Surely it’s time for the reality based community – that’s us, my progressive friends – to start making some new democratic realities! In 2015, as you will recall, many of us overcame our reservations and voted for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals on the basis of his firm, clear, unequivocal promise to
Continue readingTag: Alberta NDP
Alberta Politics: Didn’t care or didn’t know? UCP MLAs endorse author of offensive social media posts for nomination
Well, that certainly didn’t take long! Mere hours after AlbertaPolitics.ca published its semi-satirical, semi-serious “Jimmy the Geek” Vegas odds piece about the potential for bozo eruptions among the current members of the United Conservative Party Legislative Caucus than, well, some of the bozos erupted. Yesterday’s AlbertaPolitics.ca post assigned Rick Strankman,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Odds-on favourites for disaster … ‘Jimmy the Geek’ sets Vegas odds for the UCP MLAs most likely to resign next
Now that Alberta’s Opposition United Conservative Party has been around for a year – it’s first anniversary was on Sunday – we note that the right-wing party has seen the resignation of no fewer than six of its MLAs for various reasons in its first year of operation. In fairness,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Nothing has changed since February except that Canada now really does own the Trans Mountain Pipeline – so keep it public!
If the Trans Mountain Pipeline is so essential to the economic wellbeing of Canada and the price of Alberta bitumen is going to rise dramatically as a result of our ability to get that stuff to “tidewater,” why the heck is the federal government, having paid a premium to buy
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: When it comes to Sandra Jansen, it’s a grudge match for the UCP
It was supposed to be an event highlighting an effort to recruit more conservative women into politics in Alberta, but it was overshadowed by the news that former Prime Minister Stephen Harper plans to personally campaign against New Democratic Party MLA Sandra Jansen in the next provincial election. Laureen Harper
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Tom Olsen beats Megan McCaffrey in Calgary-Buffalo UCP nomination, Liberal David Khan to run in Mountain View
Photo: Tom Olsen and Ric McIver (source: Facebook) Lobbyist Tom Olsen surprised many political watchers last weekend when he defeated Megan McCaffery in the United Conservative Party nomination contest in Calgary-Buffalo. McCaffery, who has strong ties with the Manning Centre and had the endorsement of 9 UCP MLAs, was believed to
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Episode 16: Derek Fildebrandt introduces the Derek Fildebrandt Party
In this episode of the Daveberta Podcast, Dave Cournoyer and Ryan Hastman discuss whether Derek Fildebrandt‘s Freedom Conservative Party will be relevant in the next election, Rachel Notley‘s role at the recent Council of the Federation meeting in New Brunswick, the decision by Greyhound to withdraw from western Canada, and Edmonton-Mill Woods MP Amarjeet Sohi‘s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Freedom Conservative Party’s Derek Fildebrandt demonstrates his talent for getting up his opponents’ noses
Derek Fildebrandt, the self-described “Alberta redneck” who now leads the minuscule Freedom Conservative Party, has a talent for getting up his opponents’ noses. This has served the university-educated Ottawa native extremely well in his tireless quest to earn himself a place in the headlines, and it worked for him again
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On public interests
Plenty of others have pointed out the most direct lie in Jason Kenney’s attempt to blame Alberta’s NDP for the decisions of an Ontario court dealing with Carillion’s Canadian bankruptcy. But it’s worth taking a look at the much more fundamental lie at the core of Kenney’s complaint. As mentioned
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Friday Night Candidate Nomination Update
Photo: Karen Principe, Janis Irwin, Michaela Glasgo, and Deepak Sharma. Here are some of the latest updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of the 2019 Alberta provincial general election: Brooks-Medicine Hat – Michaela Glasgo defeated Dinah Hiebert to win the United Conservative Party nomination following the disqualification of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Saskatchewan, Ontario have no constitutional case against Ottawa’s carbon tax, only a political strategy
