PHOTOS: The race is on and it looks like … “a dangerous leader.” (Old horseracing print with that title found on the Internet, artist unknown.) Below: Would-be United Conservative Party leaders Brian Jean, Jason Kenney, Doug Schweitzer and Derek Fildebrandt. Calling an effort to merge two large mammals into a
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daveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Another Season of Stampede Politicking in Calgary
Politicians of all stripes descended on Alberta’s largest city this week for the annual Calgary Stampede festivities. Though most of them have probably never ridden a horse or woke up at 5am (or earlier) to start their day on the farm, they were almost all brandishing big shiny belt buckles,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney’s Conservatives extend their registration deadline for unity vote
PHOTOS: Yo, Jason! Voting so easy, you can phone it in from the Okanagan! Or not. Below: Progressive Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney and PC Referendum Committee Chair Casey DesChamp (Photo: LinkedIn). Jason Kenney’s Progressive Conservative Party told members yesterday it has extended the deadline for members to register to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Annals of Conservative Unity: Typhoons, coups, force majeure and the idea of Alberta
PHOTOS: Force Majeure! The Wildrose Party executive committee, like the guys in this Jeep, has a plan. Actual Wildrosers confronting Acts of God may not appear exactly as illustrated. (Photo: Screenshot of Jeep advertisement.) Below: Would-be United Conservative Party leaders Brian Jean and Jason Kenney. Is the Wildrose Party’s Executive
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Report calling for big changes to Workers Compensation in Alberta is a step toward ending WCB’s ‘culture of denial’
PHOTOS: Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray. Below: Alberta Workers Compensation Board CEO Guy Kerr and the members of the WCB Panel, labour relations consultant Mia Norrie, labour lawyer John Carpenter, and Covenant Health labour relations consultant Pemme Cunliffe. Perhaps the two most symbolically important and potentially beneficial changes to Alberta’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Conservative politicians’ reaction to PM’s missing-Alberta gaffe suggests they suffer from world-class insecurity
PHOTOS: Are the hillbillies above what our conservative politicians want the rest of Canada to think of when they hear the word Alberta? They should just stop! Below: Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Robert Thivierge), Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean, and Alberta’s grownup premier, Rachel Notley.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Big Tobacco will be pleased as Derek Fildebrandt’s ‘liberty’ video assails restrictions on flavoured cigarettes
PHOTOS: Young smokers, circa 1910. Below: A screenshot of Wildrose Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt’s social media video, Mr. Fildebrandt himself, former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose marijuana-legalization strategy Mr. Fildebrandt appears to endorse. Wildrose Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt is continuing his party’s tradition of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Happy Canada Day! Nice to welcome a new NDP government, though some caveats may apply here in Alberta
PHOTOS: British Columbia’s NDP Premier-Designate John Horgan with your blogger, not so very long ago. Below: Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley, a Vancouver take on a Canada Day flag, and B.C. premier W.A.C. Bennett in his heyday. Happy Canada Day, people, and after more than 50 days of waiting to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Guest Post: Whither Alberta’s NDP in the face of extreme, desperate, chaotic right and resurgent ‘centre’?
PHOTOS: Contingents from the Centre Right, the Far Right and the Further Right mix it up in the Alberta Legislature’s commissary. Actual Alberta conservatives may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Guest post author Barret Weber, Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Wildrose Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Social Credit Party renamed the Alberta Pro-Life Political Association
The Alberta Social Credit Party is no more. Taken over by a group of anti-abortion activists in 2016, the party has officially changed its name to the Alberta Pro-Life Political Association. According to Elections Alberta, the name change became official on May 3, 2017. While the Social Credit Party has sat
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta Liberal David Khan’s call for election spending laws to include PACs strikes a chord
PHOTOS: Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan, who is worried about the activities of the province’s Political Action Committees. Former premier Ed Stelmach is visible behind him. Below: Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney, whose party’s activities are supported by PACs, and a United Farmers of Alberta gas station in Lacombe, grabbed
Continue readingAlberta Politics: With three right-wing political parties now possible instead of one, has Jason Kenney’s roll of the dice crapped out?
PHOTOS: Jason Kenney, as he may see himself, gets ready to roll the unite-the-right dice. Actual Alberta conservative politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated. (Photo: Publicity shot for Sky Full of Moon, 1952.) Below: The real Mr. Kenney, plus the real Katherine O’Neill, Greg Clark and Stephen Mandel. Snake
Continue readingAlberta Politics: It’s official: declarations of Cathy Heron and Cam MacKay mean there’ll be a real fight to be mayor of St. Albert this fall
PHOTOS: Cathy Heron announces her plan to run for mayor of St. Albert last night. Below: Mayoral candidate Cam MacKay, retiring Mayor Nolan Crouse, and Morinville Mayor Lisa Holmes. ST. ALBERT, Alberta City Councillor Cathy Heron announced Thursday evening she’ll be running for mayor of St. Albert. Ms. Heron’s widely
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: All roads lead to Red Deer and the Alberta Party for homeless politicos
Red Deer and the Alberta Party are frequent destinations for disaffected politicos in search of a new political home. Katherine O’Neill Led by former Progressive Conservative Party president Katherine O’Neill and backed for former cabinet minister Stephen Mandel, disaffected Tories are booking their flights to the central Alberta city this weekend to discuss bringing centrists
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: All roads lead to Red Deer and the Alberta Party for homeless politicos
Red Deer and the Alberta Party are frequent destinations for disaffected politicos in search of a new political home. Led by former Progressive Conservative Party president Katherine O’Neill and backed by former cabinet minister Stephen Mandel, disaffected Tories are booking their trip to the central Alberta city this weekend to discuss bringing
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Saskatchewan credit rating downgraded for second time by Standard & Poor’s and all we hear are crickets!
PHOTOS: It’s quiet here on Crickets Avenue. Don’t expect a Wildrose of PC press release to come along any time soon. (Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons) Below: Standard & Poor’s headquarters in New York City (Photo: Uncredited, Wikimedia Commons); Brad Wall, the real leader of Western Canada, or so they
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Explaining Derek Fildebrandt’s ambitions: Jason Kenney vows to stifle ‘bozo eruptions’ in the UCP
PHOTOS: Alberta Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney. He vows to find ways to ensure there are no bozo eruptions in the ranks of the United Conservative Party. This will not be easy. Below: Frequent eruptor Derek Fildebrandt, who says he’s considering running for the leadership of the UCP himself; former
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Opposition focuses its fury on Tzeporah Berman, ignores oilsands advisory group’s consensus recommendations … why?
PHOTOS: Environmentalist Tzeporah Berman. Below: Former Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers president Dave Collyer, who worked successfully with Ms. Berman to produce the recommendations of the Alberta Government’s Oil Sands Advisory Group, and Opposition leaders Jason Kenney of the Progressive Conservative Party and Brian Jean of the Wildrose Party, who
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Environmentalist Tzeporah Berman, who gave as good as she got, leaves Alberta oilsands advisory role
PHOTOS: Former Oil Sands Advisory Group member Tzeporah Berman. Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Progressive Conservative Legislative Caucus Leader Ric McIver, and Environment Minister Shannon Phillips. Tzeporah Berman, the high-profile environmentalist who became a lightning rod for right-wing fury at Alberta’s NDP, is no longer advising Premier Rachel Notley’s Government.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: PC-Wildrose merger agreement leaves many unanswered questions for Wildrosers and the rest of us
PHOTOS: Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean and Progressive Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney shake on their merger plan in this Wildrose photo. Below: Lacking anything better to illustrate this story with, here are a couple of party logos. If anything’s clear from trying to make sense of the agreement that
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