stephen harper ← Progressive Bloggers // Blogues progressistes

Alberta Politics: Alberta is not Texas North, Canada is not Kazakhstan, and Kinder Morgan’s big brains in Houston must’ve known it

Apr

23

2018

There are a few Albertans who happily imagine this place is Texas North. Alas for those who do, and notwithstanding the media stereotypists who encourage this nonsense, we are as Canadian around here as folks in any other Western province. Maybe more so, since so many people from other parts of Canada keep moving here. ...

Alberta Politics: Tory canoe and Trudeau too* – Liberals take advantage of Jason Kenney’s “Canada is broken” Tweet

Apr

22

2018

Alberta Opposition Leader Jason Kennedy’s now famous “Canada is broken” Tweet a week ago may turn out to have been the symbolic starting point of the 2019 federal election campaign. Canada is broken. https://t.co/7tVwbAKPmc — Jason Kenney (@jkenney) April 15, 2018 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his federal Liberals were quick to jump on the ...

Montreal Simon: Doug Ford and the Harper Gang

Apr

18

2018

Well Doug Ford has his bus, he's on the road, and he's now channelling Donald Trump, as only an ape could.And vowing to go after Kathleen Wynne as Trump went after Hillary Clinton. So don't be surprised if the mob he calls the "Ford Nation" starts chanting "lock her up, lock her up," at one of his ...

Alberta Politics: All’s fair in politics and the oil business, but the claim Canada’s facing a constitutional crisis is just politics

Apr

16

2018

The fact the federal and Alberta governments were unable yesterday to reach an agreement with British Columbia on proceeding with the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project does not mean Canada is facing a constitutional crisis. However, it doesn’t preclude one happening eventually. Nevertheless, it’s important to state this clearly because in the next few hours ...

daveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Sunday Night Candidate Nomination Update

Apr

15

2018

Photo: Shelly Shannon, Kathleen Ganley, Christina Gray, and Beth Barberree The New Democratic Party has scheduled its nomination meeting in Fort McMurray-Conklin for May 10, 2018. A by-election is needed in this district following the resignation of United Conservative Party MLA Brian Jean. Wood Buffalo municipal councillor Jane Stroud is expected to seek the NDP nomination. ...

Montreal Simon: The Scheer Trumplings and the Social Media War

Apr

12

2018

During the last election campaign I used to have fun portraying Stephen Harper under assault by our superior social media.And that superiority helped us bring down the Harper regime, by exposing their lies, helping to get out the vote, and by humiliating Great Closet Leader over and over again. I loved it, there's nothing I like ...

Montreal Simon: The Ghastly Return of Stephen Harper

Apr

11

2018

I know this may be hard to believe, but after attacking Stephen Harper almost every day for almost ten years, my memories of him and his grim decade of darkness had started to fade.And I almost felt sorry for him. After all I said to myself, he's not the Great Leader he once was. People ...

Alberta Politics: The two faces of Jason … how’s managing simultaneous provincial & federal political campaigns going for Janus Kenney?

Mar

30

2018

PHOTOS: Alberta Opposition leader Jason Kenney at a recent get-together with his former boss, Stephen Harper (Photo: Grabbed from Mr. Kenney’s Facebook page). And guess who Mr. Kenney was attacking on his Facebook page last night? See below. Also below: Sir Charles Tupper and Calgary NDP MLA Graham Sucha. Jason Kenney is a highly unusual ...

Alberta Politics: Message to Alberta’s chattering classes: Quit misinterpreting ‘the rule of law,’ already!

Mar

28

2018

PHOTOS: Protesters opposed to the Kinder Morgan Inc. Pipeline expansion megaproject in Burnaby, B.C., in May 2016 (Photo: Marlin Olynyk, Survival Media Agency, Creative Commons). They pose no threat to the rule of law. Below: Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May, United Conservative Party Agriculture Critic Rick Strankman, environmentalist Mike Hudema, Alberta Premier Rachel ...

Alberta Politics: Conservative antics let PM Justin Trudeau off the hook for India debacle and show why Andrew Scheer is not fit to govern

Mar

26

2018

PHOTOS: What Canadians will soon see in their minds when they think of Conservative Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer (Photo: Andrew Scheer’s Flickr stream). Below: The actual grown up Mr. Scheer (Photo: Andre Forget, Andrew Scheer’s Flickr stream), Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper (Photo: Wikimedia Commons), and federal NDP Leader ...

Alberta Politics: Rachel Notley and Jason Kenney find common ground, sort of … on dubious pipeline posturing

Mar

12

2018

PHOTOS: Kinder Morgan Inc.’s Trans Mountain Pipeline. (Photo: Handout from Kinder Morgan Canada.) Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Alberta Opposition Leader Jason Kenney, U of A economist Andrew Leach, and British Columbia Premier John Horgan. I guess we can understand why Jason Kenney acts like Alberta has all the powers of a sovereign nation. After all, ...

Alberta Politics: Unity at all costs? Ontario PC choice of Doug Ford as leader shows need for principled conservative division

Mar

11

2018

PHOTOS: Doug Ford in 2014 (Photo: Bruce Reeve, Creative Commons). Below: Toronto’s calamitous mayor Rob Ford, who died in 2016; second-place Ontario PC candidate Christine Elliott, who has not yet conceded the victory to Doug Ford; Alberta Opposition Leader Jason Kenney; and U.S. President Donald Trump. (Photos: All from the Wikimedia Commons but for the ...

