The good news for Alberta’s Freedom Conservative Party is that it’s recruited a national figure as one of its candidates. The bad news for the FCP may be the national figure in question is Neal Bernard Hancock, better known as “Bernard the Roughneck.” A three-paragraph news story on Mr. Hancock’s
Continue readingTag: Richard Starke
Alberta Politics: By-elections conveniently over, United Conservative Party pushes out MLA accused of ballot stuffing at nomination meeting
With many Albertans apparently in a mood to take Jason Kenney’s claim at face value his year-old United Conservative Party is renewed, reformed and ready to govern, you can’t be too careful about evidence that the same-old-same-old Tory entitlement continues to lurk on the Opposition benches of the Legislature. Not
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Alberta Candidate Nomination Update: Pitt bests Millions in Airdrie-East, Michael Connolly moves to Calgary-Varsity, and more.
Photo: Calgary-West MLA Mike Ellis and Airdrie MLA Angela Pitt were greeting party members outside the nomination voting station in the Town and Country Centre in Airdrie on July 20, 2018. (Source: Dave Cournoyer) Despite indications of a dogfight in Airdrie-East, United Conservative Party members voted overwhelmingly to choose incumbent
Continue readingAlberta Politics: NDP ‘Bubble Zone Bill’ to protect abortion clinic patients and staff passes as UCP Caucus heads for hallway hideouts again
Alberta’s “Bubble Zone Bill” to protect abortion clinic patients and staff from harassment, intimidation and potential violence has been passed by the provincial Legislature. When the vote on Third Reading happened yesterday, the entire United Conservative Party Opposition had once again gone into hiding. They’ve done the same thing every
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: It’s all about Derek… Speculation mounts that ousted UCP MLA will run as an Independent in 2019
He’s “wasting his time” if he thinks he can run for a United Conservative Party nomination, says party leader Jason Kenney, but that isn’t stopping Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt from being a thorn in his former party’s side. Once considered a rising star in Alberta’s conservative movement, the spectacular implosion of
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Stephen Mandel wins Alberta Party leadership. Alberta Advantage Party acclaims Marilyn Burns as leader.
Former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel, 72, is the new leader of the Alberta Party. Mandel was elected on the first ballot with 66 percent of the vote, defeating Calgary lawyer Kara Levis, who placed second with 18 percent, and Calgary-South East MLA Rick Fraser, who placed third with 16 percent. 4,613 of
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Alberta Election 2019: candidate nomination update
Photo: Alberta political party nomination candidates: Mike Walsh, Stephanie McLean, Leela Aheer and Craig Coolahan. Here is the latest update to the list of candidates running for political party nominations ahead of Alberta’s expected 2019 provincial general election: Calgary-Buffalo: Megan Brown is seeking the United Conservative Party nomination int his downtown
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: It’s an Alberta Party leadership race: Kara Levis, Rick Fraser… Stephen Mandel
Photo: Former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel when he announced his plans to retire from municipal politics in 2013. The rumours have been circulating for weeks, and they now appear to be confirmed. Stephen Mandel is jumping back into provincial politics by launching a campaign for the leadership of the Alberta
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: 12 Alberta MLAs to watch in 2018
Photo: Alberta MLAs to watch in 2018: Leela Aheer, Shaye Anderson, Deron Bilous, Joe Ceci, Rick Fraser, Sandra Jansen, Brian Jean, Danielle Larivee, Jessica Littlewood, Shannon Phillips, David Shepherd and Richard Starke. Despite its past reputation, Alberta politics has become extraordinarily unpredictable over the past twelve years. This makes forecasting the
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Vote in the Best of Alberta Politics 2017 Survey (Round 2!)
