TweetFor four years, Progressive Conservatives told Albertans not to trust those kooky and scary Wildrosers. At the same time, the Wildrosers told Albertans not to trust those crooked and corrupt PCs. Today, it now appears that the leaders of the two parties have now put the past four years behind them and
Continue readingTag: Graham Thomson
Alberta Diary: Remember where you heard it first: privatizing the Alberta government air fleet in haste was a lousy business decision
A flight steward welcomes well-connected passengers aboard a chartered government of Alberta flight sometime in the near future. But don’t worry about it. You’ll never know if Alberta’s privatized air services are not exactly as illustrated because there will be no accountability. Below: Premier Jim Prentice, the business guru who
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Fundraising numbers expose PC, Wildrose strengths and weaknesses
TweetThe latest quarterly fundraising disclosures from Alberta’s provincial political parties were released by Elections Alberta this week, and Alberta’s two conservative parties remain the dominant forces in political fundraising. Continuing a trend that has become the norm in Alberta politics, the Wildrose Party has once again raised more money than the long-governing Progressive Conservatives. Wildrose Party raised
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta Education Minister Jeff Johnson’s War on Teachers signals division within Tory Party, not conspiracy
The Hancock Conservatives do good-cop-bad-cop? At left, Jeff Johnson as Jim Prentice, at right, tries to get him to straighten up and fly a little less far right. Actual Alberta Progressive Conservatives may not appear exactly as illustrated, especially in this unlikely scenario. Below: My only picture of the real
Continue readingAlberta Diary: A Tale of Two Leaders: His was the best of exits, hers was the worst
Retiring Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason with your blogger’s introduction-to-journalism class in 2011: he was witty, passionate and persuasive, a big part of why the Alberta NDP continues to draw young supporters in significant numbers. Below: Mr. Mason with Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who has also retired from politics; in
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Celebrating 42 years in power, PC Party expected to back Redford
Tweet This “teaser” video released before the Progressive Conservative Party Annual Meeting focuses on “trust.” There was no mention of the ‘Socred Retreads‘ in Premier Alison Redford‘s speech to Progressive Conservative Party faithful last night. Unlike her speech to her party’s annual general meeting in November 2012, Ms. Redford took
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Debbie Chachra discusses why an effective government is a necessary element of civilization – and why charity can’t fill in the gap: Taxes aren’t the only way to pay for civilization, of course: community groups, charities, and churches also contribute. But I
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Lana Payne writes that it’s long past time for Newfoundland and Labrador to boost its minimum wage: Last year, a statutory review of minimum wage, conducted by a government-appointed panel, called for action to be taken on the minimum wage. The panel recommended
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Negotiating with Alberta’s PC government? Better bring witnesses!
Wildcat strike scene, grabbed from AUPE’s website during the strike. Below: AUPE President Guy Smith, Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk. Advice to anyone who tries to negotiate a deal with Alison Redford, Thomas Lukaszuk or any member or official of their government: take witnesses with you, and make sure you also
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – pogge offers up the definitive response to the Cons’ attempt to encourage a sell-off of First Nations reserve land: When you look past the paternalistic argument that the only way First Nations communities can possibly thrive is to be more like us, this
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Premiers’ private parley – a summit so secret if you knew what they’d talked about, they’d have to kill you!
B.C. Premier Christy Clark, left, meets Alberta Premier Alison Redford, in snap-brim hat at right, to discuss things too secret for the Western Canadian public to know about. Actual Western Canadian politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated, nor may the vehicle at the front of the Legislature, or the
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: what happens after prime minister harper? prime minister redford? prime minister mulcair?
TweetWith the start of Stampede season came the latest round of gossip and predictions about what the future might hold for Calgary MLA and Alberta’s Premier Alison Redford. Earlier this week in a column in the Edmonton Journal, Graham Thomson speculated that Premier Redford’s next political challenge could be the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: She’s no Charles Tupper: Alison Redford has been Alberta premier too long to be prime minister
A youngish Charles Tupper at his desk. “I knew Charles Tupper and Alison Redford is no Charles Tupper” – and a good thing for her, too! Below: Sir Charles as prime minister; Frank McKenna; Robert Stanfield in the photo that put paid to his political career. Alison Redford has been
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Alberta Silly Season starts with fallout from Jason Kenney’s A-Bomb blast
Federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, centre, with Public Safety Minister Victor Toews, left, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, right, get ready to assure members of their party’s Alberta caucus they’ll be protected from a*****e visitors from their home province. Actual federal Tory ministers may not appear exactly as
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta Silly Season starts with fallout from Jason Kenney’s A-Bomb blast
Federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, centre, with Public Safety Minister Victor Toews, left, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, right, get ready to assure members of their party’s Alberta caucus they’ll be protected from a*****e visitors from their home province. Actual federal Tory ministers may not appear exactly as
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Zwozdesky’s in, Kowalski’s out and all’s right with the Tory universe
Gene Zwozdesky, Alberta’s new Speaker, with your blogger and a Speech from the Throne … though not today’s. This compliment may come out sounding a little more backhanded than intended, but the Alberta Legislature could have done a lot worse than choose someone like Gene Zwozdesky to wear the Speaker’s
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Wildrose strategists snarl at media to keep their overextended bubble unpricked
A bubble of Wildrose Party support hovers over Edmonton Journal political columnist Graham Thomson. Actual Alberta political writers may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Mr. Thomson; Dave Cournoyer. Sitting atop an unexpectedly huge bubble of public support with only three weeks to go before Alberta’s provincial election,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: pre-election games: progressive conservatives and wildrose spar with new ads.
As the Spring 2012 provincial election approaches, the Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose Party have rolled out a series of television ads (on YouTube) delivering their political pitches to Albertans. The Wildrose ads, as David Climenhaga and Graham Thomson have already written, are cast with two faces of leader Danielle Smith.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: why early opposition attacks on alison redford will backfire.
Danielle Smith‘s Wildrose Party has launched a series of negative television ads against soon-to-be Premier Alison Redford, who will be sworn-in as Premier tomorrow in Edmonton. The television ads bear an eerie resemblance to the negative ads used by Nancy MacBeth‘s Alberta Liberals in the 2001 election and the “No Plan” ads aired by the […]
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Alberta could do much worse than have Alison Redford as premier – and tomorrow it probably will
Alison Redford during Thursday’s TV debate. (Edmonton Journal photo.) Below: The other Iron Lady.If television debates mattered, Alison Redford would win the Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership vote tomorrow hands down.She certainly turned in…
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