“Tonight, we begin the work of advancing and protecting sound, conservative fiscal principles.” —Future Premier Jim Prentice, victory speech, Sept 6, 2014 It hasn’t escaped Ms Soapbox’s notice that the party that bills itself as fiscally conservative has us on track for a $20 billion infrastructure debt—at a time when
Continue readingTag: Jim Prentice
Alberta Diary: How many PC memberships were given away? It’s time to get to know the known unknowns of the leadership campaign
Alberta’s PCs are smiling today as Jim Prentice, at right, takes over the helm of the RMS Titanic Tory. Actual just-elected leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Jim Prentice as he appeared surrounded by media last night. (Photo by Dave Cournoyer,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Boring Jim Prentice might be what the Tories need
TweetLow turnout, lack of interest overshadows Prentice’s win The atmosphere was noticeably subdued as I walked into the large hall at Northlands Expo Centre that hosted the Progressive Conservative’s leadership event. It was 6:45 pm and there were probably 300 loyal party supporters scattered across the hall, which looked like it could comfortably fit
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Prentice in a walk – but the low voter turnout tells the real story about the fate of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives
This file photo, almost as boring as Jim Prentice’s speech to the troops in Edmonton tonight, and I have it on good authority it was pretty darned boring, will be replaced later if anyone sends me a better one. VICTORIA, B.C. Well! That’s it then. Jim Prentice in a walk,
Continue readingIn This Corner: Worst. Leadership race. Ever.
Somewhere in my collection of flotsam and jetsam of old newspaper clippings from my youth, I have the famous Edmonton Journal paper from the day after the Progressive Conservatives, under Peter Lougheed, finally toppled the Social Credit dynasty. The headline, written in massive type in true Tory blue, read: “Now!
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: As lacklustre PC leadership race winds down, by-elections are on the horizon
TweetWith one day left before the vote, Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Ric McIver’s campaign took to the radio airwaves, attacking frontrunner Jim Prentice for being “an insider.” It was an strange move for Mr. McIver, as the general public appears largely disinterested in the contest and the deadline to purchase
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Ethan Corey and Jessica Corbett offer five lessons for progressives from Naomi Klein’s forthcoming This Changes Everything. – Following up on this post, Andrew Jackson fact-checks the Fraser Institute on its hostility toward the CPP. And the Winnipeg Free Press goes further
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Alberta Politics Catch Up: Pipelines, Planes, Cities and Rob Anders
TweetSpending a few days in another province can sometimes give you a different perspective on important national issues. Spending the last week in British Columbia served as a good reminder to this political watcher about how emotional the debate around pipelines and the Oilsands are in Alberta’s neighbouring province. While I am sure opinion is
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Opponents beyond PC ranks start to take aim at Alberta Tory leadership candidate Jim Prentice
Alberta Tory leadership candidate Jim Prentice, invisible, as everybody and their non-partisan friends pile on. Actual scenes from Alberta politics may not take place exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Mr. Prentice, in his lucky campaign shirt; Canadian Taxpayers Federation Alberta Director Derek Fildebrandt. VICTORIA, B.C. Jim Prentice, you’re in
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Unsolved mysteries: Never mind those roaming charges, who leaked that Tory party membership list in 2011?
Capt. Queeg of the USS Caine channels Alberta Tory Party leaders as he describes the search for the missing strawberries. Imagine what he would have done with a purloined cell phone bill or a leaked list of Tory Party members! Below: Dave Hancock, Thomas Lukaszuk. Premier pro tempore Dave Hancock
Continue readingAlberta Diary: PC leadership: Jim Prentice’s term limit fumble and Thomas Lukaszuk’s cellular bill are good news for Ric McIver
File under, “Dinner, done like”… Alison Redford serves dinner to Thomas Lukaszuk as Jim Prentice, at left, and Dave Hancock, Doug Horner and Ric McIver look on. Actual Tory premiers, former premiers, would-be premiers and former would-be premiers may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The author with Ric McIver.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Alberta politics today: Caribou, Cell Phone Bills, and backing down on Term-Limits
TweetAnother news report this week focused on the devastation of caribou habitat in northwestern Alberta. The CBC story reported that deforestation caused by seismic cutlines and snowmobile traffic has caused irreparable damage to habitat critical to the survival of Alberta’s caribou herds. “About five per cent of range for the
Continue readingCalgary Grit: 43 year old government proposes term limits
A future Jim Prentice caucus? An Alberta PC leadership race devoid of ideas has its first eye-catching policy. Presumptive front-runner Jim Prentice has pledged limits of 2 terms on the Premier and 3 terms on MLAs. This no doubt comes in response to accusations the PC government has grown stale
Continue readingCalgary Grit: In the Record Books
These are not happy days for the party which has ruled Alberta since before Happy Days ever aired, but the PCs had something to celebrate this weekend as they passed Ontario’s Big Blue Machine to become the longest serving government in Canadian history. There are many reasons for their longevity.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Top Ten Reasons Why Jim Prentice’s “Term Limited” Government is a Bad Idea
Politicians are not tins of spork. The good ones don’t go bad just because they’ve been sitting around for a while. Of all of the things that PC party leadership candidate Jim Prentice could have done to restore Albertans’ trust in government, imposing term limits on provincial MLAs was not
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Just as things were looking up a bit for foundering PCs, Alison Redford showed up again
Alison Redford contemplates which way to turn as she leaves behind a trail of devastation, toward the capital city’s new Sky Palace Hotel, left, or toward Edmonton’s High Level Bridge, right. Actual former premiers and the landmarks they threaten may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Ms. Redford;
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Term limits on Alberta MLAs? ‘I think Jim Prentice is trying to lose… nothing else makes sense’
“A night to remember”: Jim Prentice explains to reporters how term limits for MLAs can work. Really! Below: The orchestra the Tories should have hired to play the lunchtime event. There was no orchestra at Tory leadership candidate Jim Prentice’s lunchtime speech in Edmonton yesterday. But if there had been,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Prentice term-limit idea is gimmicky and probably unconstitutional
TweetYou are Jim Prentice. You have the podium and the attention of Alberta’s media. You are the next Premier of Alberta. You can dream big. You could promise to replace all of Alberta’s aging hospitals by 2020, to build a high-speed railway from Calgary to Edmonton, to forge a new relationship with municipalities through Big
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: PC Party compared MLA term-limits to whims of an Ayatollah or a general
TweetToday, Alberta Progressive Conservative Party leadership candidate Jim Prentice proposed term-limits for Premiers and MLAs. The following is an excerpt from an editorial on term-limits for MLAs that was printed in the Progressive Conservative Party’s “PC People” magazine, published in September 2010: Another concept being promoted in some quarters is the idea of
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Advice for the next Premier of Alberta: Be Bold by being Boring
TweetSo you’re a new Premier, looking for a way to make a splash – to make the public forget about the previous regime. You could do something simple like reduce Cabinet to 20, which is essentially the size of Cabinet (Associate Ministers are not actually Cabinet ministers). But that’s not
Continue reading