Alberta Politics: Alberta’s NDP borrowed more than export-cut threats from Peter Lougheed for yesterday’s Throne Speech

Mar

9

2018

PHOTOS: Premier Rachel Notley speaks with well wishers in the Alberta Legislature Rotunda yesterday after her government’s Speech from the Throne was read by Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell. Below: Finance Minister Joe Ceci, Ms. Mitchell and Premier Peter Lougheed, back in the day. (Mitchell and Lougheed photos: Government of Alberta.) Understandably given the nature of ...

Montreal Simon: Michelle Rempel and the YouTube Bully Channel

Mar

4

2018

We don't hear much from Michelle Rempel these days. Ever since her political sugar daddy Stephen Harper faded to black, or blue, her paint has been peeling off too.And she's not happy.Once she was a rising star, or at least that's what the Con media said. And she was in the news all the timeBut these days she ...

Alberta Politics: UCP leader says he’s opposed to more safe-drug-consumption clinics – but what does he favour to address opioid crisis?

Mar

4

2018

PHOTOS: United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney in a typical pose. He said in Lethbridge last week he’s opposed to harm-reduction efforts like supervised injection sites to deal with the opioid crisis. But what does he support? Below: Mr. Kenney’s brother David Kenney (Photo: Once posted on LinkedIn); NDP Banff-Cochrane MLA Cameron Westhead; and former ...

Alberta Politics: Trudeau in India, Part II: Canadian governments, and not just Liberals, have a history of playing footsie with bad actors

Feb

26

2018

PHOTOS: A screenshot of what looks like a video of the controversial snapshot of Jaspal Atwal and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, grabbed from Twitter. The ownership of the photo is attributed variously, usually to the last place someone saw it. What does seem clear is that Mr. Atwal was almost as assiduous about having his photo ...

Alberta Politics: Trudeau in India, Part I: PM’s family goes full Bollywood; Conservatives freak out; some alterations suggested

Feb

25

2018

PHOTOS: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and their children visit the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, India, during Mr. Trudeau’s official visit to that country. Below: Mr. Trudeau, resplendent in gold and making it work. Below him, his late father, prime minister Pierre Trudeau, doing his famous pirouette, although not the one ...

Alberta Politics: In case you missed it … Conservatives are in the news, making sure today’s bad ideas are tomorrow’s horrible reality! For you!

Feb

22

2018

PHOTOS: Former Canadian Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, now leader of the Conintern. (Photo: Remy Steinegger, Wikimedia Commons.) Below: Margaret Thatcher, just another moderate leader of the “centre right.” Dig those pointy collars! Mr. Harper’s former lieutenant Jason Kenney, who is now the leader of Alberta’s “centre right.” Stephen Harper was chosen yesterday as leader ...

Alberta Politics: OK, maybe B.C. has a case against Alberta’s wine embargo … but so what?

Feb

21

2018

PHOTOS: Well! Now we’re trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored! (Photo: Asociación De Vecinos “virgen Coronada,” Creative Commons.) Below: Alberta Trade Minister Deron Bilous and his British Columbia counterpart, Bruce Ralston. It certainly seems like British Columbia has a strong case against Alberta’s wine embargo before a Canada Free Trade ...

Alberta Politics: Is the decade-long Brian Mulroney rehabilitation project finally paying off … for his daughter?

Feb

11

2018

PHOTOS: Caroline Mulroney (Photo: Wikimedia Commons). Below: Former Canadian Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney in his heyday (Photo: Wikimedia Commons), lobbyist Robin Sears, conservative godfather Preston Manning, and Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne. It’s now been more than a decade since Stephen Harper ordered all members of his government’s Parliamentary caucus to sever their ties ...

Montreal Simon: The Incredible Hypocrisy of Andrew Scheer’s Grubby Cons

Feb

8

2018

Yesterday I wondered whether Andrew Scheer was losing his marbles, or whether he was just acting like a shabby Con artist again.And I'm afraid the answer is he's both crazy AND shameless.For he will not give up his never-ending assault on what he calls Justin Trudeau's "illegal vacation."And now he has a new angle, and it couldn't ...

Montreal Simon: Are the Scheer Cons Now More Popular Than The Liberals?

Feb

5

2018

When I checked to see what Andrew Scheer was doing this weekend, I saw that he was at the Winter Carnival in Quebec City.No doubt trying to hold on to the small and shrinking number of seats the Cons have in that province.Which won't be easy, because most Quebecers strongly support Justin Trudeau, and they need ...

Montreal Simon: Andrew Scheer and the Harper PMO Scandal

Feb

3

2018

Ever since he became leader Andrew Scheer has been able to avoid the ghastly legacy of Stephen Harper and his Con regime.The leader and the regime he served so faithfully.But now Harper is suddenly back, and so is a scandal that could blow the Cons apart.Read more »

Montreal Simon: The Awesome Courage and Class of Justin Trudeau

Feb

3

2018

When I saw this picture of Justin Trudeau preparing to face a town hall in Edmonton the other day, I wondered how it must feel to go where no Prime Minister has gone before.And I was impressed by his courage, for it takes guts to face a crowd like that in a country with so ...

Alberta Politics: Groundhog Day 2018: Liberty Conservative ‘Didsbury Derek’ dispatched into deepest darkness

Feb

3

2018

PHOTOS: Derek Fildebrandt as he hoped to be perceived when he went hunting in rural Alberta (photo grabbed from his Facebook account). It didn’t work out as planned. Below: Mr. Fildebrandt as he appeared around the Alberta Legislature, United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, and former UCP Caucus member Don MacIntyre (Photo: David Dodge, Green ...