On Sunday, the Wildrose Party released an April Fools press release, proposing to merge Alberta and Saskatchewan. On Monday, they took the silliness up a level: Wildrose promises cash rebates to Albertans if oil money creates budget surplus CREMONA, Alta. – Alberta’s Wildrose party is promising free oil money for
Continue readingTag: Danielle Smith
David Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Who wins if the Alberta Legislature’s fit to be tied?
Strange Bedfellows: Danielle Smith and Brian Mason imagined discussing voting strategy in the Legislature… Alberta politicians may not be exactly as illustrated … or as weird as reality! If you think the Alberta election campaign has been exciting up to now, just wait. Any minute now, someone’s going to start
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Why aren’t heterosexual couples from Alberta good enough for the Wildrose Party?
Happy heterosexual families from Alberta: May not be exactly as illustrated (see below). Just the other day, Wildrose Party Leader Danielle Smith was assailing Premier Redford for not loving Alberta sufficiently, you know, ’cause she wants to change it.So if the Wildrosers love Alberta so much, how come they used
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: danielle smith is ‘out-ralphing’ alison redford.
Recycled 'Ralph Bucks' could become 'Danielle Dollars'. Eight years after the last round of provincial rebate cheques, popularly known as ‘Ralph Bucks‘, were mailed to Albertans care of Premier Ralph Klein, Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith is proposing a similar ‘energy dividend.’ While ‘Ralph Bucks‘ were popular among most Albertans
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Alberta Votes Day 8: Losing control of the agenda
One week into the election, and Alberta’s 40 year PC dynasty is on the ropes. It’s premature to write the obituaries, but it’s never too early to write about what went wrong – and what went wrong in week one was a complete inability of Alison Redford to control the
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Wildrose offers same old same old as Alison Redford’s fitted up for the Iggy treatment
Former federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff stands in front of the Reform-o-Con propaganda steamroller moments before it lurched forward. Flattened federal politicians may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Dr. Ignatieff; Alison Redford. Does anyone remember Iggy? I couldn’t help but recall former federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: guest post: the election in highwood – week one.
By Jody MacPherson A trailer sign for Wildrose candidate Danielle Smith. The commute to Okotoks from Calgary is a scenic drive southwest with truly spectacular mountain views on a clear day. Having travelled the route almost daily for about 15 years, I saw something this week I’ve never seen before.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: the definition of silly season. is this what “change” looks like?
The wheels came off the Progressive Conservative election campaign this week. If you are looking for a definition of “silly season” the first week of Alberta’s 2012 provincial election fits the bill. Despite major policy announcements from each of the main political parties this week, the campaign is being reported
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Floundering Redford Tories’ fecundity fiasco no April Fool’s joke
When are they gonna learn? Loose Tweets Sink Fleets! Below: An agenda item from the Conservative brain trust’s emergency meeting yesterday. Actual Tory agendas may not be exactly as illustrated, and are unlikely to involve shotguns. Below that: Premier Alison Redford, campaign strategist Stephen Carter. Tempting as it may be
Continue readingStraight Outta Edmonton: A New, Robust Role for Alberta in Federalism
Alberta has long played a pivotal role in Canadian federalism, with its economic might and vast oil reserves. However, the province’s equalization contributions have never quite matched its ability to influence the national agenda. This is partly due to Alberta’s size, but also reflects the province’s subdued role on the
Continue readingStraight Outta Edmonton: A New, Robust Role for Alberta in Federalism
Alberta has long played a pivotal role in Canadian federalism, with its economic might and vast oil reserves. However, the province’s equalization contributions have never quite matched its ability to influence the national agenda. This is partly due to Alberta’s size, but also reflects the province’s subdued role on the
Continue readingStraight Outta Edmonton: A New, Robust Role for Alberta in Federalism
For decades, the province engaged in an isolationist, defensive stance, strongly fending off any federal encroachment into its perceived sphere of control. This approach was consistent with both Liberal and Conservative governments in Ottawa, representing deep-seated resentment of Alberta’s expendable nature in a system where elections are largely determined by vote rich central Canada.
However, the nature of the challenges confronting Alberta today raises doubts as to the viability of this approach, particularly with increasing concerns over the province’s energy industry. Isolationism will not help the province overcome barriers to developing new means of transporting oilsands product to market, slashing the hefty discount purchasers are currently receiving. Neither will it address the major labour shortages facing Alberta, which involves making it easier for the province to lure workers from across the country and around the world. Rather, these challenges require Alberta to take a more robust role in federalism to shape the national agenda and ensure our interests are advanced.
