Even if you’re no fan of Rick Strankman, United Conservative Party MLA for Alberta’s dinosaur country, you have to feel a little sympathy for the poor guy, skidded from his nomination by a candidate more appealing to party leader Jason Kenney. Mr. Strankman, 65, may not have been the sharpest
Continue readingTag: Derek Fildebrandt
daveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Doug Schweitzer wins UCP nomination in Calgary-Elbow, Danielle Larivee selected as NDP candidate in Lesser Slave Lake
Photo: Doug Schweitzer, Danielle Larivee, Travis Toews, and Mo Elsalhy. Former United Conservative Party leadership candidate Doug Schweitzer defeated past city council candidate Chris Davis to secure his party’s nomination in Calgary-Elbow on September 13, 2018. As noted last week, Schweitzer is a lawyer who briefly considered running for the PC Party
Continue readingAlberta Politics: How far is the United Conservative Party prepared to go to be tolerant of intolerance? Quite far, apparently
MLA Richard Gotfried defeated candidate Cindy Ross last night for the United Conservative Party nomination in the Calgary-Fish Creek Riding. Mr. Gotfried, narrowly elected as a Progressive Conservative candidate in a tight three-way race in the May 2015 Alberta election, has detractors within the UCP. Still, his victory has to
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Who might and might not be invited to the Leaders’ Debate in Alberta’s 2019 election?
Photo: Alberta political party leaders – Rachel Notley, Jason Kenney, Stephen Mandel, David Khan, and Derek Fildebrandt. We are now somewhere between seven and ten months away from the next provincial general election in Alberta. For the past seven provincial elections, leaders of the main political parties have participated in
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: Odds-on favourites for disaster … ‘Jimmy the Geek’ sets Vegas odds for the UCP MLAs most likely to resign next
Now that Alberta’s Opposition United Conservative Party has been around for a year – it’s first anniversary was on Sunday – we note that the right-wing party has seen the resignation of no fewer than six of its MLAs for various reasons in its first year of operation. In fairness,
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: Freedom Conservative Party’s Derek Fildebrandt demonstrates his talent for getting up his opponents’ noses
Derek Fildebrandt, the self-described “Alberta redneck” who now leads the minuscule Freedom Conservative Party, has a talent for getting up his opponents’ noses. This has served the university-educated Ottawa native extremely well in his tireless quest to earn himself a place in the headlines, and it worked for him again
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Fildebrandt’s Freedom Conservative Party: Joke or Threat?
It is said that Jason Kenney is a shrewd politician but recently he made a mistake that might prove fatal. We didn’t catch it at first, what with Kenney going into whack-a-mole mode smacking down one bozo eruption after another, however Kenney’s mistake became clear when he dismissed Derek Fildebrandt’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 readingAlberta Politics: Elevation of Devin Dreeshen to role of UCP Boy Wonder must be a bitter pill for Derek Fildebrandt
What a bitter pill the elevation of Devin Dreeshen to the role of Boy Wonder of the United Conservative Party must be to Derek Fildebrandt! The Independent MLA for Strathmore-Brooks, after all, used to be the Boy Wonder of the UCP himself. Unless Mr. Fildebrandt can pull off a truly
Continue readingAlberta Politics: By-elections conveniently over, United Conservative Party pushes out MLA accused of ballot stuffing at nomination meeting
With many Albertans apparently in a mood to take Jason Kenney’s claim at face value his year-old United Conservative Party is renewed, reformed and ready to govern, you can’t be too careful about evidence that the same-old-same-old Tory entitlement continues to lurk on the Opposition benches of the Legislature. Not
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Sixth MLA leaves the UCP. Prab Gill resigns from caucus following ballot-stuffing investigation.
The polls suggest the United Conservative Party is poised to form government in 2019, but how united the caucus actually is remains questionable. Calgary-Greenway UCP MLA Prab Gill issued a statement yesterday announcing that he has left the UCP caucus to sit as an Independent MLA following the conclusion of
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Aheer acclaimed but not in the clear. UCP investigating alleged ballot-stuffing in North East Calgary.
Photo: Nomination candidates Leela Aheer, Shawna Gawreluck, Janet Eremenko, and Elisabeth Hughes. Despite the drama of restraining orders and alleged death threats, MLA Leela Aheer was acclaimed as the United Conservative Party candidate in the new Chesteremere-Strathmore district after she was the only candidate to officially submit her nomination papers with
Continue readingAlberta Politics: No need to make this stuff up: Celebrate Canada Day 2018 by driving the secret highways of Alberta!
Happy Canada Day! Why not celebrate by driving on Alberta’s secret highways? Frankly, I don’t know how the Beaverton stays in business with the brutal competition they’re facing nowadays from Wild Rose Country. There’s an expression we’ve all heard: “You can’t make this stuff up!” In Alberta, you don’t need
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Death threats and restraining orders – What the heck is happening to the UCP in Chestermere-Strathmore?
Photo: Chestermere-Rockyview MLA Leela Aheer and former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean, who she endorsed in the 2017 UCP leadership contest (source: Facebook) The contest for the United Conservative Party nomination in the new Chestermere-Strathmore district turned nasty this week when it was revealed that MLA and UCP Deputy Leader Leela Aheer
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Nothing new under the Prairie sun as Alberta Conservatives ratchet up their faux outrage about equalization and Quebec
Jason Kenney, leader of Alberta’s Opposition United Conservative Party, calls the Trudeau Government’s renewal of Canada’s current equalization formula for an additional five years “a slap in the face to Alberta.” “It means we will continue to be forced, even when times are bad in Alberta, forced to subsidize public
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer boots Maxime Bernier, self-appointed chief party ideologue, from Opposition front bench
It’s hard not to feel some sympathy for federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, what with right-wing purists jumping all over him for canning Maxime Bernier from the Opposition party’s front bench. In addition to being the normally ineffectual Mr. Scheer’s chief rival for the hearts and minds of the country’s
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Alberta Candidate Nomination Update: Shepherd nominated in Edmonton-City Centre, McPherson chosen in Calgary-Beddington, and McIver’s challenger drops out in Calgary-Hays
Photo: Edmonton-Centre MLA David Shepherd with Premier Rachel Notley and other NDP MLAs at Pride festivities. Here are some of the latest updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of Alberta’s 2019 provincial election: Calgary-Beddington – Karen McPherson has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Alberta Candidate Nomination Update: NDPer Stephanie McLean retiring, Mike Nickel runs for UCP nomination, UCP MLAs face challengers
The big nomination news since my last update was the announcement by Stephanie McLean that she was withdrawing from the New Democratic Party nomination contest in Calgary-Varsity. McLean is Minister of Status of Women and Minister of Service Alberta and is the second NDP MLA to announced plans not to seek re-election
Continue reading