PHOTOS: Rob Anderson, on the right, the Wildrose Party’s finance critic under Danielle Smith, at a rally supporting public sector workers in 2012. With him are AUPE President Guy Smith, left, and Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann, centre. Below: The Wildrose Party’s intemperate current finance critic, Derek Fildebrandt, Ms. Smith,
Continue readingTag: Jim Prentice
Alberta Politics: ‘Real Leader’ Brad Wall’s government feeds the fluctuations of a boom-bust economy as Alberta stays the course
PHOTOS: The Saskatchewan economy … where it sits right about now. It’s not Brad Wall’s fault!!! Below: Mr. Wall, the “Real Leader” of Western Canada; Saskatchewan Deputy Premier Don Morgan; Saskatchewan Finance Minister Kevin Doherty; and Saskatchewan Federation of Labour President Larry Hubich. OTTAWA What a pleasure it is here
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Lid’s still on the unite-the-right soup the Wildrose Party’s leader is cooking up, but there are hints about the recipe
PHOTOS: Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean gets ready to explain his plan to unite Alberta’s right under his leadership as a giant bull crashes through the wall behind him. The circumstances portrayed in this photo, found on the wildrose.ca website, may not have been exactly as just described. Below: Justin
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Past PC taxes disappear down conservative Memory Hole amid apocalyptic claims about similar NDP policies
PHOTOS: Then finance minister Robin Campbell and premier Jim Prentice explain their plan to increase taxes in March 2015. Criticism was mild. Below: Premier Ralph Klein and Stockwell Day, who was Mr. Klein’s provincial treasurer in the late 1990s (CBC photo); Wildrose MLA Heather Forsyth, who was interim Opposition leaders
Continue readingAlberta Politics: A Happy New Year to all – seriously, to all of you – as AlbertaPolitics.ca begins its 10th year of publication
PHOTOS: Some of the high points … This one was taken about the time I broke the story that Danielle Smith would be running for the leadership of the “upstart” Wildrose Party. Below: chats, and photos, with Ed Stelmach, Alison Redford, Jim Prentice and Rachel Notley. Dear Readers, On this
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Top 10 Alberta political news stories of 2016: AlbertaPolitics.ca’s picks
PHOTOS: Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley. Below: Calgary MLA Sandra Jansen, elected as a Progressive Conservative and now a member of the NDP, Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee, and the late Jim Prentice, the last PC premier of Alberta. 2016: It was the International Year of the Bean. I kid
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Merry Christmas to all! Santa is bringing presents for everyone this holiday, regardless of political orientation
PHOTOS: Merry Christmas! Your blogger with a man who can penetrate North American air defences with ease. Russian President Vladimir Putin may not appear exactly as illustrated. (Joke.) Below: Political strategist Stephen Carter with the same blogger; Alberta pollster Janet Brown; Conservative strategist Alan Hallman, who is now associated with
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Trouble on the ‘Alb-Right’? What are the details of Wildrose Leader Brian Jean’s better way to unite the right?
PHOTOS: Opposition Leader Brian Jean. He says he has a better plan than Jason Kenney’s to unite the right. The only thing is, he won’t say what it is. If it involves changing the party name, though, as this picture shows there are going to be a lot of “Wildroses”
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Great Betrayal, or just a great mistake? Today marks the second anniversary of the Wildrose Party’s mass defection
PHOTOS: Progressive Conservative premier Jim Prentice and Opposition leader turned PC MLA Danielle Smith pose awkwardly on Dec. 17, 2014, in what was supposed to be a political masterstroke, and could have turned out to have been just that (CBC photo). Below: NDP Premier Rachel Notley, Wildrose Opposition Leader Brian
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney states his support for public funding of home-schooling, parents’ right to veto sex education, and more
PHOTOS: Jason Kenney … he’s got some thoughts on education and we thought you might like to know what they are (CBC photo). Below: Alberta Education Minister David Eggen, Progress Alberta Executive Director Duncan Kinney and defiant Pastor Brian Coldwell of Parents for Choice in Education. Where does Jason Kenney
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Pipeline File: NDP’s ‘social license’ approach worked where Conservative shouting failed, it’s that simple
PHOTOS: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kananaskis, Alberta, in April 2016 (photo by Chris Schwarz, Government of Alberta). Below: Anti-pipeline demonstrators in British Columbia (Rabble photo by Alyse Kotyk). They may not find it reassuring that Alberta conservatives are praying for their success. Without
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Backstory to purloined party list whodunit hints Wildrose civil war may be brewing
PHOTOS: Veterans of the Wildrose Caucus civil wars get together in 2046 to compare their experiences. Actual aged Wildrose MLAs are unlikely to appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Wildrose Leader Brian Jean (CBC photo), his party’s finance critic, Derek Fildebrandt, and former Wildrose House leader Rob Anderson reading his confession
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The twists keep coming: Ex PM pitches woo to Wildrosers for Kenney Con coup as candidate cries counter Kudatah!
PHOTOS: “That group of NDP activists was this big!” Jason Kenney is shown at the launch of his campaign to spring a kudatah on the Progressive Conservative Party in this CBC photo grabbed from the Internet. Actually, I have no idea what Mr. Kenney was saying when the CBC photographer
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Guest Post: Where’s the evidence for a health care sustainability crisis in Canada?
PHOTOS: Well, that’s one way to “bend the cost curve” … premier Ralph Klein’s way. The old Calgary General Hospital begins to fall an instant after the dynamite was triggered on Oct. 4, 1998, the Klein PC Government’s approach to health care infrastructure. Within seconds, Calgary’s only downtown hospital had
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Location of immigration office in Vegreville steeped in Mulroney Era pork barrel politics, and never made sense
PHOTOS: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s soon-to-be-moved national case-processing centre in Vegreville, Alberta. Below: Mulroney Era deputy prime minister Don Mazankowski, the man who pushed for the centre to be located in his riding; Vegreville’s famed giant Ukrainian egg; and Vegreville Mayor Myron Hayduk. News Ottawa is at long last
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 41: America gone wild
The American election campaign, which was already the worst in history, imploded this week. The week began with a presidential debate widely seen as the worst in history. Donald Trump, knowing full well that his White House dream (if he ever really had one) is now a smoking ruin, went
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Death of former premier Jim Prentice resonates painfully throughout Alberta’s small political community
PHOTOS: Former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice, who perished in an airplane crash in British Columbia Thursday night, in a characteristic pose. Below: More shots of Mr. Prentice doing what he was best at, making personal contact with potential supporters. Its vast geography notwithstanding, by population Alberta is not that big
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Very sad news today
Very sad news today. My condolences to the families and friends of former premier Jim Prentice and the three other passengers killed in the plane crash on this very difficult and tragic day. Mr. Prentice served as Premier of Alberta from… Continue Reading →
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Five years ago today, Alison Redford was sworn in as premier of Alberta … and the wheels fell off the Tory bus
PHOTOS: Alison Redford takes the oath of office as Alberta’s 14th premier. Below: Ms. Redford speaks her first words as premier of Alberta and is greeted by enthusiastic well-wishers as she walks through the Legislature’s Rotunda. Bottom: Gary Mar, whom Ms. Redford defeated for the leadership of the PC party
Continue readingAlberta Politics: NDP appoints former Liberal strategist Corey Hogan to head Alberta Public Affairs Bureau
PHOTOS: Corey Hogan, centre, in a screen shot from The Strategists political commentary show on CBC Calgary. On the left is Stephen Carter and on the right is Zain Velji. Below: Recent Public Affairs Bureau leaders Mr. Hogan again, Mark Wells and Martin Kennedy. I’m not sure why the Notley
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