A United Conservative Party backbencher caught up in the Alohagate pandemic travel scandal in the first hours of 2021 and seldom seen in his own riding has acknowledged reality and announced his political career is done like dinner. Danielle Larivee, the NDP nominee in the Lesser Slave Lake riding, which
Continue readingTag: United Conservative Party
Alberta Politics: Ah, Imprecision! Carry On, Prosecutors! Danielle Smith takes it all back in clarification
As predicted in this space yesterday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has now clarified her statement of the day before about contacting Crown prosecutors “on a regular basis” to ask if they thought COVID-related public health prosecutions were in the public interest and if they had a chance of resulting in
Continue readingAlberta Politics: From the folks who brought you sovereignty within a united Canada, ‘just transition’ is a divisive, polarizing term!
Sonya Savage is an intelligent woman with an impressive resume in government, the legal profession, and the energy industry. Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson (Photo: JonathanWilkinson.ca). So presumably Alberta’s environment minister understands just how bonkers it makes her sound to be heard saying publicly that “just transition” is a
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta NDP’s $7.1-million fund-raising total in 2022 speaks to deep dissatisfaction among many voters with Premier Danielle Smith and the UCP
It is remarkable by any measure that the Alberta New Democratic Party raised $7.1 million in 2022, not to mention that $3.2 million of that sum was donated during the fourth quarter, and more than a quarter million dollars on the last night of the year. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Alberta political story of 2022 was the decline, fall, irrelevance and virtual disappearance of Jason Kenney
Looking back over the Alberta political stories of 2022, one theme dominates all others: the fall of Jason Kenney. What may have been Mr. Kenney’s worst moment of 2022, the self-serve nozzle stuck in his truck and without a clue how to get it out (Photo: Screenshot of Facebook video).
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Never mind what Danielle Smith promises, here are the Top Ten Things that WON’T happen in Alberta politics in 2023
It is traditional at this time for year for prophets, prognosticators and political pundits to make predictions about what dramatic events the coming year will hold. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith made a lot of promises to become leader of the United Conservative Party and, as a result, premier of Alberta.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Political risk? Unhappy school boards? UCP unexpectedly turns against P3s to build new schools
It’s no secret that P3s – so-called public-private partnerships – are at best a lousy public investment and at worst a disaster for citizens and taxpayers. Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney promised to aggressively pursue P3s (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Still, they’re a great way for governments to subsidize big businesses
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Danielle Smith runs the idea of an Alberta pension plan referendum in May up the flagpole – then yanks it halfway down again
From time to time, Calgary Herald columnist Rick Bell has been used by Alberta Conservatives to float their trial balloons. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). So when Mr. Bell reported yesterday morning that Premier Danielle Smith was thinking about holding a referendum on whether Alberta should dump the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Tracy Allard, pushed from cabinet in 2021 for a Hawaiian pandemic holiday, welcomed back as ‘parliamentary secretary for civil liberties’
When then municipal affairs minister Tracy Allard was busted by media when she returned from a mid-pandemic Hawaiian vacation at the end 2020, it was billed the first United Conservative Party scandal of 2021. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Now that it’s been revealed Ms. Allard was covertly appointed
Continue readingAlberta Politics: In only 64 days, Danielle Smith blew the relationship Jason Kenney strove to build with Alberta First Nations to smithereens
Say what you will about Jason Kenney and his ideas, he made progress on persuading First Nations communities to buy into his vision of Alberta’s future. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has blown her predecessor’s relationship with Alberta’s First Nations to smithereens (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Danielle Smith blew it all to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta: Doing everything in its power to protect ‘law abiding’ gun owners from having to obey the law!
Welcome to Alberta where you can now be a law-abiding citizen while defying the law! Says who? Says Tyler Shandro, minister of justice, who announced yesterday that the province will be taking over handling charges under the federal Firearms Act so people who violate the act but who our United
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Limiting debate, UCP rams through ‘Sovereignty Act in the wee hours of yesterday morning
Danielle Smith’s obedient United Conservative Party Caucus rammed through the premier’s so-called Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act in the wee hours of yesterday morning. Opposition Leader Rachel Notley called for the Sovereignty Act to be referred immediately to the Alberta Court of Appeal (Photo: Legislative Assembly of Alberta).
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Opposition NDP won’t allow itself to get sucked into the UCP’s desperate effort to fix the unfixable ASWAUCA
Alberta’s New Democratic Party has refused to allow itself to get sucked into the vortex Government’s effort to fix its unfixable Sovereignty Act. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Nope, “this bill is beyond saving,” NDP Economic Development Critic Deron Bilous told a short and sparsely attended news conference
Continue readingAlberta Politics: ASWAUCA – the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act – is turning into a disaster for Danielle Smith and the UCP
With the thoughts that you’ll be thinkin’You could be another Lincolnif you only had a brain.— Scarecrow, The Wizard of Oz OTTAWA Could Danielle Smith have handled introduction of her “Sovereignty Act” better? Answer: Yes. Like the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, though, this would have required that she only had a brain. This
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Everything you always wanted to know about Jason Kenney’s departure from Alberta politics but were afraid to ask
OTTAWA Question: Now that Jason Kenney has taken to social media to announce he’s retiring from Alberta politics, how likely is it that Premier Danielle Smith will call a by-election in his Calgary-Lougheed riding? Surely a nice condo like this is waiting somewhere in Ottawa for Jason Kenney (Photo: Found
Continue readingAlberta Politics: How long before Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government tries to ban mask wearing in schools?
Serious question: How long before Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government tries to ban mask wearing in schools, period? Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flicker). After all, nothing triggers an anti-vaccine snowflake like the sight of an adult wearing a COVID mask, unless it’s the sight of a child wearing
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Danielle Smith’s TV message to Albertans was brief, often uninformative, and not very persuasive
Premier Danielle Smith’s nine-minute televised message to the people of Alberta last night, which at least had the virtue of brevity, could be divided into roughly four parts: 1. Inflation is Justin Trudeau’s fault, but here’s a bunch of money, so for God’s sake vote for me. 2. I’m going
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP fires AHS board, names sole administrator, promises big changes fast: No such thing will happen
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith delivered on her long-promised shakeup of Alberta Health Services yesterday, firing the 11 members of the province-wide agency’s Conservative-appointed board and naming John Cowell as its sole administrator. Progressive Conservative premier Alison Redford (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). Alert readers will recall that Dr. Cowell was appointed
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Don’t worry about contradictions in health minister’s mandate letter – those promises aren’t meant to be kept
Never mind “less is more.” Sometimes more is less. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Jake Wright/Manning Centre/Creative Commons). Consider Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s mandate letter to Health Minister Jason Copping. Having boxed herself during her campaign to lead the United Conservative Party, Ms. Smith had no choice but to promise
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s pitch to Calgary’s mayor about trains to the airport, trains to Banff, sounds lighter than hot air
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith yesterday sent a letter to Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek chattering excitedly about plans to expand Calgary’s light rail transit system to Calgary International Airport. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Jake Wright/Manning Centre/Creative Commons). She made sure it was posted to social media for all to see,
Continue reading