The Criminal Code may come under federal jurisdiction, but the Kenney Government wants the substantial number of “law-abiding gun owners” in its base to know every now and then that it still cares about them. Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino (Photo: Parliament of Canada). Now would be one of
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Alberta Politics: It’s been a remarkably bad few days for former Alberta justice minister found guilty of contempt of court
It’s been a remarkably bad few days for Jonathan Denis, once Alberta’s justice minister and attorney general and nowadays a fixture in provincial and federal Conservative circles here in Wild Rose Country. Dr. Anny Sauvageau (Photo: CBC). Mr. Denis was found guilty of criminal contempt by a Court of Queen’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta Premier Jason Kenney lays out his case to keep his job to small crowd of carefully curated supporters
If he is to survive politically, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney must thread a needle – appeasing enough of his United Conservative Party’s base to keep his job without frightening so much of the electorate he loses the next election. Mr. Kenney during his remarks (Photo: Screenshot of UCP video). That
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Don’t change horses in mid-stream! Rebellious UCP members get dire warning on eve of Jason Kenney’s leadership vote
This week, the campaign brain trust for Alberta’s beleaguered premier managed to find 19 old Tory MLAs willing to sign their names to an open letter begging United Conservative Party members not to vote to change horses in mid-stream.* The first question a lot of Albertans asked when the letter
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Alberta—the political province
Canada’s central and eastern provinces, with the exception of Quebec, are all governed by the same two parties that date from the time of Confederation—the Liberals and the Conservatives. The western provinces have been much more politically creative. Three of the four are governed by parties that didn’t exist at
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Impossible dreams: Former Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith says she’ll seek UCP leadership if Jason Kenney loses party vote
She’s baaaack! Apparently Danielle Smith – the other former leader of the Wildrose Party – has made it official that she intends to make a run to lead the United Conservative Party. Danielle Smith in 2008 on the day she announced she was running to lead the Wildrose Party (Photo:
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Premier Kenney—conservative saviour?
The premier of Alberta has a mission, one that goes beyond leading the UCP and running the province. He must save his party from lunatics. At least according to a chat he had with his party’s caucus staff. He doesn’t need the jobs of party leader and premier, he told
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Controversy over sophomoric meme, admission police interviewed premier, distract from lame Axis of Inflation news conference
The adults definitely don’t seem to be in charge any more over in Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s office. It didn’t take very long after the slap heard ’round the world during last night’s televised Academy Awards presentation before a sophomoric meme about the dramatic moment appeared on Premier Kenney’s social
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Pundits pivot to theory UCP orchestrated leak to media of recording of Jason Kenney’s ‘lunatics’ speech to political staffers
Much of the Alberta commentariat pivoted Friday to the theory Premier Jason Kenney himself was behind the leak of a recording of his speech to political staffers in which he accused the right wing of his United Conservative Party of bigotry and lunacy. “I did not think that Kenney orchestrated
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Desperate times call for desperate measures: Kenney labels the UCP’s rightward fringe ‘lunatics,’ ‘kooky people’
In a secret pep talk to his troops Tuesday, revealed yesterday by the CBC, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he’s only sticking around as leader of the United Conservative Party to keep the “lunatics” from “trying to take over the asylum.” In May 2020, Mr. Kenney’s social media flying monkeys
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Calling UCP leadership review rule change illegal, unethical, and ‘a travesty,’ Jason Kenney’s rival Brian Jean vows legal response
Alberta’s United Conservative Party hasn’t even held the vote yet in its review of Premier Jason Kenney’s leadership and his chief rival is threatening legal action. Yesterday the party board, dominated by Mr. Kenney’s supporters, changed the rules for the April 9 leadership review vote to make it easier for
Continue readingAlberta Politics: United Conservative Party factions – Jason Kenney’s Mods and Brian Jean’s Rockers – square off over premier’s future
Are rival gangs of UCP Mods and Rockers* heading for Red Deer spoiling for a fight? If you thought the recent opposing demonstrations by outlaw truckers, most of whom don’t seem to own trucks, and local residents in Calgary’s Beltline neighbourhood were rough, imagine how ugly it could get if
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Stolen data: Respected pollster refuses to publish private poll to suit Kenney Government; UCP leaks it anyway
Janet Brown is an independent Alberta pollster with a solid track record for accurate polling, so when a couple of media reports appeared this week saying one of her recent polls showed the United Conservative Party leading the New Democratic Party, political observers paid attention. For one thing, other recent
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Brian Jean, Jason Kenney’s rival, wins Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche by-election in a walk for UCP; turnout was disgracefully low
No surprise, it was Brian Jean in a walk. The well-heeled local lad, former Conservative Member of Parliament and former leader of the Wildrose Party of Alberta didn’t even have to break into a sweat to capture an overwhelming majority of the votes for the United Conservative Party in yesterday’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Poll says almost everyone’s sick of Jason Kenney as he disqualifies UCP nomination candidates and more drama looms
Hard on the heels of new a poll indicating a majority of United Conservative Party voters want Jason Kenney gone, the premier was busy defending his decision to disqualify a couple of candidates tipped to beat pro-Kenney MLAs in a party nomination votes. Meanwhile, the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche by-election
Continue readingAlberta Politics: ‘Exceptional tuition increases’ to hammer University of Alberta students in 12 professional programs this fall
The first news stories about the “exceptional tuition increases” in 12 University of Alberta programs Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides has quietly approved are bound to focus on the startling percentages – 100 per cent or more in the case of a couple of programs. But what’s needed beyond that
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Citing soaring prices, but with eye to shielding retailers’ profits, UCP stops collecting 13-cent-per-litre provincial fuel tax
If the United Conservative Party Government was serious about protecting Albertans from soaring fuel prices, it could move to temporarily control the retail price of gasoline and diesel fuel. Big fuel retailers would scream bloody murder, and market fundamentalist think tanks would suffer the vapours, but there wouldn’t be much
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Unauthorized recording dramatically illustrates the deep rift in Alberta’s United Conservative Party
“Let’s be clear, this Premier is a bully. And the people around him are jerks. And they will come after you, and they’ll come after your family, and they will come after your business, and they will spread any secret or any lie that they can get on you.” The
Continue readingAlberta Politics: ‘Best Summer Ever’ again? Jason Kenney says ‘Alberta’s on a roll’ at newser announcing end to most COVID-19 mitigation measures
There was a familiar, frenetic vibe to Jason Kenney’s news conference in Red Deer yesterday, called to announce that happy days are here again because Alberta is dropping most of its remaining public health measures related to COVID-19. But the Alberta premier’s arm-waving enthusiasm and the car salesman’s frozen grin
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Job swap between justice and labour ministers illustrates shallow talent pool, low ethical bar in Jason Kenney’s government
Friday’s announcement of the job swap between Alberta’s justice and labour ministers illustrates just how shallow the talent pool of potential cabinet ministers still trusted by Premier Jason Kenney has become. It also shows how low the ethical bar now is for ministers in the United Conservative Party cabinet. Tyler
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