Independent Alberta Senator Paula Simons joins the Daveberta Podcast to discuss what it is like to represent Albertans in the Canadian Senate during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also discuss the second season of Senator Simons’ podcast series, Alberta Unbound, and she shares her thoughts on the role of the Senate
Continue readingTag: Dave Cournoyer
The Daveberta Podcast: Episode 66: Aloha! Flying into Alberta politics in 2021
What lies ahead for Alberta politics in 2021? Dr. Jared Wesley joins Dave Cournoyer on the Daveberta Podcast to discuss Jason Kenney’s leadership of the United Conservative Party, Rachel Notley’s focus on health care during the pandemic, the Alberta Party and Wildrose Independence Party leadership races, and the equalization referendum
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 65: The Best of Alberta Politics 2020
With the help of two special guests, Jessica Littlewood and Matt Solberg, we are thrilled to announce and discuss the results of the 2020 Best of Alberta Politics survey. Jessica Littlewood was the Alberta NDP MLA for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville from 2015 to 2019 and during that time served as Parliamentary
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 64: Pandemic, Partisanship, and Post-Secondary Education in Alberta
Melanee Thomas joined Dave Cournoyer for a deep dive into Alberta’s politics during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the relationship between the provincial and federal governments, and how Albertans’ political self-identification could be influencing Premier Jason Kenney’s decision to avoid serious public health measures including a province-wide mandatory mask mandate. Thomas
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Umair Haque highlights how European and North American states have failed to control the coronavirus compared to other developed countries. And Ian Austen discusses the prospect that Canada could get to the COVID-zero state achieved by Australia. – And in case there were
Continue readingAlberta Politics: David Khan and Don Iveson, two bright lights of Alberta politics, announce they’re packing it in
Two prominent Alberta politicians have taken the traditional Canadian walk in the snow and announced their planned departures from their current political roles. Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan, 46, one of the most influential provincial politicians in Alberta without a seat in the Legislature, made his announcement on Sunday. Edmonton
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: 63: Defending Alberta Parks
Annalise Klingbeil joins the Daveberta Podcast to discuss the latest developments in United Conservative Party government’s plans to close and privatize more than 160 provincial parks and recreation areas. We also discuss the mixed-messaging about the COVID-19 pandemic that Albertans are hearing from Premier Jason Kenney and his cabinet ministers
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 62: Maybe Keystone XL wasn’t a very good investment after all
In this episode of the Daveberta Podcast we discuss: the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States and the future of the Alberta government’s $7 billion investment into the Keystone XL Pipeline. the Kenney government’s response to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and Health Minister
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 61: Don Iveson on being a Mayor during COVID and his plan to end homelessness
“Countries investing in cities are winning.” Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson joins Dave Cournoyer on the Daveberta Podcast to talk about being a big city mayor during the COVID-19 global pandemic, municipal relations with the provincial government, and Edmonton’s rapid plan to end homelessness. Iveson has served as Mayor since 2013
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 60: Explaining the BC election to Albertans
There is an election happening on the other side of the Rockies. Ian Bushfield and Scott de Lange Boom from the Politicoast Podcast join Dave in this episode of the Daveberta Podcast to help Albertans understand what is happening in British Columbia’s provincial election. Thank you to Ian and Scott
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 59: The Fiscal Reckoning and Alberta’s 70-year old Revenue Problems
After a very eventful summer in Alberta politics, Dave and Adam tackle big questions about Alberta’s fiscal challenges (and revenue problems) and Premier Jason Kenney’s promised ” fiscal reckoning,” the mini-cabinet shuffle, Erin O’Toole’s win in the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race, what a return to school during a
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Kaycee Madu, no stellar cabinet performer, is promoted to where he can do less harm; other stars fall
Kaycee Madu, possibly Alberta’s least successful cabinet member in the estimation of his portfolio’s key stakeholders, as Alberta justice minister? Who saw that coming? Former Economic Development, Trade and Tourism Minister Tanya Fir (Photo: Facebook). Of the three major political events affecting Alberta that took place while your blogger was
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 58: Alberta Politics Summer Q&A
You sent us your questions and we answered! In this edition of the annual Alberta politics Q&A episode, Daveberta Podcast host Dave Cournoyer and producer Adam Rozenhart dive into the mailbag to answer listener questions about provincial parks, the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, the reopening of schools in September, political
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta NDP raises dramatically more in donations than the UCP during second quarter
Alberta’s United Conservative Party, it turns out, is almost as bad at governing as it is good at campaigning. That’s probably a better place to be from a political party’s perspective than the opposite, as could credibly said of the Alberta NDP, which with 20/20 hindsight looks as if it
Continue readingAlberta Politics: What’s making Ottawa’s environment minister suddenly give the Vista coal mine proposal the fish eye?
Yesterday we learned that Jonathan Wilkinson, the federal environment minister, is reconsidering a decision he made in December to leave it up to the industry-funded Alberta Energy Regulator to decide if a huge coal mine expansion should be approved near Hinton, just east of the Jasper National Park gate. Even
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 57: A deep dive into oil pipelines and petro-patriotism with Andrew Leach
Andrew Leach joins Dave Cournoyer on the Daveberta Podcast to discuss the state of Alberta’s economy, economic diversification and how the politics of oil and pipelines are developing in 2020. He also shares some thoughts and reflections on climate change policy from his time as chair of Alberta’s Climate Change
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 56: Police problems and what meaningful accountability could look like in Alberta
Calls to defund and abolish the police have become a mainstream conversation in reaction to the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police officer and countless other murders and examples of systematic racism and violent behaviour by police forces against Black, Indigenous and People of Colour across Canada and
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 54: That’s a great Alberta politics question.
We dive into the mailbag in this episode of the Daveberta Podcast to answer questions about Alberta politics sent in by our listeners on topics ranging from the United Conservative Party’s influence on the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race to the details of the Alberta government’s Keystone XL Pipeline
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 53: COVID-19 provides cloud cover over Alberta’s economic crisis
Zain Velji, campaign strategist and Vice President Strategy at Northweather joins host Dave Cournoyer and producer Adam Rozenhart on this episode of the Daveberta Podcast to discuss the how COVID-19 is providing cloud cover to and accelerating Calgary’s economic problems and how the pandemic could provide an opportunity to reshape
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta spends up to $20K touting medical mask giveaway on Facebook to build social license for pipelines
The Alberta Government spent between $14,000 and $20,000 on Facebook advertisements promoting Premier Jason Kenney’s announcement Alberta would donate 750,000 N95 medical masks and other personal protective equipment to Ontario, Quebec and B.C., political blogger Dave Cournoyer revealed in a tweet yesterday afternoon. The heaviest promotion was in Ontario, Mr.
Continue reading