As the folk wisdom goes, be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. Jason Kenney got his wish yesterday when Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told him, in effect, to bring it on. “Let’s open the constitution,” Mr. Blanchet said with a gallic shrug and a sly
Continue readingTag: Jason Kenney
Alberta Politics: Jason Kenney throws chief medical officer of health under the bus for Alberta’s vicious fourth wave of COVID-19
The second-most-predicted event since the election of Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party as premier and government of Alberta in 2019 has come to pass. The most predicted event took place immediately after Mr. Kenney’s smiley faced June 18 news conference at which he announced, Delta variant or no
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Fall Of Jason Kenney
Jason Kenney once bestrode Alberta like a colossus. Now, Jason Markusoff writes, he’s on the way out: When he first rode into Alberta in his blue pickup truck, Kenney seemed a canny long-term thinker, perfectly executing a complex plan to take the reins of the province. Within three years,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Minister’s claim his chief of staff’s troubles were news to him, raises eyebrows, prompts doubts
Judging from the reaction on social media, not a lot of Albertans believed Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer when he told a news reporter last week it wasn’t his decision in February to fire his former chief of staff, Ariella Kimmel. After the story broke last Thursday that
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Halloween in Alberta
In its Halloween message the Kenney government said today is a day filled with costumes, pumpkin carving, scary movies, and tasty treats. They encouraged everyone to follow the advice of our health officials so we can all enjoy the spookiest time of the year. Sounds nice but the rest of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Sara Birlios examines the grim state of Saskatchewan – including the numerous areas where Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party are consciously choosing social murder over even the slightest concern for the well-being of non-donors. And the Globe and Mail’s editorial board calls
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP Government imploding? Sexual harassment scandal hits Premier’s Office hours after supposed referendum victory
Premier Jason Kenney had less than 24 hours to savour his dubious victory in Alberta’s anti-equalization referendum before a serious scandal involving accusations of sexual-harassment, heavy drinking in the office, and the firing of a victim hit the headlines. It’s not clear if the revelation a former ministerial chief of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney will try to spin his anti-equalization referendum vote as a huge victory – don’t believe him
Deeply unpopular with Alberta voters, distrusted by many in his own divided caucus, and with his United Conservative Party in financial disarray, Premier Jason Kenney will try to spin the 62-per-cent yes vote in his dishonestly worded, constitutionally meaningless, low-turnout, anti-equalization referendum as the hugest victory in the history of
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Allan Report: Foreign Funding of Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns
First, we had Steve Allan’s Report on the (not so public) public inquiry’s findings with respect to the role of foreign funding into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns. Then we had the Kenney government’s press release which said the Allan Report confirmed “hundreds of millions of foreign dollars were used to block
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Allen Inquiry half-heartedly exonerates environmental groups that took U.S. funding, turns on Alberta War Room
Of all the conclusions of Commissioner Steve Allan’s misbegotten and sometimes incoherent $3.5-million “Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns” might have come up with, the most unexpected was what he had to say about Canadian Energy Centre Ltd. Who would have thought that the Allan Inquiry would end up attacking
Continue readingAlberta Politics: After another week of political disasters, UCP prepares to release Allan Report on ‘anti-Alberta’ environmental campaigns
Has the leadership of the United Conservative Party grown so disconnected from reality it imagines the release of the report of the so-called “public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns” will somehow win back the hearts of Alberta’s disillusioned public? Or is it just having such a terrible week it’s decided
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The obvious lessons from Alberta’s municipal election will be hard for Jason Kenney and the UCP to learn
Many of Alberta’s highest-decibel conservative loudmouths were by turns appalled and furious yesterday at the outcome of Monday’s province-wide municipal elections. The votes saw progressive mayors and councils elected in the province’s two largest cities and many other signs this place is changing for the better. Edmonton Mayor-elect Amarjeet Sohi
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Some last words as mayor from Calgary’s Naheed Nenshi on the eve of the election to choose his successor
Almost from the day they took power in 2019, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has known how to get up the noses of Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government. It’s part of the man’s charm, although by no means all of it. Mayoral candidate Jeromy Farkas, the clear favourite of Jason Kenney
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 79: Everything you wanted to know about Equalization * But were afraid to ask
University of Alberta political scientist Dr. Jared Wesley joins Dave Cournoyer on the Daveberta Podcast for a deep dive into Alberta’s October 18 Equalization Referendum, why it is being held, what Premier Jason Kenney hopes to accomplish (and why he’s been absent on the campaign trail), and what the ramifications
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Minister Toews and the AUPE: A Shift in the Balance of Power
“Strikes are only one measure of unrest.” Todd Vachon, an assistant professor and director of labor education at Rutgers University. Did you catch it, that shift in the balance of power? Last Wednesday Finance Minister Travis Toews issued a statement announcing the government and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
Continue readingAlberta Politics: How low can Jason Kenney go? This week’s poll, same as last week’s poll, puts him at 22%
How low can he go? It’s probably more than coincidence that the second poll in just over a week has placed Alberta Premier Jason Kenney at an approval rate of 22 per cent. Angus Reid Institute’s chart showing its poll results of Canadian premiers’ approval ratings (Image: Angus Reid Institute).
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – David Fickling responds to the attempt by petropoliticians to blame high gas prices on limited climate action rather than the vagaries of commodity economics. Lisa Friedman reports on the agreement among 30 countries to slash methane emissions as a crucial short-term step in
Continue readingAlberta Politics: What d’ya know? 2021 Nobel economics prize awarded for research directly relevant to political discourse in Alberta
It’s not every day they award a Nobel prize in economics on a topic directly relevant to the political discourse of Alberta, so it is our duty to note Monday’s announcement that Canadian-born economist David Card was accorded the honor for his pioneering work using “natural experiments” to show that
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Happy Thanksgiving…?
I was composing a short Happy Thanksgiving blog when a UCP government press release appeared in my inbox. Today is World Mental Health Day and Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Mike Ellis, said “Right now it might seem like a lot of things are out of our
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Ricky Leong discusses the complete lack of any reasonable explanation for the UCP’s failure to protect the health of Albertans in the face of the fourth wave of COVID-19. And Murray Mandryk comments that the Sask Party likewise insists on doing too
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