TweetDedicated citizens across Alberta will gather this morning in town halls and community centres to submit their nomination forms to become official candidates in this year’s municipal elections. In the capital city, the excitement is taking place at Edmonton’s downtown City Hall. With three-term Mayor Stephen Mandel not seeking re-election,
Continue readingTag: Alberta Politics
daveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Wildrose MLA accused of slate-building in Airdrie civic election
TweetOutgoing mayor of Cochrane Truper McBride has raised questions about the involvement of Wildrose MLA Rob Anderson in the ‘Team Airdrie United’ slate of candidates running in the October municipal elections. Mayor McBride alleged that Mr. Anderson’s involvement stems from his opposition to density requirements for new development bring implemented by the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Strange political bedfellows are conjuring more than entertainment in Alberta
A poster advertising last night’s NDP-Wildrose leaders’ debate at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Below: Odd couple Brian Mason and Danielle Smith, captured in electrons by Dave Cournoyer of the Daveberta.ca blog. Alberta New Democratic Party Leader Brian Mason and Wildrose Party Leader Danielle Smith debated each other at
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Mason vs Smith: Wildrose and NDP leaders on province-wide debate tour
TweetThree years before the next provincial election, a public debate tour might not be where you would expect to find the leaders of two political parties. Breaking convention, Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith and Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason are joining forces to bring provincial politics to college and university
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Alberta politics last week
TweetAfter spending some much needed time relaxing in beautiful British Columbia, I returned to Alberta this week and noticed some of the political stories that occurred during my absence. Here are some of the top political stories from last week that caught my attention: Political games in High River Buckling
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: #yegvote Google Hangout with Steven Dollansky
Tweet After a week-long break from the world of political writing and social media, I was happy to return just in time for yesterday’s sixth edition of the #yegvote Google Hangout. This week, Ryan Hastman and I were joined by guest Steven Dollansky, who sat in for Mack Male, who
Continue readingAlberta Diary: 70-plus AHS VPs over the side: Alberta doesn’t reinvent the health care system – sort of…
Another visually riveting moment in the history of Alberta Health Services – from left to right, CEO Chris Eagle, Health Minister Fred Horne and just-appointed Deputy Health Minister Janet Davidson at yesterday’s news conference in Edmonton, exactly as illustrated. Below: NDP Leader Brian Mason speaks for the opposition; new AHS
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Got trouble with ‘overbearing urban planners’? The Manning Centre wants to help!
A civic election all-candidates’ meeting in Calgary. “Why don’t we pass the time with a game of solitaire?” Actual Manning Centre supported candidates may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Manning Centre namesake Preston Manning; Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi; Calgary developer Cal Wenzel (CTV photo). If on Oct. 21 the
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: #yegvote Google Hangout with Don Iveson
Tweet Last night, we had the pleasure of having Edmonton mayoral candidate Don Iveson as our special guest on the fourth #yegvote Google Hangout. Over the course of the hangout, Ryan Hastman, Mack Male, and I questioned Don on some of the hottest issues of the election campaign. The conversation
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Wheels up! Redford Tories hit the skies with another world tour
TweetParis, Munich, Berlin, Geneva, London, Las Vegas, Anchorage, St. Paul, Madison, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai… where haven’t Premier Alison Redford‘s cabinet ministers been this year? Embarking on another round of international trips, Premier Redford and Associate Minster Teresa Woo-Paw will each travel to China, South Korea and Japan next
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Liberals downsize, Wildrose raise more than one-million dollars.
TweetNews that Raj Sherman‘s Alberta Liberal Party is downsizing its operations by moving into a smaller office and restructuring its organization led me to take a glance at provincial political party fundraising numbers for 2013. Due to a change in legislation last year, political party fundraising reports are submitted to Elections
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Queue-jumping inquiry report surely wounds Alberta Liberal Leader Raj Sherman
Wildrose Opposition Leader Danielle Smith, looking for all the world like a future premier, lands a few easy punches on the government after the release yesterday of the health care queue-jumping inquiry report. Below: Alberta Liberal Leader Raj Sherman and former AHS CEO Stephen Duckett, both assailed in the report
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Queue-jumping report quashes another Tory scandal
TweetOver the past eight months, Premier Alison Redford‘s Tories have been quickly dispatching the handful of scandals and allegations that dogged them and robbed them of their political agenda throughout 2012. Facing an aggressive Wildrose official opposition, the Progressive Conservatives were marred by controversy as they struggled to put forward a coherent
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Councillor Linda Sloan not seeking re-election
TweetTo the surprise of many political watchers, Councillor Linda Sloan announced in a press release this morning that she will not seek re-election to Edmonton City Council in Ward 1. She had previously announced on June 28, 2013 that she would seek re-election. A former president of the now-defunct Staff
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: #yegvote Google Hangout #3 with ActivatED
Tweet On last night’s #yegvote Google Hangout, the third in our series, Ryan Hastman, Mack Male, and I were joined by Aliza Dadani from the group ActivatED. According to their website, “ActivatED is committed to electing forward-thinking progressive councillors in the 2013 Edmonton Municipal Election.” Endorsing candidates can be a messy
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: So you want to be an Edmonton election candidate?
TweetThe City of Edmonton’s Elections Office is hosting an information session tomorrow for residents planning or interested in standing for office in the October 21, 2013 municipal election. According to the Edmonton Elections website, the session will help answer any questions candidates may have about nominations, election legislation and bylaws, campaigning,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Politics with your Folk
TweetFor this political junkie, one of the small highlights of attending Edmonton’s Folk Music Festival each year is flipping through the $5 programme book to sneak a look at the political ads placed in the programme guide. The political ads are always from politicians sitting in the political centre or left
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Adieu to Mark Lisac, hello to Ric Dolphin – not exactly the same kettle of fish!
The estimable Mark Lisac, at left, interviews Ted Morton, the worst premier Alberta never had, back in 2011. Below: Insight Into Government Publisher Ric Dolphin, photo grabbed from his Twitter account. Mark Lisac’s Insight Into Government newsletter was always worth reading. This retro-style, subscription-only publication – which was emphatically not
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Who is driving the conservative agenda in Canada?
TweetIn America’s Forbes Magazine this week, Alejandro Chafuen praised the leadership of the conservative policy think-tanks that helped set the stage for the election of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative majority government in 2011 and the success of conservative politicians across the country. This apparatus of conservative special interest groups, think-tanks and news
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Ontario’s by-elections: potentially a perfectly acceptable result for Premier Kathleen Wynne
Ontario Conservative Tim Hudak’s Vandal horde sacks Rome Upon Lake Ontario, the media narrative for last Thursday’s Ontario by-elections that was sensibly ignored by the province’s voters. Below, Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne. Was she taking a page from the Book of Alison Redford, also below? One can read too
Continue reading