A strikebreaker drives across an early morning picket line during the Calgary Herald strike in early 2000. Below: Catharine Ford, Joan Crockatt. It takes more than a little brass for retired Calgary Herald editor and columnist Catherine Ford to condemn Conservative candidate Joan Crockatt as someone who all but caused
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Alberta Diary: Neocon slapheads beware! This may not be just a Frank Prank?
The message from worried Canadians, in and out of uniform, to former Frank publisher Michael Bate. Below: Frank’s semi-iconic logo, Mr. Bate, a typical Frank cover from the Paul Martin era. TORONTO If you’re a Canadian politician, you should be afraid, very afraid. Frank Magazine will soon be back… Or
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Some musings on the death of Peter Lougheed, founder of Alberta’s Tory dynasty
Peter Lougheed on the campaign trail in 1971. (Glenbow Archives Photo) TORONTO Peter Lougheed was the last Alberta Conservative leader worthy of the title. By that I mean the premier who in 1971 founded the Conservative dynasty that rules the province to this day was a member of the now
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Brock Ketcham, 64, newsman and trade unionist; polite, positive and determined
Brock Ketcham, left, and the author on the picket line at the Calgary Herald, circa 2000. My old brothers and sisters from the Calgary Herald strike will be saddened to learn of the death on Saturday of our dear comrade Brock Ketcham, a solid journalist, a sweet guy and an
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Who’s censoring Ezra now? Has Sun News Network seen the light?
A screen shot of the blank spot on Ezra Levant’s website: no link, the plug pulled, presumably by Sun News Network. Below: Mr. Levant in full rhetorical flight. Where is Ezra Levant’s Sun News Network rant on Roma immigration to Canada, which has been depicted as ethnic stereotyping to foment
Continue readingAlberta Diary: The Great Wall of Saskatchewan: popular, yes, but a peacemaker?
Brad Wall, Christy Clark, Alison Redford and Greg Selinger discuss the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline while visiting China. Actual Canadian premiers may not appear to their Chinese hosts exactly as illustrated. Below: Mr. Wall, Ms. Redford, Mr. Selinger and Ms. Clark. No sooner did Trend Research of Edmonton publish a
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Harper’s wish for war with Iran: an ill Tory wind that blows no good for Canada
Unlike Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Doge of the Most Serene Republic of Venice was prepared to receive the ambassadors of Persia. Below: Igor Gouzenko, Dr. Samuel Johnson and Winston Churchill. When Igor Gouzenko came in from the cold 67 years ago last Wednesday, Canada had an extremely serious and
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Newest Alberta poll shows overwhelming support for Premier Alison Redford
Premier Alison Redford with her winning PC machine. Below: Opposition Leader Danielle Smith with her less successful Wildrose machine. Below Ms. Smith: Alberta Scan publisher Paul McLoughlin and pollster Janet Brown. Not only are the Progressive Conservatives the most popular political party in Alberta, but Premier Alison Redford enjoys a
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Environics poll shows Tories in full flower, Wildrose withering on the vine
Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith with some of her party’s social conservative supporters, who came home to roost a few days before the April 23 provincial election … and stayed! Alberta politicians and their supporters may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Premier Alison Redford and the real Ms. Smith. From
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Thanks to a murderous nut, long gun registry will be Harper’s first post-PQ test – he will likely fail
Gavrilo Princip under arrest in Sarajevo in 1914. But a speedy arrest wasn’t enough to avert a long war. Below, Quebec Premier Designate Pauline Marois. If you think about it – and you can bet on it that the Canadian gun lobby will refuse to do so – the murderous
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Post-Confederate Albertans in Ottawa, the PQ in Quebec: Can Canada afford a national leader with no national vision?
Prime Minister Stephen Harper takes note of Quebec’s aspirations. Alberta politicians may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Mr. Harper exhibiting the post-Confederation Alberta zeitgeist (Calgary Herald photo); PQ Leader Pauline Marois. With the PQ back in power in Quebec City, no matter how tenuously, one prays Stephen Harper can
Continue readingAlberta Diary: ‘Crowdsourcing our confidence’? Don’t bet on 1CalgaryCentre, whoever’s behind it, having much impact
A crowd: They have wine and balloons, and they’re all dressed in white. Does this make them progressives? Have they been crowdsourced? Alberta Diary is not certain and you shouldn’t be either. Below: Calgary pollster Brian Singh, Calgary Centre Conservative candidate Joan Crockatt. “Crowdsourcing our confidence” will get a progressive
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Happy Labour Day! Push-polls prove it… Canadians hate unions … really, really they do!
Some of the participants in a recent Edmonton Labour Day picnic. If the union haters had their way, unions giving food to these guys would be illegal. Below, Merit Contractors Association President Stephen Kushner and the group’s weird website image. Some of my younger readers may not realize this, but
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Fiscal shocker! Redford Tories promise transparency but deliver opacity!
Secretive Redford Tory, left, moves to the right, while Wildrose transparency advocate, right, opts for a totally different course. Below: Doug Horner and Alison Redford, both smirking. This just in! Alberta’s Progressive Conservative government is secretive! Well… yeah! What’s astonishing is that the Alberta news media appears to be astonished
Continue readingAlberta Diary: The Annals of Law Enforcement: Yeah, Alberta’s Tories are sleazy, but now and then they get it right anyway
Just a year ago, it seemed likely police recruits like these would soon be lounging around the dusty streets of Fort Macleod, where not much has changed since the Mounties pounded in their first tent pegs in 1874. Alas, it shall not be. Below: Col. James Macleod; former MLA Evan
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Hurricane Isaac makes landfall in New Orleans; Hurricane Joan hits Calgary
A prophet laments the unwillingness of the people to heed warnings from on high. Alberta political bloggers may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Nominated federal Tory candidate “Hurricane Joan” Crockatt. At the risk of going all Old Testament on readers, when Hurricane Isaac slammed into New Orleans last night,
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Anti-union Wildrose Party’s fund-raising pitch piggybacks on union’s heavy lifting
Closed? Open? With Alberta Diary you can have it all. This blog is closed for a few days while your blogger takes a short break from writing stuff all the time. This means there can likely be no post on the Conservative Party’s Calgary Centre by-election nomination on Friday, Aug.
Continue readingAlberta Diary: ‘Anybody But Crockatt’ Update: Calgary Centre by the Numbers
Anybody But Crockatt? Redford Tory cabinet Christine Cusanelli slams Calgary Centre Conservative nomination candidate Joan Crockatt. Actual Alberta politicians may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Ms. Crockatt. Seems as if an Anybody But Crockatt effort is afoot among some of the federal (or is that provincial?) Conservatives in the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Departed MP’s endorsement, big donations by candidate’s firm, complicate complicated Conservative nomination race
Candidates for the Conservative Party’s nomination in the Calgary Centre constituency prepare for next Saturday’s vote. Below: Candidates Greg McLean, Joan Crockatt and Jon Lord. Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to … get elected. The contest to find a federal Conservative candidate to replace
Continue readingAlberta Diary: U.S. grain and seed ports will kill a few more Canadian jobs – with a little help from Stephen Harper
Bunge’s $200-million US grain port at Longview, Wash. Below, U.S. police and strikers scuffle at the port. Back in 2009, when the destruction of the Canadian Wheat Board was still just a twinkle in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s eye, work started on a $200-million US grain-handling terminal in the port
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