It’s unfortunate it’s illegal to say the word “str*ke” in Alberta, or you could write a great caption for this image. To be on the safe side, we’ll just stick to asking: “Can the Redford Government survive until 2016, or whenever the next provincial election is held?” Below: Alberta Premier
Continue readingTag: Progressive Conservatives
Alberta Diary: Small changes may signal glimmer of awareness of trouble ahead among rank and file Tory MLAs
Members of Alison Redford’s brain trust plan the latest hashtags in the Twitter war with AUPE … No! Wait! That’s Bob MacNamara telling LBJ about his plans for the war in Vietnam! What the hey? Below: That rude info-graphic; Red House Chief of Staff Farouk Adatia; White House Chief of
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Fear & Loathing in Calgary Signal Hill: rumble on the right breaks out in Calgary
Your blogger in 2011 with Ron Liepert, Alberta’s former Worst Provincial Cabinet Minister. Below: Calgary West Member of Parliament Rob Anders, Canada’s worst MP, with his friend and supporter, Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Coming soon to the new federal riding of Calgary Signal Hill: fear and loathing on the campaign
Continue readingAlberta Diary: The little government that grew: Alison Redford shuffles deckchairs on her cabinet
After her change of heart, Alberta Premier Ebenezer Redford, top left, accompanied by Speaker Gene Zwozdesky in his ceremonial robes, watches as some of the members of her cabinet sit down for an unexpected dinner of Christmas turkey. Actual Alberta Progressive Conservative movers and shakers may not appear exactly as
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Hell freezes over in Alberta: Right-wing Wildrose Party sides with unions, sort of, over unconstitutional Tory bills
AUPE President Guy Smith, left, with Alberta Liberal MLA David Swann and Wildrose House Leader Rob Anderson on the steps of the Alberta Legislature last night. Below: Part of the crowd … the pots and pans start to come out. With blizzard conditions prevailing throughout most of Alberta today, it
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Is it time to take our pots and pans into Alberta’s freezing streets?
More than 1,000 union members and their supporters gathered at the Alberta Legislature last night to continue protests against the Redford Government’s Bill 45, which as well as attacking unions assaults Albertans’ Charter-guaranteed right to free speech. Below: Unexpected speaker Joe Anglin; a red square from Quebec. Make it black,
Continue readingAlberta Diary: No surprise, Alberta PCs endorse Alison Redford with the traditional 77% Solution
A couple of political pundits try to explain to Alberta Premier Alison Redford, centre, why the 77 Per Cent Solution may not be a good thing after all. Actual Alberta premiers may not appear exactly as illustrated. Note that the previous reference has nothing to do with illegal drugs or
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: It’s not really about the crack, or at least it’s…
It’s not really about the crack, or at least it’s not all about the crack. The crack-centred Rob Ford jokes, skits, songs and Internet memes certainly have been entertaining, but Ford’s recent crack use is but one of the many reasons he is hopelessly unqualified to be mayor of the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Are rats abandoning a sinking Alberta Tory ship? The evocative departure of Doug Elniski
Doug Elniski, back and centre, always the tallest guy in the room, at Alison Redford’s side on Oct. 2, 2011. Below: Kirk Patterson aboard Silk Purse somewhere, by the look of the clipping snatched from his Facebook page, in Japan; the ingenious Sir Winston Churchill. My university friend Kirk Patterson,
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta’s Wildrose Party strategists plan to have drained the Lake of Fire by Sunday
Explaining the new rules to the Wildrose Party’s many social conservatives. Wildrose political strategists may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Social conservative pastor and former Wildrose candidate Allan Hunsperger preaching; the late Oscar Wilde being the life of the party. To paraphrase Johnny Cash, they fell into a burning
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Strange political bedfellows are conjuring more than entertainment in Alberta
A poster advertising last night’s NDP-Wildrose leaders’ debate at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Below: Odd couple Brian Mason and Danielle Smith, captured in electrons by Dave Cournoyer of the Daveberta.ca blog. Alberta New Democratic Party Leader Brian Mason and Wildrose Party Leader Danielle Smith debated each other at
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: This clip from the movie Tommy Boy is almost a re-enactment of…
This clip from the movie Tommy Boy is almost a re-enactment of a typical scene from Rob Ford’s life. Here are a couple more Ford-like clips from Tommy Boy: clip1 and clip 2, and here are six ways the fictional character Tommy Callahan (played by Chris Farley) differs from the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Evil twins: Alberta Progressive Conservatives assail Wildrosers, and vice versa
This is not a photograph of Alberta Premier Alison Redford and Alberta Opposition Leader Danielle Smith. For one thing, these two are far too friendly with one another. But you get the point I’m trying to make, I’m sure. Below: The real Ms. Redford and the real Ms. Smith. I’ll
Continue readingAlberta Diary: CBC journalist Charles Rusnell: slaying Alberta’s Tory dragon, one scandal at a time …
Your blogger with CBC investigative reporter Charles Rusnell. Below: Edmonton-Manning MLA Peter Sandhu; Mr. Sandhu with Alison Redford in a Tory Party photo grabbed from the Daveberta.ca blog. The photo-bomber is Calgary-Fort MLA Wayne Cao. You’d think it would be easy to run a petroleum-soaked, cash-rich jurisdiction like Alberta, but
Continue readingcalgaryliberal.com: Vincent Visits the Manning Centre
The other day this blogger went to a Manning Centre training seminar on visual communications — on building better looking websites, designing election signs, and creating campaign literature. This is the same Manning Centre that has been in the news recently and been a target of a fair bit of
Continue readingRegan Wolfrom: The NDP is bad… blah blah blah…
Is there really any point in talking about it? Almost every blogger I’ve read in Manitoba who’s covered political issues had mentioned that the NDP has been up to something. Manitoba Hydro Smash-and-Grab, Public Utilities Board Gouge-and-Grab, WRHA Mad-Cow-Expansion-and-Grab, PST Change-The-Law-To-Take-More-Money-and-Grab… But what’s the point in talking about it anymore?
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Has Alberta pioneered an unlegislated ban on collective bargaining?
“Post-secondary collective bargaining,” Alberta style. Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk and a post-secondary employer negotiator rig the deck, foreground, while a faculty association negotiators ponder what’s just happened. Actual Alberta bargaining teams may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Mr. Lukaszuk, former advanced ed minister Steve Khan. As
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Never mind the pundits: Alberta Premier Alison Redford has plenty to celebrate today
Alberta Premier Alison Redford, second from right, with Environment Minister Diana McQueen and Culture Minister Health Klimchuk, watch as Deputy Premier Tom Lukaszuk celebrates the Progressive Conservative Party’s victory on this day last year with a sip of champagne. Actual PC cabinet members may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below:
Continue readingcalgaryliberal.com: Alberta In Open Revolt
Allison Redford has a problem. Between mayor Mandel unleashing his fury on her government and the University of Alberta’s rage at the province’s letters of expectation progressives across the province are finally coming to see that Redford is simply not on their side. For the Liberals who saw that supporting
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Close enough for government work: Alberta Tories manage to hold their centre-right turf
Finance Minister Doug Horner preps Albertans for yesterday’s budget. Actual Alberta finance ministers may not appear exactly as illustrated – but that’s the trick, isn’t it? Below: The real Doug Horner. All in all, I guess, you could make a good case this was a pretty lousy budget. It’s deeply
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