Alberta Politics: Worst news conference ever? Jason Kenney apologizes for Sky Palace patio party, touts silly equalization referendum

The rebellion that now has United Conservative Party Premier Jason Kenney looking as if his career is on the ropes is strongly reminiscent of the circumstances that brought Progressive Conservative Party premier Alison Redford’s political career to an end in 2014. Ironically, both feature the “Sky Palace” as a powerful

Continue reading

Alberta Politics: Buoyed by overwhelming leadership approval vote, Rachel Notley sketches outline of Alberta NDP’s 2023 campaign

Acting like someone with a serious chance of returning to the Premier’s Office in 2023, Alberta New Democratic Party Leader Rachel Notley received a 98.2-per-cent approval vote in the Opposition party’s leadership review Sunday. The former Alberta premier set out a hopeful vision of how her next government would “transform

Continue reading

Alberta Politics: Two defiant UCP ministers tell Jason Kenney to apologize for breaking COVID-19 restrictions at Sky Palace patio party

The good ship United Conservative Party, the vessel carrying Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s ambitions, sprang a couple more leaks yesterday.  This time it was two female members of the UCP cabinet who dared to criticize the boozy pandemic patio party last Tuesday on the roof of Edmonton’s notorious Sky Palace,

Continue reading

Alberta Politics: Kenney rolls the dice on COVID-19: We’re going to have the best summer you can imagine even if it kills us

Only pure political calculation can be driving Premier Jason Kenney’s COVID-19 reopening strategy now. Science? Prudence? Caution? Second vaccine doses? Forget about ’em. Health Minister Tyler Shandro (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). We’re going to have the best little ole summer you can imagine even if it kills us. And it just

Continue reading

Alberta Politics: Foundering public inquiry gets another two months to find evidence; UCP gets even more time to figure out what to do with it

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has announced his government’s foundering “public inquiry” into the supposed conspiracy by American interests to bankroll environmental charities to help landlock Alberta’s fossil fuel resources will get another two months to come up with some evidence. After that, the government will give itself an additional three

Continue reading

Alberta Politics: Speaker Nathan Cooper, who signed complaint about COVID-19 rules, cites pandemic ‘health concerns’ to extend Legislature shutdown

Alberta Speaker Nathan Cooper, one of the United Conservative Party MLAs known as the COVID 18 who last month signed a controversial letter opposing their own government’s COVID-19 restrictions, has issued a memorandum saying the Alberta Legislature will stay closed “due to the ongoing public health concerns arising from the

Continue reading

Alberta Politics: Kaycee Madu’s claim Liberals and New Democrats want Alberta to be overwhelmed by COVID-19 is just classic gaslighting

When Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu said the federal Liberals, the Alberta NDP and the media all hoped Alberta would be overwhelmed by COVID-19, he was gaslighting. He’s just not as good at it as Premier Jason Kenney is.  Alberta Premier Jason Kenney (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Mr. Madu shouldn’t feel

Continue reading

Alberta Politics: When the going gets tough, tough-guy Jason Kenney gets going – this time leaving the Legislature padlocked behind him

With COVID-19 out of control, the United Conservative Party Government clueless and divided, ordinary citizens increasingly frightened, and defiant covidiots organizing super-spreader events like that no-more-lockdowns rodeo in Bowden Saturday, Premier Jason Kenney adopted his crisis response of choice.  Cut and run. Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley (Photo: David J.

Continue reading

Alberta Politics: Kinney versus Kenney: Can a progressive gadfly offer unhappy Albertans a way to send their premier a message?

Progressive gadfly Duncan Kinney, executive director of the progressive news and advocacy organization behind the Progress Report newsletter and podcast, is the first Albertan to file his papers with Elections Alberta to run in the Kenney Government’s “Senate Nominee Election.” Such Senate votes – they’re not really elections as electing

Continue reading