A federal by-election will be held in Sturgeon River-Parkland in the coming months following the resignation of Conservative Member of Parliament Rona Ambrose. Ambrose served as MP for this riding from 2015 to 2017 and as MP for the now defunct Edmonton-Spruce Grove riding from 2004 to 2015. A by-election
Continue readingTag: Jim Prentice
Alberta Politics: So long PAB! Alberta restructures government communications, eliminates notorious Public Affairs Bureau
PHOTOS: Public Affairs Bureau Managing Director Corey Hogan during his days as a political commentator for CBC Calgary, shown in a screenshot of a CBC broadcast. Below: Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley and Conservative premiers Alison Redford and Jim Prentice. A terse news release by the Alberta Government Wednesday announced
Continue readingAlberta Politics: With three right-wing political parties now possible instead of one, has Jason Kenney’s roll of the dice crapped out?
PHOTOS: Jason Kenney, as he may see himself, gets ready to roll the unite-the-right dice. Actual Alberta conservative politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated. (Photo: Publicity shot for Sky Full of Moon, 1952.) Below: The real Mr. Kenney, plus the real Katherine O’Neill, Greg Clark and Stephen Mandel. Snake
Continue readingAlberta Politics: If failure to appear at Pride goeth before a fall, what will Jason Kenney do?
PHOTOS: Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney, back in 2010 when he was a Calgary MP, taking part in the Calgary Stampede Parade. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons.) Will he show up for the Edmonton Pride Parade next Saturday as well? Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, flanked by Education Minister David Eggen and
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Looking past pipelines, the NDP-Green agreement looks pretty good for BC
“Mark my words, that pipeline will be built, the decisions have been made.” – Alberta Premier Rachel Notley Alberta politicians, media and pundits are unsurprisingly focused on what the governing agreement between British Columbia New Democratic Party leader John Horgan and Green Party leader Andrew Weaver will mean for the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Tories, Wildrosers agree to call new entity United Conservative Party … without ever speaking the initials aloud
PHOTOS: Wildrose Leader Brian Jean and Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney pose uncomfortably in this Wildrose Party photo. Below: A CBC shot by Terry Reith may have captured the real mood better. Below that: Twitterist Edwin Mundt’s take on the You See Pee. Question: What happens when Alberta Can’t Wait?
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Two years later – Notley’s NDP victory and a reminder why Elections matter
Two years ago today Albertans voted to sweep out the old Progressive Conservative government by electing Rachel Notley’s New Democratic Party into government. It was a surreal election that topped off a tumultuous decade in Alberta politics. It used to be said that politics in our province was boring, and
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Re-stating the obvious: elections matter, and the Alberta NDP victory on May 5, 2015, proves it
PHOTOS: Rachel Notley celebrates her victory on the night of May 5, 2015. Below: Ms. Notley again, the same night, still celebrating; defeated Progressive Conservative Premier Jim Prentice as seen via TV at NDP headquarters conceding to the NDP; a small corner of the crowd at NDP election headquarters in
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Here we go again: Opacity not transparency characterizes Alberta’s right-wing merger talks
PHOTOS: Wildrose Opposition Leader Brian Jean and Progressive Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney uncomfortably shake hands in this obviously staged photo in what appears to be Mr. Jean’s office. (Wildrose Party photo.) Below: Tanis Fiss, chair of the insider committee working behind closed doors to unite the two parties (from
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Silence on the right and in the media about NDP role as Alberta adds an impressive 20,000 full-time jobs in March
PHOTOS: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, who is not getting any credit for her economic successes from the Opposition or the media. Below: Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci; Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall; and University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe (CBC photo). Alberta added an impressive 20,000 full-time jobs in March, according
Continue readingAlberta Politics: No redemption for the Wildrose, outed in a Lake of Fire five years ago today, and it’s Eastertime too
PHOTOS: Rev. Allan Hunsperger, whose beliefs about the eternal fate of people who live a gay lifestyle contributed mightily to the downfall of the Wildrose Party. (Wildrose Party photo, circa 2012.) Below: Then Wildrose leader Danielle Smith; Jason Kenney, leader of the Progressive Conservatives today; and former PC premier Alison
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Week in Review: We know where the Wildrosers are, but where’s Jason?
