Danielle Smith, expected to win the United Conservative Party leadership race on Thursday, has neither the temperament nor the right ideology to lead a united party for long. Former Premier and NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). Her ideological views are too far from the mainstream not
Continue readingTag: United Conservative Party
Alberta Politics: Turn and face the strange, ch-ch-changes … Edmonton’s Federal Building and B.C.’s Liberals get new names
Yesterday, the provincially owned Federal Building adjacent to the Alberta Legislature in downtown Edmonton was officially renamed the Queen Elizabeth II Building. The notorious Sky Palace on the day in June 2021 when Jason Kenney and senior cabinet members were busted by an unknown photographer in a nearby office tower
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney’s long goodbye draws to a close – let the revision of history begin!
Now that he’s on the way out the door to a doubtless rewarding but ultimately unsatisfying career as a bit-player on multiple corporate boards, Jason Kenney is rewriting history. Brian Mulroney, another former Conservative first minister whose reputation’s required some polishing up (Photo: University of Toronto). He spent part of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Danielle Smith’s dead political career? It’s alive … with a vengeance! But what fresh disaster looms?
This week politically attentive Albertans began to realize that Danielle Smith really is likely to win the United Conservative Party leadership race and will soon be sworn in as premier of Alberta. Travis Toews, still in the game, but barely (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). If that gives you a bad feeling
Continue readingAlberta Politics: After years spent building Alberta Health Services, UCP leadership candidates talk decentralization
Still spinning fairy tales about Alberta Health Services’ leadership conspiring to sabotage the United Conservative Party government, leadership candidate Danielle Smith yesterday published a statement vowing to “decentralize control of health care delivery to local decision makers and health professionals.” UCP leadership frontrunner Danielle Smith, the former leader of the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: NDP Leader Rachel Notley vows to reverse UCP policies that reduced worker overtime and the youth minimum wage
Opposition Leader Rachel Notley vowed yesterday to reverse two United Conservative Party policies that reduced overtime payments for many working Albertans and lowered minimum wages for young people if the NDP forms government after the next election. Labour Minister Kaycee Madu, whose 186-word message on the government website marked Labour
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Doug Schweitzer quits, effective midnight last night, tosses hot potato to UCP
Calgary-Elbow UCP MLA Doug Schweitzer’s resignation became official at midnight last night. Former Clerk of the Legislature Rob Reynolds (Photo: Government of Alberta). By quitting now, with no explanation, the former justice minister and minister of jobs, economy and innovation has tossed a metaphorical hot potato to the UCP. A
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta is calling, again: Top-notch education at the U of A! (Never mind how we’re trying to bring it down a notch or two …)
The Alberta is Calling vanity advertising campaign featuring the voice of the province’s soon-to-be-retired premier continues to tout benefits for would-be newcomers to Alberta that Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party Government has striven to undermine. The Jason’s Calling vanity ad touting the University of Alberta (Image: Government of Alberta). This
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Inquiring minds want to know: What does Danielle Smith’s ‘Sovereignty Act’ actually say – or does it even exist?
Brian Jean, former Wildrose Party leader and candidate to lead the United Conservative Party, has a good question for Danielle Smith, former Wildrose Party leader and candidate to lead the United Conservative Party. Frontrunning UCP leadership candidate Danielle Smith (Photo: Facebook/Danielle Smith). What does your Alberta Sovereignty Act actually say?
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Essaygate: Why has no one demanded the resignation of Culture and Status of Women Minister Ron Orr?
As what has come to be known as the Essaygate Scandal unfolded, no one in Alberta seems to have thought to demand the resignation of Ron Orr, minister of culture and status of women in the United Conservative Party Government. Associate Status of Women Minister Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk (Photo: Fort Saskatchewan
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP leadership candidates’ cagey answers at forum sponsored by teachers’ union include promises to delay new curriculum
Hey! Never mind defunding the police. What about defunding public education? Complaining about a call by Public Interest Alberta to phase out funding for independent schools, Danielle Smith once asked: “How about we go the other way? Candidate Daniel Smith not so long ago during the time she worked as
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Her vision inspires … outrage! Fury greets UCP Government prize for essay that calls women best suited as vessels for babies
What were they thinking? If Alberta’s United Conservative Party were a normal Canadian political party, it wouldn’t necessarily have been a bad idea for someone to have the bright idea of asking young women between the ages of 17 and 25 to enter a contest in which there were asked
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Funding threatened by advanced education minister, battle over Athabasca University’s future continues
What’s up with Athabasca University, where Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides has threatened to cut off much of the 52-year-old Alberta institution’s funding if it won’t drop plans to move most of its operations into cyberspace from the rural town that serves as its nominal home base? Alberta Advanced Education
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Call it what you like, that $227,911 paid to Alberta’s chief medical officer of health wasn’t overtime
Just to be perfectly clear, Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health Deena Hinshaw’s $227,911 in “cash benefits” is not overtime and should not be called overtime. Former finance minister Travis Toews, now a candidate to lead the United Conservative Party (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Call it a cash bonus if you
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Why didn’t the UCP toot its own horn about COVID shots for toddlers? Because anti-vaxxers are calling the shots!
Starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to get your children under five years of age vaccinated against COVID-19. Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). This is good news by any measure, so you would have thought it was an excellent opportunity for a government looking for a new leader
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Rachel Notley rolls dice, risks joining UCP leadership candidates to attack Danielle Smith for cancer remark
New Democratic Party Opposition Leader Rachel Notley joined the trailing United Conservative Party leadership candidates yesterday in piling onto UCP frontrunner Danielle Smith for her remarks in a recent social media video that appeared to blame cancer victims for their condition. UCP leadership candidate Danielle Smith in her controversial July
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Who won last night’s United Conservative Party leadership debate? Rajan Sawhney
Let’s cut to the chase: Who won last night’s United Conservative Party leadership debate in Medicine Hat? Former NDP leader Brian Mason debating UCP frontrunner Danielle Smith, then Wildrose Party leader, back in 2013 (Photo: Daveberta.ca). Answer: Rajan Sawhney. Leastways, Ms. Sawhney did the best job of dismantling frontrunner Daniel
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The real question facing Albertans: Which woman should be premier – Rachel Notley, Rebecca Schulz, or Danielle Smith?
The woman who replaces Jason Kenney as premier and leads the United Conservative Party Government into the next Alberta provincial election needs to be mindful of the fact she won’t have a mandate to implement radical change before the next general election. Jason Kenney, in costume as usual, as he
Continue readingAlberta Politics: MLA Thomas Dang acknowledges reality, drops effort to rejoin NDP, says he won’t run again in Edmonton-South
Edmonton-South MLA Thomas Dang was doing no more than recognizing the reality that his political career is finished when he had a spokesperson send media a statement yesterday saying he will not be seeking re-election in the next general election. Mr. Dang more recently, in 2019 (Photo: David J. Climenhaga).
Continue readingAlberta Politics: European movie chain folds, wipes out shares, and AIMCo suffers a big loss – but how big?
Last week the Globe and Mail reported that a “debt restructuring” at the largest movie theatre chain in Europe would wipe out a huge investment made by the Alberta Investment Management Corp., which manages Alberta’s public sector investments. NDP Opposition Finance Critic Shannon Phillips (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). AIMCo, as
Continue reading