Alberta Politics: Saskatchewan, Ontario have no constitutional case against Ottawa’s carbon tax, only a political strategy

By vowing to go to court to fight the federal government’s carbon tax, Saskatchewan and now Ontario are rejecting the most cost effective way to reduce carbon pollution, the Pembina Institute complained yesterday. “It is deeply irresponsible of the Saskatchewan and Ontario governments to reject carbon pricing,” said Isabelle Turcotte,

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Alberta Politics: U.S.-based Atlas Network, which has ‘reshaped political power in country after country,’ a funder of Canadian Taxpayers Federation

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a self-described non-partisan tax watchdog and taxpayer advocacy group once headed by Alberta Opposition Leader Jason Kenney, has always been tight-lipped about the sources of its own funding. This may be mildly ironic, given its vocal demands for transparency in government policy, but as a private organization

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Alberta Politics: The two faces of Jason … how’s managing simultaneous provincial & federal political campaigns going for Janus Kenney?

PHOTOS: Alberta Opposition leader Jason Kenney at a recent get-together with his former boss, Stephen Harper (Photo: Grabbed from Mr. Kenney’s Facebook page). And guess who Mr. Kenney was attacking on his Facebook page last night? See below. Also below: Sir Charles Tupper and Calgary NDP MLA Graham Sucha.  Jason

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Alberta Politics: Conservative antics let PM Justin Trudeau off the hook for India debacle and show why Andrew Scheer is not fit to govern

PHOTOS: What Canadians will soon see in their minds when they think of Conservative Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer (Photo: Andrew Scheer’s Flickr stream). Below: The actual grown up Mr. Scheer (Photo: Andre Forget, Andrew Scheer’s Flickr stream), Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper (Photo: Wikimedia

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Alberta Politics: Who saw Donald Trump coming? Not Simon Reisman, that’s for sure, but maybe Ed Broadbent and John Turner

PHOTOS: Simon Reisman’s business card. Below: Mr. Reisman, chief Canadian negotiator of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in a screenshot of a blurry CBC archival broadcast; a recent shot of Brian Mulroney (Photo: Mike Feraco); Toronto Star political columnist Thomas Walkom; and lobbyist Robin Sears. Circa 1986, I recognized Simon

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Alberta Politics: Finance Minister Joe Ceci’s call for no wage hikes for public-sector unions a risky strategy for New Democrats

PHOTOS: Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci at yesterday’s news conference in Edmonton (Photo: Government of Alberta). Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, her former chief of Staff, Brian Topp, and former NDP premiers Dave Barrett (Photo: The Tyee), Roy Romanow, and Bob Rae (Photo: Wikimedia Commons). Alberta’s NDP Government can’t say

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Alberta Politics: Canada needs more Jeremy Corbyn, less Justin Trudeau, 21st annual Parkland Institute conference is advised

PHOTOS: Guardian journalist Martin Lukacs, moments before his remarks to the 21st annual Parkland Institute Conference in Edmonton yesterday morning. Below: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; British Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn and Prime Minister Theresa May (U.K. Photos: Wikimedia Commons); and bestselling Canadian author Linda McQuaig before her keynote

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Alberta Politics: Don’t expect an NDP cold war between Jagmeet Singh’s federal New Democrats and Rachel Notley’s Alberta caucus

PHOTOS: Jagmeet Singh, whose campaign to lead the national New Democratic Party came to a successful conclusion yesterday. (Photo: NDP.ca.) Below: Alberta NDP Leader and Premier Rachel Notley, former Alberta Progressive Conservative premier Alison Redford, and former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith. So, it’s Jagmeet Singh, and decisively. But don’t

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Alberta Politics: Having no potential national leader obviously helpful to Notley Government may be liberating to Alberta New Democrats

PHOTOS: Candidate Niki Ashton, in Edmonton during the 2012 NDP leadership race. (Photo: Olav Rokne.) Below: Charlie Angus, Jagmeet Singh, Guy Caron and the late Jack Layton. (Photos: All from the Wikimedia Commons.) Like a rural highway through northern Alberta, the federal New Democratic Party’s leadership race has seemed long,

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Alberta Politics: Never mind apologies, it’s time for Canada’s Tories just to admit Jack Layton was right about talking to the Taliban

PHOTOS: Jack Layton in Edmonton in 2011. Below: Forgettable Harper Government foreign minister Lawrence Cannon (Photo: Abigail Veronneau, Wikimedia Commons) and Peter MacKay, who took some of the cheap shots at Mr. Layton in 2006 (Photo: Department of National Defence, via the Wikimedia Commons). Never mind the apologies. That ship

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