ILLUSTRATIONS: Where’s Jason? If anyone spots PC Leader Jason Kenney, who doesn’t have to show up in the Legislature because he’s not an MLA, please let a responsible grownup know. Below: Education Minister David Eggen and Opposition Leader Brian Jean. There’s no doubt about where Mr. Jean will be found,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney and the GSA reverse-tip-line brouhaha: Is this conservative turning into the Anita Bryant of Canada?
PHOTOS: Is Jason Kenney turning into Canada’s Anita Bryant? Actual Canadian politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons.) Below: The real Jason Kenney, and singer-songwriters k.d. lang and Boy George. Is Jason Kenney turning into the Anita Bryant of Canada? If you’re of a certain age, you
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Message to Jason Kenney: Alberta changed while you were away being a big shot in Ottawa!
PHOTOS: Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney. Why does this man look so puzzled? Below: Entertainer k.d. lang; the late Ralph Klein, premier of Alberta when Jason Kenney left for Ottawa; Edmonton Journal columnist Paul Simons; and Nolan Crouse, until yesterday the only candidate to lead the Alberta Liberal Party. When
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Education Minister deserves high marks for ordering recalcitrant religious schools to obey GSA law, but more is needed
PHOTOS: Alberta Education Minister David Eggen. Below: Edmonton lawyer Dan Scott, Kristopher Wells of the U of A’s Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services and Brian Coldwell of the Independent Baptist Christian Education Society. Sometimes a government just needs to do the right thing and let the chips fall
Continue readingAlberta Politics: It’s springtime for Kenney in Wildrose country as Alberta bids farewell to progressive conservatism
PHOTOS: Jason Kenney salutes his supporters after winning the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party on the first ballot yesterday. (Screenshot.) Below: Richard Starke, the Vermilion veterinarian who was Mr. Kenney’s main rival, although not much of one in the event; Opposition Wildrose leader Brian Jean; and Peter Lougheed, PC
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Like rust, Preston Manning apparently never sleeps: Jason Kenney is just his latest manifestation
PHOTOS: Preston Manning has every reason to feel pleased with himself as he moves toward his goal of uniting Alberta’s right on his own terms, with an extreme social conservative candidate like Jason Kenney in the vanguard. Below: Mr. Kenney; Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark; Danielle Smith, just before she
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Now the public’s tuned in, it’ll be hard to put a lid back on discussion of rich subsidies to ritzy private schools
PHOTOS: An illustration grabbed from the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School’s website. The elite private school charges annual tuition of $21,000 per year per student … and received more than $20 million in subsidies from Alberta taxpayers over five years! Below: Alberta Education Minister David Eggen, Edmonton School Trustee Michael Janz and Alberta
Continue readingAlberta Politics: It won’t hurt NDP for centrist voters to understand how close Rachel Notley’s energy policy is to Jim Prentice’s proposals
PHOTOS: Jim Prentice during his time as premier of Alberta. Below: Premier Rachel Notley, Prentice co-author Jean-Sébastian Rioux (Twitter), and journalist Jason Markusoff (Twitter). The revelation that the moderate and thoughtful energy policy proposed by the late Jim Prentice soon after he left politics in 2015 was very similar to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Portrait unveiling stands in for the fond official farewell former premier Dave Hancock never had from his PCs
PHOTOS: Former Alberta Premier Dave Hancock in a typical pose, as he addresses the crowd at the unveiling of his official portrait yesterday. Below: The portrait, by artist Tom Menczel, former Tory cabinet ministers Doug Horner and Richard Starke. The unveiling of Dave Hancock’s portrait in the Legislature yesterday may
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