In our most recent episode of The Daveberta Podcast, Ryan and I asked you to help us shape our final episode of 2017 by voting in the Best of Alberta Politics 2017 Survey. More than 300 of you responded to the survey last week with your choices for the biggest
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Counting up the Alberta Party’s leadership candidates, real and imagined, so far: a partial list, no doubt
PHOTOS: Former Morinville mayor Lisa Holmes. Below: Doug Griffiths, Thomas Lukaszuk, Stephen Khan and Chima Nkemdirim. These photos were chosen completely arbitrarily, mainly because they came from the author’s own collection and hadn’t been used a bunch of times before. If it weren’t for the takeover of the once-rather-liberal Alberta
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Will the Alberta Together takeover turn the Alberta Party into PC 2.0?
Photo: Alberta Party leader Greg Clark on the campaign trail in Calgary-Elbow in 2014. Source: Twitter. In the latest shakeup in Alberta politics, Greg Clark announced last Friday that he would resign as leader of the Alberta Party at the party’s upcoming annual general meeting on November 18, 2017. Clark
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Jason Kenney as the new face of Conservatism in Alberta
When the Legislative Assembly resumes for its fall sitting on Monday, there will be a new seating plan. A new Official Opposition United Conservative Caucus made up of twenty-two former Wildrose MLAs and six former Progressive Conservative MLAs will make its debut. Richard Starke of Vermilion-Lloydminster will continue to sit
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Two departures – of an NDP MLA and a UCP leadership candidate – pop up on Alberta’s political radar
PHOTOS: Former NDP MLA Karen McPherson, who has asked to sit as the Independent representative for her Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill riding (Photo: Bob Hawkesworth). Below: Former United Conservative Party leadership candidate Jeff Callaway (Photo: CBC), the port of Churchill, Man. (Photo: churchillpolarbears.com), and Independent MLA Derek Fildebrandt, the UCP’s answer to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Between the lines, Calgary MLA Rick Fraser’s UCP resignation letter is an indictment of Wildrose-ified party
PHOTOS: Rick Fraser in a screenshot from the Legislature of Alberta. Below: Legislative loners Greg Clark, David Swann and Richard Starke, Calgary MP Kent Hehr, and environmentalist and former Green Party candidate Chris Turner. Let’s cut to the chase about what Calgary MLA Rick Fraser’s decision to quit the United
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: No Thanks and So Long. Former PC MLA Rick Fraser leaves the UCP to sit as an Independent
Photo: Former PC MLAs Richard Starke (left) and Rick Fraser (right) at the 2016 Calgary Pride Parade (Photo from Facebook). The recently formed United Conservative Party may be leading in the polls but the party is looking a lot less united. One of the party’s 28 MLAs, Calgary-South East MLA Rick
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: UCP merger kickstarts another summer of politics in Alberta
Photo: Wildrose leader Brian Jean formally launches his campaign to lead the United Conservative Party (source: Facebook) It has been a busy week in Alberta politics, and it is only Tuesday. On Saturday, 95 percent of Wildrose and Progressive Conservative Party members who cast ballots voted in favour of amending
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Former PC leadership candidate Richard Starke to UCP Mothership: A PC I was elected and a PC I’ll remain!
Photos: Vermilion-Lloydminster Progressive Conservative PC MLA and former Tory cabinet minister Richard Starke. (Photo from Dr. Starke’s Facebook page.) Below: Alberta conservative rivals and temporary co-leaders, Brian Jean and Jason Kenney (Photos: CBC); Wildrose House Leader and interim United Conservative Party Leader Nathan Cooper (Photo: Wikimedia Commons). Richard Starke, it
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Wildrose and PC party members alike vote 95% in favour of Alberta conservative merger
PHOTOS: Wildrose Leader Brian Jean, who says he will resign as Alberta Opposition leader to pursue the leadership of the United Conservative Party, creation of which endorsed by members of the Wildrose Party and the Progressive Conservative in a merger vote yesterday. Below: PC Leader Jason Kenney, who hasn’t yet
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Wildrose-PC merger a big deal, but not a silver bullet for 2019
Albertans will find out on July 22 whether members of the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties have voted to amend their party constitutions in order to abandon their existing parties and form a new party named the United Conservative Party. For the vote to pass, it will need the support
Continue reading