PHOTOS: Alberta Premier Alison Redford was welcomed to the annual convention of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees by AUPE President Guy Smith in October 2012. And what does the Wildrose Party make of that? Below: Former Tory Premier Ralph Klein…
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Alberta Politics: NDP moves to end secret Klein-era scheme to offload corporate losses on the public – the opposition, predictably, screams
PHOTOS: Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman, a photo that wasn’t taken yesterday, obviously, but has the advantage of having been taken by your blogger. Below: Wildrose electricity and renewables critic Don MacIntyre, Progressive Conservative interim Leader…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: The Myth of the Alberta Advantage
August 31, 1993 marked the first time the words “Alberta Advantage” were uttered on the floor of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly. “Unlike some others, my government will not try to buy prosperity through higher taxes. Instead, it will build on A…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney makes it official with fresh-faced extras and unattributed tribute to the Nixon Era
PHOTOS: A screen grab from yesterday’s video feed of Jason Kenney announcing his candidacy for the leadership of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party in Calgary. Immediately behind him is Caitlyn Madliner, who has prominently figured in anti-PC…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney reported ready to announce his bid to lead a Tory Restoration effort as soon as tomorrow
PHOTOS: Former federal Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney looks like he’s describing how he’ll capture the Alberta PC Party, then the Wildrose, and unite them whether they like it or not, in this shot grabbed from his Parliamentary Flickr a…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: A spectre is haunting Alberta, and Wildrose Leader Brian Jean wants to assure you it’s not him!
PHOTOS: The plot thickens … like the gravy at a certain truck stop restaurant. The spectral presences of Jason Kenney and Stephen Harper eating breakfast are not quite visible in the booth. Below: Mr. Jean, plus the real Mr. Kenney and the real Mr. H…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Government’s dismissal of Crown corporation’s board indicates NDP is paying attention to Alberta’s ABC sector
PHOTOS: Alberta Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier seen walking through an angry crowd of Bill 6 protesters last fall, chatting with participants. Below: Brad Klak, suspended president of Alberta’s Crown-owned Agriculture Financial Services Corporati…
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Wildrose Vision (such as it is)
Brian Jean, leader of the Wildrose party, has a vision for uniting Alberta’s conservatives. It’s based on “the best elements” of Peter Lougheed and Ralph Klein’s legacies and rejects the “liberal drift” and “questionable ethics” that forced Wildrose members out … Continue reading →
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Former AUPE president Dan MacLennan elected to party post to get Alberta Liberals back on radar
PHOTOS: A famous – and famously controversial – photo of Dan MacLennan playing golf with premier Ralph Klein (source not indicated). Below: Mr. MacLennan and Mr. Klein in conversation on the lawn of the Legislature; Mr. MacLennan as a union leader …
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Former AUPE president Dan MacLennan now an Alberta Liberal VP
The Alberta Liberal Party held its annual general meeting in Red Deer this weekend where the party elected its executive officers, including a name that will be familiar to government-watchers in Alberta. While many union leaders have lined up to… Co…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta Advanced Education Ministry now maintaining close watch on Athabasca University
PHOTOS: A recent newspaper ad seeking a new board chair for Athabasca University. Below: Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt at the Legislature on Budget Day; Athabasca MLA Colin Piquette; and Athabasca University interim President Peter MacKinn…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Motion demanding public support for private and charter schools backfires on Alberta Tory Leader
PHOTOS: Interim Alberta Tory Leader Ric McIver and another PC are ejected from the Legislature yesterday by the Sergeant at Arms. Actual Alberta MLAs may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The Real Ric McIver and Edmonton Public School Board Cha…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Pipeline perceptions, percentages and past Parliamentary performance dog NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair in Alberta’s capital
PHOTOS: Thomas Mulcair in Edmonton … shortly before the disappointing federal election on Oct. 19, 2015. Below: Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff, former NDP MP and leadership candidate Peggy Nash, and influential Alberta union leader…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Time to share the pain and stop wasting taxpayers’ dollars on elite private and cherry-picking charter schools
PHOTOS: A typical Alberta charter school class, at least as imagined by supporters of the expensive idea. Actual charter and private school students in 2016 may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Progressive Conservative Party interim Leader Ric…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Expect the unexpected in the Calgary-Greenway by-election
The second by-election since Alberta’s May 2015 election will be held on March 22, 2016 in the northeast Calgary constituency of Calgary-Greenway. With the re-election of Manmeet Bhullar, this constituency was one of eight in Calgary to elect a Prog…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Throne Speech suggests Alberta NDP won’t let oil price crisis go completely to waste
PHOTOS: Status of Women Minister Stephanie McLean with her new son, Patrick, in the rotunda of the Alberta Legislature Building after yesterday’s Throne Speech. Below: Royal Canadian Artillery Band conductor Capt. Patrice Arsenault starts the proceed…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Don Getty, premier who battled economic downturn much like today’s, among the last of Alberta’s Red Tory leaders
PHOTOS: Don Getty and Peter Lougheed, going places politically back in the day. Below: Mr. Getty again, and Mr. Lougheed , as professional football players with the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1950s, the former in an Eskimos photo, the latter in a shot sna…
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: B.C. “attacks” Alberta. Really?
Thirty-six little words. That’s all it took for the media to whip Albertans up into a “how dare you” frenzy. It started with the BC government’s Throne Speech in which Premier Christy Clark took her new election slogan—Say YES—for a … Continue reading →
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Go figure! Jim Prentice, failed former politician, resurfaces with sweet gig at Washington think tank
PHOTOS: Those were the days! This time last year, Jim Prentice was everyone else’s favourite Albertan, or so it seemed. Now look at him, already the last Conservative premier of Alberta. Below: Woodrow Wilson, the only American president with a PhD a…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Thank goodness we didn’t build that Firewall!
Fifteen years ago, in Jan. 2001, six prominent Conservative lobbyists and university professors, including future Prime Minister Stephen Harper and provincial cabinet minister Ted Morton, penned the Firewall Manifesto. Prime Minister Jean ChretienR…
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