allegations of political interference in the justice
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Will Alberta conservatives blame Rachel Notley and Justin Trudeau for Line 3 delays in Minnesota? Of course they will!
Will Alberta’s conservatives find a way to blame Premier Rachel Notley and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the delays in construction Enbridge Inc.’s Line 3 Expansion announced yesterday? Why not? Given the credulity demonstrated by Alberta’s mainstream media when it comes to such stories, such an effort should get plenty
Continue readingAlberta Politics: What We Buried, speculative fiction by Kate A. Boorman, tops Audreys Books Edmonton Fiction Bestsellers List this week
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton during the week ended Feb. 24, 2019. The lists are compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMOMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. What We Buried – Kate A. Boorman *
Continue readingAlberta Politics: $3,500 fine levied in Callaway Kamikaze Campaign Case, this time for illegal pass-through donation
Another fine has been levied in the Callaway Kamikaze Campaign Case, this time for an illegal pass-through donation. Karen Brown was handed the $3,500 administrative penalty yesterday by the Office of Alberta’s Election Commissioner. She has been identified as a former United Conservative Party financial officer. In a characteristically terse
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alleged UCP electoral shenanigans begin to attract a wider audience than just Alberta
Thanks to Opposition Leader Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party leadership race he won last year, not to mention the way he won it, electoral politics in Alberta are starting to get international attention. I kid you not! I had a long phone conversation today with a journalist from
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Another twist in the ‘Kamikaze Campaign’ pretzel – Callaway campaign manager fined, fired, vows fight
The manager of Jeff Callaway’s 2017 campaign to lead the United Conservative Party was slapped with $15,000 in fines yesterday by Alberta’s Election Commissioner for “obstruction of an investigation.” Talk about fear and loathing on the campaign trail! This strange yarn has more twists than a fairground pretzel! From the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Has a UCP candidate voiced what her party really thinks, its leader’s pledge notwithstanding, about two-tier health care?
If you wonder what the United Conservative Party really thinks about how health care ought to be run in Alberta, perhaps you should ask if Miranda Rosin instead of Jason Kenney, he of the Coroplast Pledge. Ms. Rosin is the UCP’s candidate in the new Banff-Kananaskis riding. Mr. Kenney is
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The stars of the NDP firmament are aligning today for someone in Burnaby South – it remains to be seen if it’s Jagmeet Singh
Even if all the New Democrats vote Liberal and all the Liberals vote NDP in the Burnaby South by-election today, the outcome could be a very close one. It’s rude of me to mention this just now, of course, but you have to admit something like this could very well
Continue readingAlberta Politics: On the Come Up, young adult fiction by Angie Thomas, tops Audreys Books fiction bestsellers
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton during the week ended Feb. 17, 2019. The lists are compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. On the Come Up (Young Adult) – Angie
Continue readingAlberta Politics: National Energy Board ruling on Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion leaves everyone deep in their message boxes
Common sense would suggest the recommendation of the National Energy Board yesterday that Ottawa approve the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project despite significant risks to the environment is a small but significant step toward eventual completion of the controversial multi-billion-dollar megaproject. But as was already evident in the immediate reaction
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Where’s the beef? Smells like what Restaurants Canada is serving you is nothing but baloney!
Baloney: a large smoked, seasoned sausage made of various meats. Where’s the beef? In an opinion piece in the Calgary Herald last week, Restaurants Canada claimed that “a perfect storm of tax increases and painful policy changes … have worsened conditions for restaurants over the past four years.” This was
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