stephen harper ← Progressive Bloggers // Blogues progressistes

Alberta Politics: Corporate media have reached consensus about Andrew Scheer: He’s Stephen Harper with a human face!

May

29

2017

PHOTOS: Andrew Scheer, demonstrating his vaunted smile. (Photo: Rabble.ca.) This fills corporate media with hope. It shouldn’t. In Canada, with or without a smile, social conservatism is ballot-box poison. Below: former prime minister Stephen Harper, who really doesn’t have a very nice smile at all. Below him, former PM Joe Clark and serving PM Justin ...

Accidental Deliberations: On changing opposition

May

28

2017

While there will be plenty more to discuss about how the Conservatives’ choice of Andrew Scheer as their new leader, I’ll offer a few preliminary thoughts now – starting with a warning about knee-jerk reactions. We shouldn’t presume that Scheer’s apparent lack of current definition will last long: the Libs are obviously wasting no time ...

Montreal Simon: Nigel Wright and the Con Scandal That Won’t Die

May

26

2017

The timing couldn't have been more embarrassing for the Cons. On Saturday they will choose a new leader, and Rona Ambrose is still desperately trying to whip up interest in the event… The big day is almost here – on Saturday we're going to find out who Canada's next Prime Minister will be! #cpcldr pic.twitter.com/AxQDlO8h4S — Rona ...

Alberta Politics: ‘Foreign influence’ had nothing to do with Tory Joan Crockatt’s Calgary Centre election defeat in 2015

May

24

2017

PHOTOS: Joan Crockatt, during her brief spell as Conservative Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre. Below: Liberal Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr, who beat Ms. Crockatt in 2015; environmentalist Chris Turner who ran against her for the Greens in 2012 and did very well; and environmentalist Harvey Locke, who ran against her for the Liberals ...

daveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: No, reforming Alberta’s Labour Laws will not kill democracy.

May

23

2017

It won’t come as a surprise to many political watchers in Alberta that the most vocal critics of the NDP government’s yet to be announced reforms to Alberta’s outdated labour laws have strong ties to the province’s Conservative establishment. “Keep Alberta Working” is a campaign of the “Alberta Growth Initiative,” which is a coalition of the Alberta Hotel ...

Alberta Politics: There’s no life like it! Alberta’s right-wing troll army is recruiting

May

23

2017

ILLUSTRATIONS: Poster thanks to the U.S. Army, circa 1941-42 or whenever they finally got around to joining the fight, with a little help from PhotoShop. Below: Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi – is he the target of the Troll Army’s latest Alberta campaign? The ad in question. Alberta’s right-wing Troll Army is recruiting! There’s no life ...

Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links

May

17

2017

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Binyamin Appelbaum highlights the strong consensus view that Donald Trump’s planned tax giveaways to the rich will do nothing for overall economic development. And John Buell points out that Trump’s plan for privatized infrastructure – much like Justin Trudeau’s – will serve only to enrich and empower corporations ...

Alberta Politics: Worthwhile Canadian initiative … Rona Ambrose said to be departing politics to help out the Wilson Centre

May

16

2017

PHOTOS: Outgoing interim federal Opposition Leader Rona Ambrose listens seriously to someone in this Government of Canada shot found lingering on the Internet. Below: Ms. Ambrose and her domestic partner, J.P. Veitch, grabbed from her Facebook page, and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, plucked from the author’s vast collection of political mugshots. Well, that’s no fun! ...

Alberta Politics: It’s weird to see Alberta’s Wildrose Party paying tribute to (Pierre) Trudeau’s National Energy Program … but what the heck!

May

9

2017

PHOTOS: Prime minister Pierre Trudeau, at right, and Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed looking friendly enough in this file shot taken back in the 1980s. Below: Wildrose Economic Development Critic Prasad Panda and former Manitoba (shhhhhh … NDP) premier Gary Doer. VICTORIA, B.C. While we await the results of today’s British Columbia election, I’ve got news ...

Alberta Politics: Russia seeks international arrest warrant for former Ukraine PM, reported to now hold Canadian citizenship

May

1

2017

PHOTOS: Arseniy Yatsenyuk, former prime minister of Ukraine, with then Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper in July 2015. (Screen capture of CBC news broadcast.) Below: Alberta Conservative Leader Jason Kenney, federal Conservative leadership candidate Chris Alexander (Wikimedia Commons) and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, all of whom figure in this story. Earlier this spring, a ...

Alberta Politics: Missing Jason Kenney surfaces, safe and sound, speaking up for Christy Clark at chichi Vancouver steak house

Apr

30

2017

PHOTOS: Alberta Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney, from the days no so long ago he could still be found in in this province. Below, from various Twitter photos: Vancouver journalist Bob Mackin, “Liberal” B.C. Premier Christy Clark, and Conservative federal leadership candidate Andrew Scheer. Got questions for the elusive Jason Kenney? Look no further than ...

Alberta Politics: Here we go again: Opacity not transparency characterizes Alberta’s right-wing merger talks

Apr

24

2017

PHOTOS: Wildrose Opposition Leader Brian Jean and Progressive Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney uncomfortably shake hands in this obviously staged photo in what appears to be Mr. Jean’s office. (Wildrose Party photo.) Below: Tanis Fiss, chair of the insider committee working behind closed doors to unite the two parties (from LinkedIn), and Preston Manning of ...

