The Spring session of the Alberta Legislature ended yesterday after forty-days of debate. The evacuation of more than 88,000 Albertans sparked by the wildfires in Fort McMurray dominated the attention of our political leaders during this session. In …
Continue readingTag: Brian Jean
Alberta Politics: NDP environmental policies: Who’re ya gonna believe? Mark Carney or Rick Strankman?
PHOTOS: Bank of England Governor and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley at yesterday’s brief news conference in the provincial Legislature Building. (CBC Photo) Below: Rick Strankman and Michael Bloomberg. Who’re ya gonna believe, huh? Mark Carney, form…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Keeping things in in the Right perspective: Wildrose says NDP’s carbon levy is much like killing 10 million people
PHOTOS: Wildrose Agriculture Critic Rick Strankman thinks the NDP Government’s carbon levy is just murder. (Photo grabbed from his Facebook page.) Below: NDP Economic Development Minister Deron Bilous, Wildrose MLA Drew Barnes, another member of the …
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: A Timeline of Derek Fildebrandt’s “suspension” from Wildrose
The Wildrose Party was not one big happy family this week. Albertans might be confused about what exactly happened between Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean and Finance critic Derek Fildebrandt. It might be one of the most bizarre political stories o…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: On the War of the WRP, Saskatchewan’s Great Wall and the mysterious appeal of Alberta Health Services
PHOTOS: A meeting of the Opposition Wildrose Caucus gets under way with Leader Brian Jean and Leader Lite Derek Fildebrandt explaining their differences to each other. Actual Alberta politicians of the right may not appear exactly as illustrated. Then …
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Leader Brian Jean appears to have violated Wildrose constitution when he tried to suspend Derek Fildebrandt
PHOTO: Now-restored Wildrose Party Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt and party Leader Brian Jean, photographed in happier times. (Photo grabbed from Mr. Jean’s Facebook page.) Below: A screen capture of the photo accompanying today’s news release on…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Suspension of maverick MLA didn’t amount to much, even before Wildrose leader’s apparent flip-flop
PHOTOS: Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt appears to be ahead in the race with his party leader, Brian Jean, this past weekend at least. (Photo grabbed from Mr. Jean’s Facebook page.) Below: Blogger Dave Cournoyer and a smiling Mr. Fildebrandt. That was…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Questions, questions, questions about tomorrow’s Public Accounts Committee meeting chaired by … Derek Fildebrandt?
PHOTO: Derek Fildebrandt, a (former?) Wildrose Opposition MLA and as of right now chair of the Legislature’s Public Accounts Committee. (Photo © David Climenhaga, just sayin’.) Tomorrow morning, the Alberta Legislature’s Standing Committee on Pu…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: For Wildrose, “Mr. Wynne” Facebook comment was last straw for Derek Fildebrandt
A statement released late on Friday night announced that Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean had suspended Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt from the Official Opposition Caucus. As AlbertaPolitics.ca author David Climenhaga wrote on Friday night:
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Brian Jean’s Wildrose Party leadership is now unquestioned: the fall of Derek Fildebrandt explained
PHOTOS: Brian Jean will be in the background no more … Back in 2015, Derek Fildebrandt was dominating the conversation, refusing to answer questions from a CBC reporter who had annoyed him, as his former party leader looked on, apparently bemused (CB…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UPDATED: Wildrose Party Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt suspended from Opposition caucus by Brian Jean over Tweet
PHOTO: Wildrose Finance Citic Derek Fildebrandt was suspended by the party caucus last night by Leader Brian Jean. Below: Mr. Jean, Twitterer Dave Beninger and NDP MLA Deb Drever (CBC photo). Wildrose Party Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt was suspende…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Wildrose Party’s half-hearted apology to Ontario premier doesn’t mean much
PHOTOS: Wildrose Party Finance Critic and chief Legislative greeter Derek Fildebrandt, demonstrating a typical attitude. Below: Shocked and appalled critics Naheed Nenshi, mayor of Calgary, David Swann, Alberta Liberal leader, Greg Clark, Alberta Party…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Watching the Wildrose in the Legislature: Beverly Hillbillies … or Deliverance?
PHOTOS: The Beverly Hillbillies in campaign mode. Actual members of the Alberta Wildrose caucus may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, left, and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, right, answer reporters’ questions …
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Brace for it: Alberta is about to endure weeks of vicious climate-change-induced political weather!
PHOTOS: Environment Minister Shannon Phillips at a related announcement last fall. As you can see, some of the same supporters were with her yesterday, as shown below by the Government of Alberta photo taken at the notorious Sky Palace in Edmonton, whi…
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Wildrose Vision (such as it is)
Brian Jean, leader of the Wildrose party, has a vision for uniting Alberta’s conservatives. It’s based on “the best elements” of Peter Lougheed and Ralph Klein’s legacies and rejects the “liberal drift” and “questionable ethics” that forced Wildrose members out … Continue reading →
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Why there is unlikely to be a Conservative Party of Alberta anytime soon
As prospects of a merger of Alberta’s two estranged conservative parties appear more and more unlikely, Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean has suggested that his party may consider rebranding with a name change before the 2019 election. Postmedia…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: If the Wildrose Party can’t unite the right on its terms, maybe there’s another way to skin that particular conservative cat
PHOTOS: Don’t look for a happy occasion like this any time in the near future of the Alberta Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties (grabbed from FashionEra.com). Below: Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean, Progressive Conservative Party Presiden…
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Fort McMurray Wildfire: Another Wasted Opportunity for the Wildrose
On May 10, Danielle Larivee, minister of Municipal Affairs, welcomed Wildrose MLAs Brian Jean and Tany Yao back to the Legislature. They’d been in Fort McMurray surveying the damage from the wildfire. Mr Jean received a standing ovation. He personally … Continue reading →
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Fort McMurray provides a humanizing break from hyper-partisan politics in Alberta
One year ago, the Edmonton Journal published a letter written by Greg Stevens, in which the former cabinet minister sent Alberta’s newly elected New Democratic Party best wishes at the start of its term as government. Mr. Stevens, who served in …
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Votaries of right-wing unity gather in Red Deer, vote to form yet another conservative party
PHOTOS: Progressive Conservative interim Leader Ric McIver and Wildrose Leader Brian Jean in a rare recent moment of amity at, but of course, the Manning Centre’s Ottawa beanfest for right wingers in February 2016. This snapshot, the only one of its …
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