PHOTOS: Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean at the Calgary Stampede. Too country to be electable in the new Alberta? (Photo from Mr. Jean’s Flickr account.) Below: Former Harper strategist Ken Boessenkool and former Harper speechwriter Paul Bunner, both involved in Alberta’s “reunite the right” movement. (Photos grabbed from their Facebook
Continue readingTag: Alberta Politics
Alberta Politics: Why stop with just one religion? Shouldn’t Ottawa certify clerics for all religions, plus martial arts instructors?
PHOTOS: The Senate of Canada, also known as “the Red Chamber,” possibly for its adoption of tactics for dealing with religion reminiscent of two large communist countries. Actual Canadian Senators may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Andrew P.W. Bennett, Canada’s first “Ambassador for Religious Freedom” and a cantor at
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: McGowan to run for NDP nomination, Tories choose Viersen in Peace River-Westlock
Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan is expected to announce at a press conference tomorrow that he will seek the New Democratic Party nomination in the federal riding of Edmonton-Centre. Mr. McGowan is known as an outspoken advocate for labour issues and… Continue Reading →
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Will Canadian troops in Ukraine have to train radical Islamist volunteers said to be tied to ISIS?
PHOTOS: Defence Minister Jason Kenney explains who Canadian troops will train in Ukraine last fall. Below: Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ukraine in 2010. Photos are from the CBC and the Prime Minister’s Office’s Flickr account. It’s been evident for several months now Ukraine has a problem with neo-Nazis, in
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Calgary Stampede an important marker of political change in Alberta
Billed as the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, the Calgary Stampede is a must-stop destination for political leaders of all stripes and all levels of government. The event also provides a good historical marker of how quickly the political winds of change can… Continue Reading →
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Murky and contradictory poll results, weird timing, unlikely to divert media from its dubious narrative about Alberta’s NDP
PHOTOS: “Press 1 if you support the Wildrose Party …” With the right digital equipment, the whole family can have fun with demon-dialler public opinion polls, even down on the farm in rural Southern Alberta. Below: Novice political columnists learn how to cover the news in Alberta. According to news
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Memo from The Old Copy Editor: The offensive flag in question is not ‘the Stars ‘n’ Bars’
PHOTOS: An offensive symbol on the front of a Canadian truck, right here in Alberta. The Old Copy Editor reminds readers that this is not the Stars ’n’ Bars. Below: HMCS Iroquois back in the day when she still had a gun on her foredeck. The Old Copy Editor reminds
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The effort to engineer regime change in Greece could lead to a much bigger disaster
PHOTOS: Leaders of the Greek military government of 1967 to 1974. Is something similar waiting in the wings if the eurozone leadership’s effort to terrorize the Greeks into voting Yes to never-ending austerity fails today? Below: Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsipras, former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien and Nobel-Prize-winning American
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Happens, week 25: The great $15 debate; more McMania; new low for Tories
“The folks over there think it’s totally appropriate for a single mother of two or three to have to work 70 hours a week in order to earn a living wage. I say to you that they’re just wrong, and that’s why we are changing the minimum wage in Alberta.”
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Independence Day: an excellent moment to remember Stephen Harper is no ‘Tory’
PHOTOS: Today is Independence Day in the United States, and also in Texas, where this photo was snapped. Below: Stephen Harper, not a Tory, unlike John A. Macdonald, below him, who was. Below both of them, a Hessian soldier gets ready to load up and shoot at an American insurgent.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Lawsuit and ASIRT investigation illuminate the Alberta Tory Party’s existential crisis
PHOTOS: Car 54 where are you? Somewhere in northeast Calgary, by the sound of it. Actual Calgary Police Service officers may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below, former Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson (CBC photo) and former Edmonton-Ellerslie PC nomination candidate Balraj Manhas (from his Twitter account). Two news stories
Continue readingAlberta Politics: New Democrats to have real nomination battle in Calgary-Foothills riding
PHOTOS: Skilled polling technicians monitor the interactive voice response equipment the day before Canada Day. Actual Canadian pollsters may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: NDP Calgary-Foothills nomination candidates Anne Wilson and Bob Hawkesworth. Notwithstanding a gloomy demon-dialler poll suggesting voter support has migrated from the NDP Government to the
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Gearing up for another Calgary-Foothills By-Election
Voters in Calgary-Foothills will face their third election in less than a year when a by-election is called to replace Jim Prentice in the next few months. I’ve created a special page to track candidate nominations and news about the… Continue Reading →
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Happy Canada Day: Alberta has an extra billion, which was good luck for the NDP
PHOTOS: Finance Minister Joe Ceci at yesterday’s news conference, in a government of Alberta photo, imparting the happy news that former premier Jim Prentice’s Tories left $1.1 billion lying around and didn’t bother to tell anyone about it. Below: Opposition Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt and PC Leader Ric McIver. Presumably
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Alberta candidate update: 111 days until Canada’s federal election
With only 111 days left until Canada’s next federal election, parties are scrambling to nominate candidates in Alberta’s thirty-four new electoral ridings. Despite their win in the recent provincial election and sharp rise in the polls, the federal NDP are still… Continue Reading →
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta’s NDP government moves too cautiously, but in the right direction, on raising the minimum wage
PHOTOS: The government of Alberta’s spin on an increase in the minimum wage – what a contrast to the grim excuse-making of a few months ago! Below: Jobs Minister Lori Sigurdson (from the Premier of Alberta’s Flickr account), Premier Rachel Notley (photo by Dave Cournoyer) and Alberta Chambers of Commerce
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Happens, week 24: McMania; a flag flap; PACing it in
Connor McDavid, wearing the surprisingly bold Edmonton Oiler travelling suit. OMG! OMG! OMG! Connor McDavid is an Oiler! Connor McDavid is an Oiler! Connor McDavid is an Oiler! Sigh. Poor Connor. The hopes of an entire city are apparently resting on his muscled shoulders. This city’s infatuation with the Edmonton
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Civil disobedience, Alberta-style: obviously it’s only an outrage when non-conservatives talk about it
PHOTOS: Which one looks most like a certain Wildrose critic, back in the day? Just asking. Below: Wildrose MLA and frontbencher Rick Strankman, who was pardoned by PM Stephen Harper. Below them, Wildrose Leader Brian Jean and enviro activist and Alberta values violator Mike Hudema plus his scary book. VICTORIA,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Reflections on the end of the Alberta NDP’s first session: voters want the government to succeed, the Opposition and media seek failure
PHOTOS: Members of the Press Gallery mark the end of the session in the Alberta Legislature by showering paper on MLAs. That, of course, was back in the day when the press still used presses, and wrote their reports on paper. Below: Premier Rachel Notley and Environment Minister Shannon Phillips
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Government by sneak: the preferred Harper Conservative response to thorny issues and hard-fought elections
PHOTOS: Poultry farmers not exactly like these, and dairy farmers as seen below, are facing sneaky attacks by the Harper Government. And speaking of the chickens coming home to roost, below them is a screen shot of former Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro. VICTORIA, B.C. Same sex marriage advocates and
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