You’d think at some point I’d get tired of writing about Daryl Katz, but no. The guy just keeps doing the most amazing, mind-boggling things. I swear, Katz is an Edmonton version of Mitt Romney. When last we left the klutz that is Katz, out local Monty Burns had managed
Continue readingTag: Alberta Politics
daveberta.ca - Alberta politics: A History of recent Federal By-Elections in Alberta.
TweetThe November 26 by-election in Calgary-Centre will be the fourth federal by-election held in Alberta in the past twenty-six years. In that time, only one of the by-elections saw the election of a candidate not from the incumbent political party. All three by-elections were won by candidates representing conservative parties.
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Remember where you heard it first: foundering B.C. premier hires Alberta strategist Stephen Carter
Your blogger, looking rather stout and unkempt, with political strategist Stephen Carter, who popped up in British Columbia yesterday to try to work his come-from-behind magic for B.C. Premier Christy Clark’s foundering conservative Liberals. Below: Ms. Clark. As predicted here at Alberta Diary, British Columbia Premier Christie Clark has hired
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Welcome to Alberta’s Wild West, where the market sets the value of your vote
Drug store billionaire Daryl Katz, right, discusses his plans for a new Edmonton hockey arena with a representative of the Alberta government. Since Wild West hockey barons may not appear exactly as illustrated, a photo of the real Mr. Katz is shown below. (CBC Photo, circa 2008.) Look, people, this
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: A case for finance reform: Reclusive billionaire allegedly donated $430,000 to PC Party.
Tweet“Mr. Katz declined requests for comment” was probably the least surprising sentence printed in the Globe & Mail this week as the national newspaper published reports that reclusive billionaire Daryl Katz had allegedly donated $430,000 to Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Party during the recent provincial election. The maximum contribution limits allowed
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Pharmaceutical billionaire Daryl Katz gave $430,000 to PC Party, Globe & Mail reports.
TweetI am still processing this news and will have more to say soon. In the meantime, kudos to Globe & Mail reporters David Ebner and Dawn Walton for digging this up. From The Globe & Mail: Billionaire entrepreneur and Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz gave Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives nearly half
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Fat Katz
“I’m sorry little boy. This is an Oilers-only campaign.” It appears Daryl Katz has a thing for crumbling dynasties: Billionaire Oilers owner Katz gave $430,000 to Alberta PCs Billionaire entrepreneur and Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz gave Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives nearly half a million dollars – almost one-third of the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Despite plans to reopen next week, ripples from XL Foods closing may spread
Everything from ranches to feedlots to auction operations not quite like this one could be affected by a financial disaster at Nilsson Brothers Inc., the owner of XL Foods in Brooks. With reports yesterday the XL Foods meatpacking plant in Brooks is likely to reopen in a week, media attention
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Danielle Smith and “the hungry.”
TweetWildrose Party leader Danielle Smith apologized today for comment and a retweet she made on Twitter suggesting that E.coli tainted beef from the XL Foods meat packing plant in Brooks be fed to “the hungry.” Many of Ms. Smith’s critics compared her ‘let them eat tainted beef’ attitude to former
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Tweetergate? Meatergate? For heaven’s sake, stop her before she Tweets again!
Alberta’s Wildrose Opposition Leader Danielle Smith Tweeting “let them eat steaks” over the worldwide web. Injudicious Alberta politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The offending Tweet; the real Ms. Smith. Alberta Opposition Leader Memo to Self: Whatever was I thinking? Whoever does Wildrose Party Leader Danielle “Marie Antoinette”
Continue readingAlberta Diary: The Albertaliberals spawn Liberalberta … this is a joke, isn’t it?
Raj Sherman kills at Huckabay’s Comedy Club, which of course doesn’t exist. Actual Alberta comedians may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: The re-branded Liberalberta logo; the real Raj Sherman, with his real chief of staff, Jonathan Huckabay; former Alberta NDP Leader Raj Pannu; the Sherman Tank. THE SCENE: A
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Calgary-Centre By-Election called for November 26, 2012.
TweetA by-election will be held in the federal riding of Calgary-Centre on November 26, 2012. The by-election is being held to replace former Conservative Member of Parliament Lee Richardson, who resigned earlier this year to become Premier Alison Redford‘s Principal Secretary. Four candidates have been nominated to run in the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta Premier Alison Redford gets warm reception in union lions’ den
Alison Redford speaks to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees’ convention in Edmonton yesterday. (AUPE photo.) Below: Ms. Redford with AUPE President Guy Smith. Is she trying to build an alliance with public service unions? It’s tempting to say Alberta Premier Alison Redford walked boldly into the lions’ den yesterday
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Liberalberta
A green flag looks nice, but a white flag might have been more apt Via Daveberta, comes news that the Alberta Liberals will be rebranding themselves as Liberalberta. The change is expected to include a new website, logo, and party colours. The shift from red to green is no doubt
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Alberta Liberals set to rebrand as Liberalberta, sources say.
TweetThe Alberta Liberal Party is rebranding its image with plans to relaunch its website, adopt a new logo, change its official colours, and, according to Liberal sources, rename itself Liberalberta. Last forming government following the 1917 election, Liberals are the constant underdogs of Alberta politics and being severely hampered by connections to unpopular Liberal
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Alberta MLAs return to Edmonton next week for the first real sitting of 2012.
TweetThe fall sitting of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly begins on October 23 and indications suggest that it will be a different than recent sittings. Aside from the brief sitting held in the spring with the almost sole purpose of ejecting retired MLA Ken Kowalski from his long-held spot in Speaker’s Chair,
Continue readingAlberta Diary: By-election watch: Calgary Centre Grits hope to benefit from Justin Trudeau’s reflected glow
Justin Trudeau passes through the Calgary Centre riding, as seen by the media. Actual Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidates may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Conservative Party candidate Joan Crockatt, still the front-runner in the by-election that hasn’t been called yet; Liberal candidate Harvey Locke looking outdoorsy; the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Advice to Alison Redford: Own fair and reasonable, and leave the comedy riffs about Danielle Smith to us bloggers
Yuck! Alberta Opposition Leader Danielle Smith learns about veterinary medicine at the source. Or was this the lesson on Wisconsin’s “grassroots democracy”? Whatever. After that, she had cheese in Wisconsin. Below: Alberta Premier Alison Redford. I recall hearing somewhere the image experts have come to the conclusion that “if you
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Winter is coming and so is the a by-election in Calgary-Centre.
TweetConservative candidate Joan Crockatt and Green candidate Chris Turner are no longer alone in Calgary-Centre, as the field of candidates is filling out. Time is also running out for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to set the date for the by-election. Late last month, the Liberals nominated lawyer and conservationist Harvey Locke.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Canadians deserve answers about XL Foods beef, as company sticks its head in the sand and Alberta politicians give in to old populist ways.
TweetUntil its licence was temporarily suspended on September 27, more than one-third of Canadian beef was processed in the XL Foods plant in Brooks, Alberta. The plant processed 4000 cows a day and produces 3000 steaks each minute. The sheer size of this plant raises serious questions about the centralization of the
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