By vowing to go to court to fight the federal government’s carbon tax, Saskatchewan and now Ontario are rejecting the most cost effective way to reduce carbon pollution, the Pembina Institute complained yesterday. “It is deeply irresponsible of the Saskatchewan and Ontario governments to reject carbon pricing,” said Isabelle Turcotte,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Fildebrandt Agonistes: Hell hath no fury like a ‘Liberty Conservative’ scorned
Hell hath no fury like a “Liberty Conservative” scorned! Derek Fildebrandt, the former Wildrose Party and United Conservative Party finance critic scorned by UCP Leader Jason Kenney after a series of unfortunate events turned him into him the Lemony Snicket of the Alberta conservative movement, has joined the Freedom Conservative
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Prab Gill saga seems to have legs, so UCP Leader Jason Kenney attacks environmentalist Tzeporah Berman …
Astonishingly, the Prab Gill saga appears to have legs. Yesterday, the Star Metro arm of the Toronto Star’s effort to create a national footprint, informed Alberta readers there’s no way the United Conservative Party will be revealing the contents of its insider investigation of ballot stuffing and snatching by Mr.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: UCP quashes giant bozo-erruption in the making by dropping anti-Muslim nomination candidate
The United Conservative Party quashed a giant bozo-erruption in the making this week when the party asked S. Todd Beasley to withdraw his candidacy for the nomination in the new Brooks-Medicine Hat district. Beasley, who was an organizer for the anti-NDP Alberta Wide Rallies held in 2016 and is the organizer
Continue readingAlberta Politics: By-elections conveniently over, United Conservative Party pushes out MLA accused of ballot stuffing at nomination meeting
With many Albertans apparently in a mood to take Jason Kenney’s claim at face value his year-old United Conservative Party is renewed, reformed and ready to govern, you can’t be too careful about evidence that the same-old-same-old Tory entitlement continues to lurk on the Opposition benches of the Legislature. Not
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The UCP brain trust can explain that MAGA cap: Devin Dreeshen’s here to help Canadians with Donald Trump!
If the events of the past few days in Europe make anything clear, it’s that sucking up to Donald Trump is not likely to get you very far, except possibly somewhere worse than you’d have been if you’d stood up to the man. But Jason Kenney, former Harper Government Cabinet
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Three candidates drop out of Peace River UCP race, showdown in Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock, and a Sweet nomination in Edmonton-Manning
The number of candidates in the United Conservative Party nomination contest in the sprawling northwest district of Peace River has dropped from five to two. Lisa Wardley, deputy reeve of Mackenzie County, and Dan Williams, who worked as a political staffer for Jason Kenney, are the two remaining candidates in the contest after
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP by-elections wins in central and northern Alberta are no surprise, but offer little cause for optimism to NDP
It’s Friday the 13th, and after two by-elections yesterday in central and northern Alberta, supporters of the province’s NDP government are awaking to a new reality that’s pretty much the same as the old reality. That is, rural Central Alberta is deeply Conservative country pretty well no matter what, and
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: No surprises as UCP wins big in Fort McMurray-Conklin and Innisfail-Sylvan Lake by-elections
United Conservative Party candidates were elected in by-elections held in two traditionally strong conservative voting districts on July 12, 2018. Both districts were held by the UCP before the by-elections were called and voters in both districts elected Wildrose Party candidates in the 2015 election. In Fort McMurray-Conklin, Laila Goodridge soundly
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: UCP candidate’s ties to Trump campaign caps off sleepy by-elections in Fort McMurray-Conklin and Innisfail-Sylvan Lake
Photo: Sid Fayad, Laila Goodridge, Jane Stroud, Nicole Mooney, Abigail Douglass, Devin Dreeshen. Voters will head to the polls tomorrow to elect new MLAs in two relatively sleepy by-elections. The two districts, Fort McMurray-Conklin and Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, were both held by United Conservative Party MLAs before they became vacant and voters
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