With an election in the wind, it’s always worth remembering there’s life after politics. Consider Hugh MacDonald, once renowned as Alberta’s hardest-working MLA. The former Alberta Liberal Party stalwart served four terms as MLA for Edmonton-Gold Bar and certainly would have been elected to a fifth had he chosen to
Continue readingTag: Alison Redford
Alberta Politics: UCP finally – after an ever-so-excruciating wait – shows rogue nomination candidate Lance Coulter the door
Give Lance Coulter credit: The guy seems to be a very hard worker. Leastways, the United Conservative Party nomination candidate in the Edmonton-Henday West Riding certainly had to work extremely hard to get himself kicked out of the party’s nomination process. Finally, late yesterday morning, the UCP – oh, so
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Free advice to Senator Paula Simons: When in doubt, don’t file an expense claim; avoid sparring with PM
I imagine most journos working nowadays for the moribund and increasingly far-right Postmedia newspaper chain daydream about making a miraculous escape from their travails – perhaps a modest Lotto 6/49 win or a generous inheritance from a beloved auntie. But you have to admit that Paula Simons, until now a
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Rick Strankman out as UCP candidate, latest Horner Dynasty scion in, deep in Alberta’s dinosaur country
Even if you’re no fan of Rick Strankman, United Conservative Party MLA for Alberta’s dinosaur country, you have to feel a little sympathy for the poor guy, skidded from his nomination by a candidate more appealing to party leader Jason Kenney. Mr. Strankman, 65, may not have been the sharpest
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Inside baseball: The ‘newsroom’ returns to Alberta, sort of, in government press secretary office consolidation
In one way, the Alberta NDP Government’s reorganization of its political communications staff is pure inside baseball. It’s interesting just the same, because it undoubtedly reflects the declining importance of mainstream media as an election campaign battlefield in this province, not to mention the structure of corporate news departments as
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Doug Schweitzer wins UCP nomination in Calgary-Elbow, Danielle Larivee selected as NDP candidate in Lesser Slave Lake
Photo: Doug Schweitzer, Danielle Larivee, Travis Toews, and Mo Elsalhy. Former United Conservative Party leadership candidate Doug Schweitzer defeated past city council candidate Chris Davis to secure his party’s nomination in Calgary-Elbow on September 13, 2018. As noted last week, Schweitzer is a lawyer who briefly considered running for the PC Party
Continue readingAlberta Politics: How far is the United Conservative Party prepared to go to be tolerant of intolerance? Quite far, apparently
MLA Richard Gotfried defeated candidate Cindy Ross last night for the United Conservative Party nomination in the Calgary-Fish Creek Riding. Mr. Gotfried, narrowly elected as a Progressive Conservative candidate in a tight three-way race in the May 2015 Alberta election, has detractors within the UCP. Still, his victory has to
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Who might and might not be invited to the Leaders’ Debate in Alberta’s 2019 election?
Photo: Alberta political party leaders – Rachel Notley, Jason Kenney, Stephen Mandel, David Khan, and Derek Fildebrandt. We are now somewhere between seven and ten months away from the next provincial general election in Alberta. For the past seven provincial elections, leaders of the main political parties have participated in
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: PC-turned-NDP MLA Sandra Jansen running for re-election, former PC MLA loses bid for comeback in Edmonton-Glenora
Photo: Then-rookie PC candidate Sandra Jansen at an election rally in 2012, pictured with then-Premier Alison Redford (right) and now UCP candidate Jason Luan (left). Former PC MLA Sandra Jansen will seek re-election as a New Democratic Party candidate in Calgary-North West in the 2019 election. Jansen, who was first elected as
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Grande Prairie Hospital saga: PC political motives, terrible planning, and past ministerial meddling haunt project
The battle between Alberta government officials and a Calgary construction company over long delays building a new hospital in Grande Prairie that boiled over this week is more than a mere political he-said/she-said story. There’s a backstory that started the late days of Alberta’s 44-year Tory Dynasty – partly acknowledged
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Odds-on favourites for disaster … ‘Jimmy the Geek’ sets Vegas odds for the UCP MLAs most likely to resign next
Now that Alberta’s Opposition United Conservative Party has been around for a year – it’s first anniversary was on Sunday – we note that the right-wing party has seen the resignation of no fewer than six of its MLAs for various reasons in its first year of operation. In fairness,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: When it comes to Sandra Jansen, it’s a grudge match for the UCP
It was supposed to be an event highlighting an effort to recruit more conservative women into politics in Alberta, but it was overshadowed by the news that former Prime Minister Stephen Harper plans to personally campaign against New Democratic Party MLA Sandra Jansen in the next provincial election. Laureen Harper
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Brian Mason, who kept NDP flame alight in Alberta’s Legislature for a decade, to take his leave from politics
Brian Mason, who as party leader kept the NDP flame burning brightly in the Alberta Legislature from 2004 to 2014 even when the caucus was small enough to truly meet in a phone booth, announced yesterday he is about to pull the plug on a 29-year political career that has
Continue readingAlberta Politics: No need to make this stuff up: Celebrate Canada Day 2018 by driving the secret highways of Alberta!
Happy Canada Day! Why not celebrate by driving on Alberta’s secret highways? Frankly, I don’t know how the Beaverton stays in business with the brutal competition they’re facing nowadays from Wild Rose Country. There’s an expression we’ve all heard: “You can’t make this stuff up!” In Alberta, you don’t need
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: New Democrats party and Kenney cringes. It’s Pride Week in Edmonton.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley was dancing up a storm in front of thousands of Edmontonians at the capital city’s Pride Festival Parade on Saturday. The annual march travels down Whyte Avenue in the heart of Notley’s Edmonton-Strathcona district. Notley was joined by dozens of Alberta NDP MLAs and Olypmian Jen
Continue readingAlberta Politics: No Progressives Allowed! No entry without secret decoder! UCP serves up private Pride pancakes only today
While thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, were taking part in Pride events throughout Edmonton today, Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party held a private, conservatives-only “Pride Breakfast” a few blocks from the route of the parade along fashionable Whyte Avenue on the city’s south side. This reflects the unique problem Mr.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: ‘Daydreaming in Technicolor’ … the Alberta Party and Derek Fildebrandt present alternative budgets
PHOTOS: The Alberta Legislature gets the Technicolor treatment with publication of two Opposition “alternative budgets.” There was nothing from the United Conservative Opposition, of course. Below: Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel and a costumed Derek Fildebrandt, the Independent “Liberty Conservative,” late of the UPC and Wildrose Party (Photo: Derek Fildebrandt
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: March 3, 2008 was an optimistic day to be a Liberal supporter, at least up until 8:22 p.m.
Photo: Liberal Party leader Kevin Taft speaks to a rally of supporters on the weekend before the 2008 election. Taft, in my opinion, was one of the best premiers Alberta never had. March 3, 2008 was an optimistic day to be a Liberal Party supporter, at least up until 8:22
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Total Votes in Alberta political party leadership races from 1998 to 2018
Photo: Ed Stelmach (elected leader of the PC Party in 2006), Danielle Smith (elected leader of the Wildrose Alliance in 2009), Kevin Taft (elected leader of the Liberal Party in 2004), and Alison Redford (elected leader of the PC Party leader in 2011). Following the announcement this week of the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Stephen Mandel to lead Alberta Party; probably won’t take Tory insider’s advice to go ‘ultra-left’
PHOTOS: Stephen Mandel, always a natty dresser, was chosen as the leader of the Alberta Party last night. He was dressed more conservatively than in this old picture, though, which has the advantage of having been taken by your blogger back when Mr. Mandel was Jim Prentice’s unelected health minister.
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