Alberta Politics: Two by-elections, three probes, and plenty more: All the Alberta political news that’s fit to print

Apr

4

2017

PHOTO: The decision desk at AlbertaPolitics.ca calls it for Conservative candidates Bob Benzen and Stephanie Kusie in two Calgary by-elections yesterday. Actual Alberta political bloggers may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Mr. Benzen and Ms. Kusie, former Conservative premier Alison Redford, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Wildrose Opposition Leader Brian Jean. Conservatives motor to ...

Alberta Politics: Jason Kenney and the GSA reverse-tip-line brouhaha: Is this conservative turning into the Anita Bryant of Canada?

Apr

3

2017

PHOTOS: Is Jason Kenney turning into Canada’s Anita Bryant? Actual Canadian politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons.) Below: The real Jason Kenney, and singer-songwriters k.d. lang and Boy George. Is Jason Kenney turning into the Anita Bryant of Canada? If you’re of a certain age, you won’t be able to forget ...

Alberta Politics: Guest Post: With friends like these … Jason Kenney’s biggest challenge may come from his political allies

Mar

21

2017

PHOTOS: Jason Kenney at the centre of a media scrum a few days before his victory in the Progressive Conservative Party leadership race. Expect to see him in this situation a lot more often now, even though he holds no formal elected political office. Below: Post author Chanchal Bhattacharya, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and the ...

The Canadian Progressive: Stephen Harper says “big multilateral trade deals are dead”

Mar

19

2017

If you can believe it, former prime minister Stephen Harper wants you to know that the future of mega multilateral trade deals such as the doomed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is uncertain. The post Stephen Harper says “big multilateral trade deals are dead” appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.

Alberta Politics: It’s springtime for Kenney in Wildrose country as Alberta bids farewell to progressive conservatism

Mar

19

2017

PHOTOS: Jason Kenney salutes his supporters after winning the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party on the first ballot yesterday. (Screenshot.) Below: Richard Starke, the Vermilion veterinarian who was Mr. Kenney’s main rival, although not much of one in the event; Opposition Wildrose leader Brian Jean; and Peter Lougheed, PC premier from 1971 to 1985, ...

Alberta Politics: When the celebrated Mr. K. performs his feat on Saturday … what will Brian Jean do?

Mar

15

2017

PHOTOS: Wildrose Leader Brian Jean. Below: Progressive Conservative leader-presumptive Jason Kenney, former PC leadership candidate turned NDP MLA Sandra Jansen, NDP Finance Minister Joe Ceci and a very large sewer rat, political affiliation unknown. Could Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean beat Progressive Conservative leader-presumptive Jason Kenney for the leadership of Wildrose 2.0, or whatever the ...

Alberta Politics: The Trump-like hallmark of Jason Kenney’s campaign: Its singular lack of ideas

Mar

7

2017

PHOTOS: Jason Kenney crashing the Throne Speech party at the Legislature last week. Below: U.S. President Donald Trump; the late Ralph Klein, premier of Alberta; Rachel Notley, the present premier of Alberta; and political commentator Ricardo Acuna. Jason Kenny, the social conservative social media enthusiast who will almost certainly become leader of the Progressive Conservative ...

Alberta Politics: Two polls and three by-elections signal an interesting spell in Alberta politics ahead

Feb

23

2017

PHOTOS: No love lost for pipelines in B.C. – and all of a sudden that could have an impact on politics in Alberta (Rabble.ca photo). Below: Mainstreet research President Quito Maggi, B.C. Liberal Premier Christy Clark and Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley. Two polls were published this week by Mainstreet Research – one on the ...

Alberta Politics: Are non-Albertans who FRWN on progress behind many of the online threats against Premier Rachel Notley?

Feb

20

2017

PHOTOS: Part of the uninspiring, sometimes troubling, field of Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidates. Their names? Frankly, it’s too much work to note them all down (CBC photo). Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former prime minister Stephen Harper (CBC). Is a disengaged and demoralized ...

Alberta Politics: It won’t hurt NDP for centrist voters to understand how close Rachel Notley’s energy policy is to Jim Prentice’s proposals

Feb

18

2017

PHOTOS: Jim Prentice during his time as premier of Alberta. Below: Premier Rachel Notley, Prentice co-author Jean-Sébastian Rioux (Twitter), and journalist Jason Markusoff (Twitter). The revelation that the moderate and thoughtful energy policy proposed by the late Jim Prentice soon after he left politics in 2015 was very similar to Premier Rachel Notley’s is likely ...

Montreal Simon: The Sad Fate of the Bigot Harper Party

Feb

17

2017

This is how the Cons would like us to imagine them. As the kind of party that would send out a Valentine card like that one.Inviting us to bee their friends.But of course, the Cons and the truth don't go as well together as honey and peanut butter.And this is who they really are.Read more ...

Alberta Politics: Canada’s Conservative Party, a once-great national organization, is being overwhelmed by its own extremists

Feb

17

2017

PHOTOS: Federal Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi, a hard-working and talented former Edmonton Transit bus driver. Below: Alberta Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason, a hard-working and talented former Edmonton Transit bus driver. Mr. Sohi, a Liberal, and Mr. Mason, a New Democrat, are both used to cheap conservative shots about their former job. Also, federal Heritage Minister ...

Susan on the Soapbox: How to Get Rid of an Autocrat

Feb

12

2017

Donald Trump isn’t the first Western politician to attack the judiciary, muzzle scientists, erode evidence-based decision making by making up alternate facts, disenfranchise voters, create two-tiered citizenship, push a corporate agenda, insult the very government leaders he needs to help him achieve his vision, and wage a divisive Islamophobic campaign to shore up core support. ...