The First Minister’s Meeting, oil prices, and Premier Rachel Notley’s performance on the national stage are where we started the discussion in this episode. Dave and Ryan also delved into the latest nomination news and what 2019 holds for Alberta politics, including when the next provincial and federal elections could be called.
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Alberta Politics: Prab Gill is back in the news, rumoured eyeing Freedom Conservatives, so stand by for another attack on Tzeporah Berman!
Prab Gill is back in the news, offering up the potential for more embarrassment for Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party. Stand by for Mr. Kenney to attack … Tzeporah Berman! Isn’t that what always happens when Mr. Gill hits the news? Mr. Gill is the former Progressive Conservative
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 23: Special guest Kristin Raworth
Kristin Raworth joined Dave and Ryan on the podcast this week as we discussed women in politics and how Alberta’s political parties are addressing harassment and sexual violence. We also delved into the latest political news about Alberta’s new municipal election finance legislation, Robyn Luff and the plight of disgruntled backbenchers, the fallout from John Carpay’s most-recent
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Religious schools defy David Eggen; John Carpay hangs in; and Jason Kenney isn’t the Decider after all!
NDP Education Minister David Eggen’s warning yesterday he could defund 28 religious private schools if they won’t obey the law and implement diversity policies and UCP Leader Jason Kenney’s refusal to expel a high-profile social conservative party member who compared pride flags with Nazi swastikas seem like separate stories. They
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 22: Special guest Jamil Jivani, author of Why Young Men
Jamil Jivani joined Dave and Ryan on the podcast this week as we discussed his new book, Why Young Men: Rage, Race and the Crisis of Identity, and delved into how Political Action Committees are shaping politics in our province and how they might impact the next election, this weekend’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Wondering about Jason Kenney: Would you buy a used truck from this man?
So, who’re ya gonna believe? Jason Kenney? Or Alberta’s used car dealers? I’m sure readers will agree that this is a very tough question. Nevertheless, with the publication of third-quarter political donor data by Elections Alberta, the attention of the public has fallen on the significant fund-raising effort for the
Continue readingAlberta 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: Carbon taxes are the Obamacare of Canada: invented, then cynically abandoned, by the right
“Putting a price on carbon” was always going to be unpopular with people who use fossil fuels out of necessity and for fun – viz., a large portion of the population in a well-off northern country that, climate change notwithstanding, still gets pretty cold in the winter. In other words,
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 readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Episode 20: Five Months until Alberta’s Next Election
This week Dave and Ryan are joined by our friend Kate Kerber as we discuss how Rachel Notley‘s New Democratic Party government is doing and what the NDP might need to do to win the election in 2019. We also chat about the latest candidate nomination news, including recent contests in Edmonton-Decore, Lacombe-Ponoka,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Episode 19: Quashing Pipelines and Political Dreams
In this episode of the Daveberta Podcast, Dave Cournoyer and Ryan Hastman discuss the latest news in Alberta politics, including Premier Rachel Notley’s response to the quashing of approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline, how rumours of an early federal election could impact Alberta’s 2019 election, and Ryan’s favourite topic, the Alberta Party. We
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Calculating the winners and losers in yesterday’s Trans Mountain Pipeline debacle
No doubt they were chuckling discreetly at Kinder Morgan headquarters in Houston yesterday as they counted up their additional spare change. They had, after all, just managed to sell off the Trans Mountain Pipeline to the Liberal government led by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, backstopped by Premier Rachel Notley’s
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Episode 18: Maximum Bern and The Disgruntled Politicians of Canada
In this episode of the Daveberta Podcast, Dave Cournoyer and Ryan Hastman discuss the what’s happening in Alberta politics, including the New Democratic Party convention on September 28, 29 and 30, 2018 in Red Deer and the Freedom Conservative Party convention on October 20, 2018 in Chestermere. We also delve into federal politics and
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Notice to readers: AlbertaPolitics.ca is closed … sort of
Notice to readers: I expect to be on the road for a few days and so AlbertaPolitics.ca is officially closed for vacation. Which, as regular readers of this blog will understand, doesn’t necessarily mean there will be no posts whatsoever. There may well be a few – mood and WiFi
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Episode 17: Partisanship and the future of Alberta politics
This week on the Daveberta Podcast, guest hosts Erika Barootes, Janis Irwin and Natasha Soles chat with our producer Adam Rozenhart about their experiences in provincial politics and where they see Alberta politics moving in the near future. They also answer some questions you submitted to us. Erika Barootes is the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Respected community advocate and educator Janis Irwin to seek NDP nomination in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood
Former high school teacher, vice-principal, university lecturer and education curriculum specialist Janis Irwin announced to a packed auditorium of supporters last night she will seek the NDP nomination in the Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood riding. Ms. Irwin will have to forgive me for introducing her this way. Her news release acknowledged her background
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Episode 16: Derek Fildebrandt introduces the Derek Fildebrandt Party
In this episode of the Daveberta Podcast, Dave Cournoyer and Ryan Hastman discuss whether Derek Fildebrandt‘s Freedom Conservative Party will be relevant in the next election, Rachel Notley‘s role at the recent Council of the Federation meeting in New Brunswick, the decision by Greyhound to withdraw from western Canada, and Edmonton-Mill Woods MP Amarjeet Sohi‘s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Fildebrandt Agonistes: Hell hath no fury like a ‘Liberty Conservative’ scorned
Hell hath no fury like a “Liberty Conservative” scorned! Derek Fildebrandt, the former Wildrose Party and United Conservative Party finance critic scorned by UCP Leader Jason Kenney after a series of unfortunate events turned him into him the Lemony Snicket of the Alberta conservative movement, has joined the Freedom Conservative
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Episode 15: Politicians pretending to be Cowboys. It’s Stampede Week in Calgary!
It is Calgary Stampede season, which means politicians from across Canada are flocking to Alberta’s largest city to show off their recently purchased plaid shirts and cowboy hats. In this episode of the Daveberta Podcast, Dave Cournoyer and Ryan Hastman discuss politicians pretending to be cowboys, the latest federal and provincial nomination news, including
Continue readingAlberta Politics: As reproductive rights wither in the United States, a UCP candidate’s abortion-restricting strategy for Canada is revealed
“On abortion, we’re never going to see a black and white, yes or no question. My job as your MP is to fight for incremental changes. … It’s called the foot-in-the-door tactic.” — Joseph Schow On a day when there’s serious talk in the United States that women’s right to
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