Alberta’s role in confederation is a central issue at stake this election, with Allison Redford and Danielle Smith pitting two starkly different visions against each other. Visions both women outlined in speeches at the Economic Club of Canada a few months apart.
To Danielle Smith (speech), the solution is sticking to our isolationism and relying on a friendly federal government to make Alberta’s case to the rest of the country. Smith recognizes that this will make it difficult to expand our US oilsands market or develop new ones in Asia, but believes that an “all-Canadian solution” is the answer. By retrofitting current infrastructure, oil should flow west-east, eliminating the eastern Canada’s reliance on foreign oil and allowing depressed manufacturing regions of Ontario and Quebec to benefit from refining. A form of economic nationalism that one would expect to be proposed by Gordon Laxer, the Alberta Federation of Labour or the Alberta New Democrats than the Wild Rose.
How exactly she plans on accomplishing this without significant inter-provincial coordination is puzzling. However, the more important question is how this benefits Alberta. Refining oilsands product in Canada will increase the discount it’s sold at currently, meaning we will sell less oil and make less on each barrel sold.
Alison Redford (speech) on the other hand is calling for a break from the past, arguing that Alberta should take on a more robust role in Canadian federalism. At the core of this new role is her push for a Canadian Energy Strategy that will coordinate and advance provincial energy interests as a whole. In effect, the attempt is to link the oilsands to the energy interests of other provinces, in order to change national attitudes towards the industry. Although this sounds promising, the strategy lacks any real specifics to gauge what tradeoffs Alberta will be making in order to convince other provinces to get on board.
Regardless of what the election’s outcome, there are questions related to Alberta’s approach to federalism and its ability to address the challenges confronting the province. While the Wild Rose may have intentions of returning the province to the days of Manning, Lougheed and Klein, they and Albertans should be aware that the issues they dealt with are quite different from those that are confronting us today.
CalgaryGrit: Alberta Votes Day 4: Danielle Smith comes out as the "anti-change" candidate
If you’ve been reading my Alberta political posts over the past few years, you’ve probably deduced that I’m a fan of Danielle Smith. Not in the sense that I’d vote for her (especially with socially regressive positions like this), but Smith is an impressive politician – smart, articulate, charismatic, thoughtful.
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Be careful what you wish for: Wildrose may be on cusp of victory in Alberta campaign
Alberta PC campaign tactician Stephen Carter, left, illustrates for Premier Alison Redford and Deputy Premier Doug Horner how he plans to counter recent Wildrose Party gains. Alberta political operatives and their bosses may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: the real Premier Redford, Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith and Wildrose strategist
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: who should be invited to the televised leaders’ debate?
PC leader Premier Alison Redford, Wildrose leader Danielle Smith, NDP leader Brian Mason, and Liberal leader Raj Sherman. The televised Leaders’ debate for Alberta’s 2012 election will be aired on April 12 at 6:30pm to 8:00pm on Global Television. The debate will include Progressive Conservative leader Premier Alison Redford, Liberal
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Alberta Votes Day 3: Time to bring back Ed?
In retrospect, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for Alison Redford to call the election after a month of wall-to-wall scandal and controversy. Two more polls have been released today – let’s start with the bad news for Alison Redford. Leger Marketing confirms the statistical tie we saw in
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: alberta election 2012: an early wildrose wave.
Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith and her candidates across Alberta will be cheering this morning when they see the results of a Forum Research poll showing their party with 41% support province-wide. Another poll, released by Leger Marketing this morning, shows the Wildrose Party with 34%, closely trailing Premier Alison Redford‘s Progressive Conservatives,
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Where’s Ed Stelmach now that Alberta’s Tories really need him?
Ed Stelmach, back when he was still the premier of Alberta, looks ahead to a day when he wouldn’t have to put up with all the nonsense. Now that day has come, and it’s likely many of his Progressive Conservative caucus mates today view his time in office fondly! Below:
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: alberta election day 2: health care, balanced budgets, and benitomania.
Premier Alison Redford with PC candidates John Barlow and Evan Berger (photo from Alison4Premier Facebook Page). Campaigning in the same constituency yesterday, it is interesting to wonder what Premier Alison Redford and Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith would have said to each other if their paths had intersected. Close polls,
Continue readingBlunt Objects: ThinkHQ #AbVote Poll: 36% PC, 33% Wildrose
Another pollster has put out this week showing another close race as compared to the trend from earlier this month and before, with the Wildrosers clearly benefitting. PC – 36% – 48 seats WRP – 33% – 30 seats NDP – 13% – 7 seats Lib – 13% – 2
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