The deadline is fast approaching. On March 31 at 5:00 p.m. we will know for sure who, if anyone, wants to lead Alberta’s Liberal Party. The race to choose a replacement for the party’s last permanent leader – Raj Sherman, who resigned in January 2015 – has been less than exciting. The entry
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Alberta Politics: Message to Jason Kenney: Alberta changed while you were away being a big shot in Ottawa!
PHOTOS: Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney. Why does this man look so puzzled? Below: Entertainer k.d. lang; the late Ralph Klein, premier of Alberta when Jason Kenney left for Ottawa; Edmonton Journal columnist Paul Simons; and Nolan Crouse, until yesterday the only candidate to lead the Alberta Liberal Party. When
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Jason Kenney’s appeal to social conservatives targets Gay-Straight Alliances
Perhaps not completely understanding how much acrimony the Gay-Straight Alliance issue caused his party back in 2014, recently selected Progressive Conservative leader Jason Kenney brought the issue back to the forefront this week. According to reports from Postmedia, when asked about Gay-Straight Alliances, Kenney told the editorial board of the Calgary Herald and Sun
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Assdeep in Wonder – a book of poetry – tops Audreys Edmonton Bestseller list this week
Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended March 26, 2017, compiled on March 28, 2017, by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS Assdeep in Wonder (Poetry) – Christopher Gudgeon Fifteen
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Guest Post: The time has come for a sober conversation about Jason Kenney … and his implied platform
ILLUSTRATIONS: Jason Kenney, the victor in the PC leadership campaign now trying to create a narrative of invincibility about his ambition to lead Alberta. Below: Author Barret Weber. Charts shown are based on the Royal Bank of Canada fiscal tables, updated as of March 22, 2017, that show Alberta’s debt
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Former Tory MLAs jumping into municipal politics
As the October 16, 2017 municipal elections approach, we are starting to see a number of candidates from the 2015 provincial and federal elections putting their names forward to run for municipal office. At least three former Progressive Conservative MLAs who were defeated in the 2015 election have put their names forward
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Climate Drewhaha: financing a documentary with a point of view is advocacy, not defending free speech
PHOTOS: Wildrose Energy Critic Drew Barnes, at right, on the steps of the Alberta Legislature one cold day in 2016. Below: Wetaskiwin-Camrose NDP MLA Bruce Hinkley (Camrose Canadian photo), Calgary Currie MLA Brian Malkinson, and National Post commentator and documentary maker John Robson (screenshot). Is Wildrose Energy Critic Drew Barnes
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: So … You Think Silence Is An Answer?
There are a number of Jason Kenney’s supporters running around with the mistaken belief that because Kenney refuses to answer questions about his Social Conservative (SoCon) beliefs is somehow an endorsement that he will be benign on those issues should he ever become Alberta’s Premier. Like the CPC policy change
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Education Minister deserves high marks for ordering recalcitrant religious schools to obey GSA law, but more is needed
PHOTOS: Alberta Education Minister David Eggen. Below: Edmonton lawyer Dan Scott, Kristopher Wells of the U of A’s Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services and Brian Coldwell of the Independent Baptist Christian Education Society. Sometimes a government just needs to do the right thing and let the chips fall
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: My submission to the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission
Earlier this year I submitted a series of recommendations to Alberta’s Electoral Boundaries Commission, the appointed body tasked with redrawing Alberta’s provincial electoral districts for the next election. I initially meant to share this after I submitted it, but for no particular reason I never got around to posting them. The commission will
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Now that he can’t be Mr. Congeniality any more, is Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall eyeing the exit?
PHOTOS: I’m sick of this shifty eyed shot of Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall too, but it’s the only decent royalty free photo of the guy I can find. Below top and bottom: Jason Kenney and Brian Jean, two Alberta Conservatives who used to have nothing bad to say about Mr.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Nuala: A Fable, by Alberta author Kimmy Beach, tops Audreys Books Edmonton Bestseller List this week
Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended March 19, 2017, compiled on March 21, 2017, by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. Nuala: A Fable – Kimmy Beach*† 2.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Alberta author and publisher top list of Edmonton’s bestselling books
An Alberta author and publisher top this week’s list of bestselling books. Ranking first in the fiction category is Nuala: A Fable, written by award winning Red Deer poet and author Kimmy Beach and published by University of Alberta Press. In the non-fiction category, Margaret Atwood’s The Burgess Shale: The Canadian Writing Landscape of the 1960s is also
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Kenney shifts into Phase Two of Uniting the Right
Shifting into the second phase of his campaign to unite Alberta’s two largest right-wing political parties, newly elected Progressive Conservative leader Jason Kenney met with Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean this week. According to an email from Kenney’s campaign, the two men, who are both expected to run for the leadership of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Cue the balalaikas! Tory MLA hears the Red Army tramping across the Steppes of Central Alberta
PHOTOS: Calgary-Fish Creek MLA Richard Gotfried, at right, and an unidentified friend. (Photo grabbed from Mr. Gotfried’s Facebook page.) Below: Mr. Gotfried with Progressive Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney and PC Vermilion-Lloydminster MLA Richard Starke. Social democracy in Alberta? Pretty much the same as the Russian Revolution! Really! I’m not
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Guest Post: With friends like these … Jason Kenney’s biggest challenge may come from his political allies
PHOTOS: Jason Kenney at the centre of a media scrum a few days before his victory in the Progressive Conservative Party leadership race. Expect to see him in this situation a lot more often now, even though he holds no formal elected political office. Below: Post author Chanchal Bhattacharya, Alberta
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: 210 days until Election Day in Edmonton
With Edmonton’s 2017 municipal elections now 210 days away, we are starting to see more candidates file their intentions to run for city council. I have updated the list of declared candidates, which now includes Alison Poste in Ward 4, Svetlana Pavlenko and Michael Oshry (presumably) in Ward 5, Payman Parseyan and Sandy Pon in Ward 9 and Brandy Burdeniuk
Continue readingAlberta Politics: It’s springtime for Kenney in Wildrose country as Alberta bids farewell to progressive conservatism
PHOTOS: Jason Kenney salutes his supporters after winning the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party on the first ballot yesterday. (Screenshot.) Below: Richard Starke, the Vermilion veterinarian who was Mr. Kenney’s main rival, although not much of one in the event; Opposition Wildrose leader Brian Jean; and Peter Lougheed, PC
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Jason Kenney’s hostile takeover of Alberta’s PC Party is complete
Former federal politician Jason Kenney won the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta today, as was widely expected. Kenney received the support of 75 percent of the delegates attending the party’s voting meeting today at the Hyatt in downtown Calgary. His only opponents, Vermilion-Lloydminster MLA Richard Starke and Calgary
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Like rust, Preston Manning apparently never sleeps: Jason Kenney is just his latest manifestation
PHOTOS: Preston Manning has every reason to feel pleased with himself as he moves toward his goal of uniting Alberta’s right on his own terms, with an extreme social conservative candidate like Jason Kenney in the vanguard. Below: Mr. Kenney; Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark; Danielle Smith, just before she
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