University of Alberta economist Andrew Leach joins the Daveberta Podcast for a rousing discussion about the Supreme Court of Canada’s big decision about the federal carbon tax, the politics of climate change in Canada, and what Alberta’s next oil boom might look like. The Daveberta Podcast is hosted by Dave Cournoyer and
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Susan on the Soapbox: The Bigfoot Blog
“Here’s a Hollywood production that depicts an oil company … as wanting to murder children to oppose environmental progress…The NDP, that’s who they’re defending…They’ve always been against our largest industry.” – Jason Kenney doubling down on the War Room’s anti-Bigfoot campaign Sigh. Here we are, bracing for the third wave
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Pretty much a dud, but still alive, Alberta’s ‘Energy War Room’ stumbles along after a year
Alberta’s “Energy War Room” was a year old yesterday and while the cash lavished on the self-described purveyor of a “fact-based narrative about Canadian energy” isn’t the worst investment ever made, or even the worst investment made by the Kenney Government, its return on investment is nothing to write home
Continue readingAlberta Politics: War Room will return, vows energy minister Sonya Savage, after government slashes propaganda unit’s budget for three months
Is it possible the United Conservative Party has a conscience? I know, I know, this seems highly unlikely. Even if it were true, like the Grinch’s heart, it’s bound to be a shriveled organ, at least two sizes too small. Canadian Energy Centre Ltd. Managing Director Tom Olsen (Photo: David
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Never mind the gong show! The War Room will war on, vows Energy Minister Sonya Savage
Political commentators and professional gag writers breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when they learned from Energy Minister and Canadian Energy Centre Ltd. Director Sonya Savage that Alberta’s “Energy War Room” will live to fight another day for oil. Ms. Savage told reporters at an impromptu news conference in Calgary
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta War Room finally lets loose a salvo … then hastily retreats
For a moment yesterday, it almost seemed as if Alberta’s $30-million-a-year Energy War Room was finally going to live up to its pugnacious nickname and make war on the “enemies of Alberta” and their campaign of “lies and disinformation” about the cleanest, most rule-of-law-abiding, most democratic oil in the whole
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Foresight is 2020: It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without a Top Ten List of political predictions
This year, foresight is 2020! It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without AlbertaPolitics.ca’s Top Ten Political Predictions for 2020, so your blogger will gaze into his crystal ball one more time and tell you what’s up next. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). No one seems to have
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Energy War Room’s crack team isn’t exactly ‘cookin’ with gas’
Should we be worried about operatives employed by the Alberta Government’s public-private Energy War Room masquerading as journalists? Of course we should. But it’s also OK to be amused by the astonishing ineptitude with which they’re going about the task. As King Solomon is said to have observed, pride goeth
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Annals of the Energy War Room: Square-pipeline logo to be dumped like a bad first date
The Alberta Energy War Room’s logo will be unceremoniously dumped like a bad first date. It turns out the iconic square-pipeline symbol that was supposedly rustled up just for Canadian Energy Centre Ltd., as the War Room is officially known, was already in service as the corporate logo of a
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Rebranded ‘War Room’ aims for ‘measured tone’ in riposte to acerbic Medicine Hat News column, doesn’t quite succeed
All the Alberta Government’s rebranded Energy War Room is trying to do, pleaded Managing Director Tom Olsen yesterday in his much anticipated riposte to an acerbic column last week in the Medicine Hat News, is to bring a little civility to the debate about whether or not foreign-funded enviro-propagandists are
Continue readingAlberta Politics: No more pipelines? Another day, another UCP talking point exposed as codswallop
Another day, another Alberta Government talking point exposed as codswallop. Yesterday, we compared and contrasted what the United Conservative Party Government used to say about the former NDP government’s carbon tax with reality. Viz., it was destroying the economy (UCP), versus, it effectively had no negative impact on the Alberta
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The ‘War Room’ finally launches: $30-million and all we got was this lousy website?
The mighty voice of Alberta’s beleaguered oil industry, the long promised and much-touted $30-million “Energy War Room,” stumbled out of the starting gate yesterday after a news conference in Calgary graced by the presence of Premier Jason Kenney and Energy Minister Sonya Savage. At least, as the self-described purveyor of
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 44: Live from the Parkland Institute Conference: Truth, the First Casualty? War Rooms and Rumours of War Rooms
Daveberta Podcast host Dave Cournoyer teamed up with AlbertaPolitics.ca writer David Climenhaga at the annual Parkland Institute Conference at the University of Alberta last weekend to share what we know and what we speculate might happen with the Canadian Energy Centre Ltd. (a.k.a. the War Room) and the Public Inquiry
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Greta Thunberg heads for Wild Rose Country: first chance for the UCP’s War Roomers to mess up big time!
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist who seems to have turned the world upside down by mobilizing young people to do something about global climate change, tweeted last night that she is on her way to Alberta. At this is written, while there was lots of excited chatter on social
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Tom Olsen and the Wreckage: Jason Kenney’s ‘War Room’ is going to need more than just hurtin’ songs!
Former journalist Tom Olsen, for much of the past decade a self employed PR man who rarely strayed far from the gravitational field of Conservative power in Alberta, was named yesterday by Energy Minister Sonya Savage as the successful candidate to lead the United Conservative Party’s “War Room.” Perhaps Mr.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Tom Olsen beats Megan McCaffrey in Calgary-Buffalo UCP nomination, Liberal David Khan to run in Mountain View
Photo: Tom Olsen and Ric McIver (source: Facebook) Lobbyist Tom Olsen surprised many political watchers last weekend when he defeated Megan McCaffery in the United Conservative Party nomination contest in Calgary-Buffalo. McCaffery, who has strong ties with the Manning Centre and had the endorsement of 9 UCP MLAs, was believed to
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Friday Night Candidate Nomination Update
Photo: Karen Principe, Janis Irwin, Michaela Glasgo, and Deepak Sharma. Here are some of the latest updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of the 2019 Alberta provincial general election: Brooks-Medicine Hat – Michaela Glasgo defeated Dinah Hiebert to win the United Conservative Party nomination following the disqualification of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The United Conservative campaign strategy after Red Deer: Tom Olsen and the Wreckage offer hints
I think I’ve figured out the United Conservative Party election strategy for 2019. In light of the embarrassingly revealing policy resolutions passed at the UCP’s founding convention in Red Deer over the weekend and the party leadership’s subsequent effort at damage control, not to mention the emerging behaviour of candidates
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Candidate Nomination Update: Innisfail-Sylvan Lake by-election and more
Photo: Tom Olsen, Michaela Glasgo, Thana Boonlert, and Nathan Cooper With almost one year left until the next provincial election is expected to be called, potential candidates are continuing to step up to run for party nominations. While some New Democratic Party MLAs have announced their intentions to seek re-election,
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