Free of his moustache, Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason addresses his party’s 50th annual convention in Edmonton yesterday. Below: Federal NDP Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair, who also spoke yesterday; former Alberta Conservative Premier Peter Lougheed. Freshly shorn of his trademark moustache, Alberta New Democratic Party Leader Brian Mason made the
Continue readingTag: Peter Lougheed
Alberta Diary: Adoration of Peter Lougheed moves beyond canonization into deification
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s message at Peter Lougheed’s state funeral. Below: Premier Lougheed with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who haunts us still. With his state funeral yesterday afternoon, the official adoration of former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed moved beyond canonization into deification. If other Canadians happened to pause and listen
Continue readingAlberta Diary: News from Imperial Washington: Alberta Diary’s surprise endorsement (sort of) from afar
You want moments in American history? Apropos of nothing, here lies Alexander Hamilton, slain in a duel by his political foe Aaron Burr, who got off scot free. Top that! Below: Danielle Smith, disapproving of my tinfoil cap. Your blogger is normally disinclined to give too much of this space
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Yikes! U.S. program with remarkable knack for spotting future foreign leaders picks … Danielle Smith
Wildrose Party Leader Danielle Smith prepares to set off on her 19-day American tour. Future America-friendly leaders may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Ms. Smith for real. With tout le monde political Alberta focusing on the province’s final farewell to Peter Lougheed, founder of the 41-year Conservative dynasty who
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Jeffrey Simpson marks Peter Lougheed’s passing by discussing what he brought to Alberta’s political scene that’s been sorely lacking ever since: Mr. Lougheed, defending Alberta’s jurisdictional turf in conflicts with Liberal and Conservative governments in Ottawa, navigated his province through these shoals. The
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Edgar Peter Lougheed 1928-2012
Peter Lougheed helped Alberta come of age in the 70s I’ll leave the extended eulogies for those who knew the man and lived through his heyday as Alberta Premier. What I will say is that Lougheed, despite being in politics long enough to make a lot of enemies, is one
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Peter Lougheed
Peter Lougheed had a political pedigree. His grandfather was a senator and a partner in R.B. Bennett’s law firm. But, during the Depression, the family lost its fortune and — as a child — Lougheed moved from one rental accommodation to the next. He, therefore, understood both wealth and poverty.
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Some musings on the death of Peter Lougheed, founder of Alberta’s Tory dynasty
Peter Lougheed on the campaign trail in 1971. (Glenbow Archives Photo) TORONTO Peter Lougheed was the last Alberta Conservative leader worthy of the title. By that I mean the premier who in 1971 founded the Conservative dynasty that rules the province to this day was a member of the now
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Farewell Peter Lougheed
Profound condolences to the family of Peter Lougheed and to the people of Alberta who have lost the man who served them so well as their finest premier. Mr. Lougheed was a true Canadian and fiercely loyal to his province. Our country is poorer for his passing.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: r.i.p. peter lougheed (1928-2012).
TweetFormer Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed passed away today. Mr. Lougheed became leader of Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Party in 1965 and was first elected as Premier in the 1971 election, defeating the long-governing Social Credit Party dynasty. He served as Premier until retiring from politics in 1985. His Premiership began what has now
Continue readingTrashy's World: Lougheed
Was always a Canadian first. I didn’t always agree with him, but there was no denying that. (4) Trashy, Ottawa, Ontario
Continue readingImpolitical: Annals of statesmanship
There’s this news that prompts a spontaneous moment of reflection and good will from Canadians across party lines: “Tributes pour in for a gravely ill Peter Lougheed.” Considered one of Canada’s greatest statesmen and an unabashed champion for his home province of Alberta, former premier Peter Lougheed remains gravely ill
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Fiscal shocker! Redford Tories promise transparency but deliver opacity!
Secretive Redford Tory, left, moves to the right, while Wildrose transparency advocate, right, opts for a totally different course. Below: Doug Horner and Alison Redford, both smirking. This just in! Alberta’s Progressive Conservative government is secretive! Well… yeah! What’s astonishing is that the Alberta news media appears to be astonished
Continue readingAlberta Diary: She’s no Charles Tupper: Alison Redford has been Alberta premier too long to be prime minister
A youngish Charles Tupper at his desk. “I knew Charles Tupper and Alison Redford is no Charles Tupper” – and a good thing for her, too! Below: Sir Charles as prime minister; Frank McKenna; Robert Stanfield in the photo that put paid to his political career. Alison Redford has been
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: ralph klein is alberta’s sad story.
Tweet Ralph Klein I was born in Edmonton in 1983 and the first Premier I remember being aware of was Ralph Klein. Having grown up during the Klein-era, I have a different perspective of those years than most mainstream political pundits and their baby boomer cohort. I have mixed feelings
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: alberta liberals choose to keep raj sherman as leader.
Tweet Liberal leader Raj Sherman at Edmonton’s 2012 Pride Festival. Edmonton-Meadowlark MLA Raj Sherman will keep his job as leader of Alberta’s Liberal Party after a vote at the party’s annual general meeting in Calgary. Of the estimate 300 Liberal Party members who attended last weekend’s AGM, 94% voted to
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: illegal donations continue to dog alberta’s tories.
Tweet Another case of illegal donations to the PC Party has been relvealed. In the weeks leading to the election call earlier this year, it appeared that a series of illegal donations collected by Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Association could become a defining issue of the campaign. The donations, made public through
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Lee Richardson: Alberta Ambassador to the Mulcair Government? Or what?
Alberta Premier Alison Redford speaks with Principal Secretary Lee Richardson while Chief of Staff Farouk Adatia looks on. Alberta officials, elected and not so elected, may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Mr. Richardson and Mr. Adatia. So what exactly is a principal secretary, anyway? And why does Alberta Premier
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: alison redford attends the bilderberg. thomas mulcair visits the oilsands.
Tweet Premier Alison Redford is attending the 2012 Bilderberg Group conference. There are no shortage of internet conspiracy theories about the mysterious Bilderberg Group conference, but now Alberta Premier Alison Redford will know the truth about the invite-only private annual meeting of the world’s top neo-liberal financial, business, and political
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: lee richardson resigns, calgary-centre by-election could be a conservative proxy war.
Tweet Recently resigned MP Lee Richardson, soon to be Principal Secretary to Premier Alison Redford. (Photo from 5of7 on Flickr) After a bitterly fought provincial election campaign drove a deep rift into Alberta’s conservative movement between the moderate institutional Progressive Conservatives and the ideologically-driven Wildrose Party, a federal by-election in Calgary may
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