It took Premier Jason Kenney a couple of years and plenty of fallout from a deadly pandemic and a series of policy flops to become the most unpopular provincial politician in Alberta. NDP Opposition Leader and former Alberta premier Rachel Notley (Photo: Dave Cournoyer/Creative Commons). It looks like Danielle Smith
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Alberta Politics: Danielle Smith has neither the temperament nor the right ideology to lead a united conservative party for long
Danielle Smith, expected to win the United Conservative Party leadership race on Thursday, has neither the temperament nor the right ideology to lead a united party for long. Former Premier and NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). Her ideological views are too far from the mainstream not
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: And the Winner is…?
Ms Soapbox is draped across her fainting couch anxiously awaiting the outcome of the UCP leadership race and is too distraught to post a blog.* She would welcome her readers’ thoughts on: Will Danielle Smith become the next UCP leader? If yes, what percentage of the vote will she garner?
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Conservative political activist Craig Chandler files defamation lawsuit against political scientist Duane Bratt
Calgary conservative political activist Craig B. Chandler indicated on social media Wednesday he is suing Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt for defamation. Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). Mr. Chandler published an image of the first page of his Statement of Claim,
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Kenney’s Legacy: Lessons from Alice
Alice laughed. ‘One can’t believe impossible things.’ ‘I dare say you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen…’Why, sometimes I’ve believed in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’—Lewis Carrol, Alice Through the Looking-Glass Jason Kenney is on the final lap of his political career. He’s working hard to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Danielle Smith’s dead political career? It’s alive … with a vengeance! But what fresh disaster looms?
This week politically attentive Albertans began to realize that Danielle Smith really is likely to win the United Conservative Party leadership race and will soon be sworn in as premier of Alberta. Travis Toews, still in the game, but barely (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). If that gives you a bad feeling
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Former justice minister Kaycee Madu declares fealty to UCP frontrunner Danielle Smith by hailing convoy blockaders
You’ve got to hand it to Kaycee Madu, the only United Conservative Party MLA in Edmonton and for a little while at least Alberta’s minister of labour, the man’s got no shame. UCP leadership frontrunner Danielle Smith (Photo: Facebook/Danielle Smith). Call it what you will, brass, cheek, gall or chutzpah,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Splish-splash! Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe channels UCP frontrunner Danielle Smith’s cynical Sovereignty Act performance
CALGARY – Is there something in the water in Saskatchewan? Or has Premier Scott Moe’s government just been paying too much attention to the success of the separatist pish-posh served up by Danielle Smith that seems to have set the narrative for the United Conservative Party’s leadership race here in
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Inquiring minds want to know: What does Danielle Smith’s ‘Sovereignty Act’ actually say – or does it even exist?
Brian Jean, former Wildrose Party leader and candidate to lead the United Conservative Party, has a good question for Danielle Smith, former Wildrose Party leader and candidate to lead the United Conservative Party. Frontrunning UCP leadership candidate Danielle Smith (Photo: Facebook/Danielle Smith). What does your Alberta Sovereignty Act actually say?
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney’s not wrong about Danielle Smith’s ‘Sovereignty Act’ plan – it’s nuts!
As much as one hates to agree with Jason Kenney, the man’s not wrong to call Danielle Smith’s “Sovereignty Act” proposal in her frontrunning campaign to lead the United Conservative Party “just nuts.” Danielle Smith, at right, the frontrunner in the race to replace Mr. Kenney. Beside her is Service
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP leadership candidates’ cagey answers at forum sponsored by teachers’ union include promises to delay new curriculum
Hey! Never mind defunding the police. What about defunding public education? Complaining about a call by Public Interest Alberta to phase out funding for independent schools, Danielle Smith once asked: “How about we go the other way? Candidate Daniel Smith not so long ago during the time she worked as
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Rachel Notley rolls dice, risks joining UCP leadership candidates to attack Danielle Smith for cancer remark
New Democratic Party Opposition Leader Rachel Notley joined the trailing United Conservative Party leadership candidates yesterday in piling onto UCP frontrunner Danielle Smith for her remarks in a recent social media video that appeared to blame cancer victims for their condition. UCP leadership candidate Danielle Smith in her controversial July
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Who won last night’s United Conservative Party leadership debate? Rajan Sawhney
Let’s cut to the chase: Who won last night’s United Conservative Party leadership debate in Medicine Hat? Former NDP leader Brian Mason debating UCP frontrunner Danielle Smith, then Wildrose Party leader, back in 2013 (Photo: Daveberta.ca). Answer: Rajan Sawhney. Leastways, Ms. Sawhney did the best job of dismantling frontrunner Daniel
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Another poll shows Daniel Smith leading UCP leadership race – and Rachel Notley’s NDP ahead province-wide
Another day, another Alberta political poll, this time from Leger. UCP leadership candidate Danielle Smith in a video she made doing damage control for her controversial remarks about cancer (Photo: Danielle Smith/Twitter). This one, like last week’s Mainstreet Research poll, shows Rachel Notley’s New Democrats in the lead, although not
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The real question facing Albertans: Which woman should be premier – Rachel Notley, Rebecca Schulz, or Danielle Smith?
The woman who replaces Jason Kenney as premier and leads the United Conservative Party Government into the next Alberta provincial election needs to be mindful of the fact she won’t have a mandate to implement radical change before the next general election. Jason Kenney, in costume as usual, as he
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Danielle Smith takes UCP leadership campaign down a dark, Trumpian road with her conspiracy theory about AHS
The United Conservative Party leadership campaign took a dark Trumpian turn Monday when candidate Danielle Smith got a big cheer from her supporters at a rally in Airdrie for accusing Alberta Health Services of deliberately sabotaging the Kenney Government during the pandemic by falsely claiming the system was near collapse
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Danielle Smith, campaigning to lead the United Conservative Party, sounds crazy – but is she crazy like a Trump?
Former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith, campaigning to replace Jason Kenney as leader of the United Conservative Party, apparently thinks we should “Uber-fy public services,” let teachers set up their own one-room multi-grade school houses in their homes, and declare everyone aboard charter plane loads of anti-vaxx Albertans to be
Continue readingAlberta Politics: What’s with Danielle Smith’s nutty, sophomoric campaign to lead Alberta’s UCP? Maybe she’s just bored!
Aided and abetted by a compliant media in love with a good horserace story, it looked for a spell in late 2011 and the spring of 2012 as if Danielle Smith might soon be Alberta’s premier. Ms. Smith with Progressive Conservative premier Jim Prentice on Dec. 17, 2014, the day
Continue readingAlberta Politics: What do you do about a problem like Shane Getson, the UCP MLA whose Facebook post appeared to call for the PM to be lynched?
With apologies to the Sound of Music, what do you do with a problem like Shane Getson? Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Photo: Justin Trudeau/Flickr). More specifically, what should the Alberta Legislature do about a member like Shane Getson, the United Conservative Party MLA for the rural riding of Lac Ste.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Heeeeere’s Kenney! Alberta’s premier is back by unpopular demand!
Heeeeere’s Kenney! One night after saying he was quitting, Alberta’s premier is back by unpopular demand. UCP Party Secretary Janice Nett (Photo: Linked-in). You have to admit that, by any yardstick, Jason Kenney’s announcement he would be resigning as leader of the United Conservative Party and premier of Alberta after
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