We interrupt this blog with an important bulletin from the Stable Reliable Liberal Democracy of Alberta! In an unexpected move, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has announced he will seek social license for new energy projects in the Canadian province. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). How unexpected was
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Warren Kinsella: My latest: ten reasons why Peter MacKay has a shot
Peter MacKay has hit a rough patch. Weird social media. Policy incoherence. Crummy French. Interviews going awry. Sure, he’s coughed up the big entrance fee, and proffered the requisite number of signatures. Came up with a nice logo. Attracted the support of smart backroomers, and figured out how to avoid
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: My latest: sad Trudeau
Is Justin Trudeau sad? He sure looks sad. He looks positively dejected, in fact. In his few public appearances since the election, Trudeau has radiated none of the boyish charm that was the signature of his first term in office. Gone are the selfies, the costumes, and the maddening preoccupation
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Peter MacKay may be One Candidate to Rule Them All — but can he save the party of Preston, Stockwell & Steve?
There are those who say we should be bracing ourselves for the return of President Steve. Say it ain’t so! Stephen Harper (Photo: Remy Steinegger, Creative Commons). We can expect know today if Stephen Harper is going to re-emerge to make a re-run to re-lead the Conservative Party of Canada
Continue readingAlberta Politics: RCMP investigation of ‘Kamikaze Campaign’ moves into new phase; what it means remains to be seen
“Soon, we will find out if breaking the law is illegal.” The line is Stephen Colbert’s and, no, he wasn’t talking about Alberta. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). The well-known American comedian and TV personality, of course, was referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: Of doughnuts and beards and the like
The Conservative Party – back when it knew how to win, and when it was preoccupied with winning more than whining – was pretty good at symbols. Symbol-wise, ten years ago, the Conservatives’ communications strategy always came back a single theme: that Michael Ignatieff out-of-touch and from Mars – while
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Stephen Harper and Preston Manning, joined at the hip by history and not particularly liking it, make changes
On Wednesday, former prime minister Stephen Harper abruptly quit the Conservative Party of Canada’s fund-raising board, supposedly to give himself time to prevent Jean Charest from becoming leader of Canada’s Conservatives or prime minister of Canada. Yesterday, we learned that Preston Manning would quit his eponymous market-fundamentalist call centre in
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Brace yourselves, Alberta, Premier Kenney’s promising us another spring of renewal!
Good Lord, can Alberta survive another spring of renewal like the last one? Another springtime of renewal — that’s what Government House Leader Jason Nixon and the United Conservative Party’s meme machine were promising yesterday with the announcement the Alberta Legislature well get back to business on Feb. 25. Alberta
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: Peter MacKay: he’s in
Does this mean Jean Charest is in or out? Does this mean Team Mulroney is going elsewhere? Does this mean Stephen Harper will not support anyone in the race, because none of them are him? Who knows. But he’s in, he says. Here’s a quickie take on MacKay, pro and
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: Ten reasons why Jean Charest should run
Will he? Won’t he? Postmedia muse John Ivison says he will. I think he will, too. Here’s ten reasons why I think he should seek the Tory leadership, and why he could win – both the leadership and the country. The Big One. The Rest of Canada mostly doesn’t know
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Happy Holidays! Alberta’s economic prospects may underwhelm, but at least you can spin them as you like!
Happy Holidays! At this time last year, it looked as if Santa would bring something for everyone in Alberta, regardless of their political orientation. This year, though, maybe not so much. Lumps of carbon-dioxide-emitting coal, maybe. Leastways, you can spin recent economic outlooks for the province any way you like,
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: The system works
It does. This is a massive fine. This is a guilty plea to a serious crime. This is justice. If only they had listened to Jody Wilson-Raybould, they’d still have the Clerk of the Privy Council. They’d still have the Principal Secretary. They’d still have a majority. All of that
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: #LavScam latest: former SNC exec found guilty
Among other things, this verdict suggests some of us (Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott in particular) were right when we said that crimes had indeed taken place – and that no politicians should be interfering in the resulting trials. I wonder what they’re thinking in PMO right now? Do they
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Also done like dinner in the aftermath of Andrew Scheer’s resignation: Max Bernier
Spare a brief weekend thought for Maxime Bernier: If only he had kept his ambitions in check and his trap shut, he’d be sitting pretty now! With Andrew Scheer’s resignation officially stamped “Received,” who would have been in a better position to step lightly into the Opposition Leader’s office after
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Andrew Scheer is done like dinner — What Will Jason Do?
After an unsuccessful election campaign his supporters expected him to win, Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer has been accused by someone of dipping his paws into Conservative Party of Canada funds to pay for his children’s private-school education. Accordingly, Mr. Scheer is done like dinner. Innocent or not, he has resigned.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Is a ‘fair deal’ or a fare deal behind Jason Kenney’s Christmas flight to Ottawa with his entourage?
Nobody flies to Ottawa at this time of year expecting to get anything done with the government of Canada. This is axiomatic. Remember that if you’re wondering about that planeload of Alberta Conservative cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and assorted spear-carriers led by Jason Kenney jetting off to the nation’s capital,
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: Tory war: keeping score
So, back in the good old days, when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth and Jesus was a little fella, you were given a couple chances to become Prime Minister or Premier. That’s how it was done. Nowadays, with a news cycle of 10 seconds, and Facebook and Twitter and Instagram
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