Alberta Politics: Where are the ‘good Conservatives,’ prepared to speak against their party’s race-baiting tactics?

PHOTOS: Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s tactics have sparked protests, but Conservatives who should know better have been astonishingly quiet. (CommonDreams.org photo.) Below: Former St. Albert MLA Mary O’Neill, Independent MP Brent Rathgeber and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi. ST. ALBERT, Alberta The single most disheartening thing about this long 2015 federal

Continue reading

Alberta Politics: Eleven grinding weeks and this federal election comes down to a science question: momentum, or inertia?

PHOTOS: Federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair on stage in Edmonton Friday night (photo by Olav Rokne). The red signs say “Stop Harper.” Perhaps at this hour they should say “Stop Trudeau!” Below: Well-known Alberta pollster Janet Brown, Calgary Centre Liberal candidate Kent Hehr, former Mississauga, Ont., mayor Hazel McCallion, and

Continue reading

Alberta Politics: Lawyers, guns and money: Russia’s intervention in Syria offers a useful teaching moment for Canadians

PHOTOS: A Russian Su-34 bomber releases a bomb near the provisional ISIS capital of Raqqa in Syria. (Russian Ministry of Defence photo.) Below: Russian President Vladimir Putin, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Russia’s military intervention in the Syrian civil war has offered a unique teaching

Continue reading

Alberta Politics: Independent MP Brent Rathgeber gives St. Albertans a former Tory insider’s take on the many sins of the Harper PMO

PHOTOS: Independent MP Brent Rathgeber, in a typical pose, chats with a couple of constituents at last night’s candidates’ forum in St. Albert, Alberta. Below: Conservative candidate Michael Cooper, Mr. Rathgeber again, New Democrat Darlene Malayko and Liberal Beatrice Ghettuba. ST. ALBERT, Alberta The only Independent candidate in Canada with

Continue reading