How much influence does the oil industry have over Alberta politics?
Way too much, according to author and former Edmonton-Riverview MLA Kevin Taft. Taft takes a deep dive into the influence of big oil on the politics and policy direction of…
Alberta NDP
Between the lines, Calgary MLA Rick Fraser’s UCP resignation letter is an indictment of Wildrose-ified party
PHOTOS: Rick Fraser in a screenshot from the Legislature of Alberta. Below: Legislative loners Greg Clark, David Swann and Richard Starke, Calgary MP Kent Hehr, and environmentalist and former Green…
Guest Post: In a democracy, quiet is rarely a good sign, and Alberta’s relationship with Big Oil is very quiet indeed
PHOTOS: Part of the Jackpine Oilsands Mine north of Fort McMurray, formerly owned by Shell and now operated by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (Photo: Pembina Institute.) Below: Author Kevin Taft.…
Thank you, Ralph! While Alberta awaits the Green Apocalypse, Norwegian version of Heritage Fund hits $1-trillion US
PHOTOS: A Norwegian oil rig in the North Sea. (Photo: Norsk Teknisk Museum, Wikimedia Commons.) Below: The late Alberta premier Peter Lougheed, who founded the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund;…
Documents show B.C. ‘Climate Leadership Plan’ was cooked up in Calgary boardroom of powerful petroleum industry lobby
PHOTOS: British Columbia’s beautiful Legislature Building in Victoria – not, as it turns out, where the province’s climate policy is set! Below: CCPA-BC’s Shannon Daub, former B.C. Liberal premier Christy…
Alberta Legislature Members’ Services Committee passes ‘Derek’s Rule,’ banning Airbnb rentals of MLA apartments
PHOTOS: Former Wildrose and UCP caucus member Derek Fildebrandt, now an Independent Alberta MLA, in happier times for him when he was an employee of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Below:…
Paul Hinman wants to contest UCP leadership! He has till tonight to raise $57,500! I’m not making this up!
PHOTOS: Would-be UCP leadership candidate Paul Hinman, back when he was Wildrose Alliance MLA for Calgary-Glenmore. Below: Preston Manning, Ted Hinman, and Ernest Manning. Paul Hinman? Seriously? Has somebody stumbled…
Political words before elementary school audiences could’ve, should’ve been a teaching moment, literally
PHOTOS: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley with the school children at Lois E. Hole Elementary School in St. Albert, before whom she dared to speak political words. (Photo: CBC.) Below: St.…
The big problem facing Alberta that none of our politicians want to talk about
As the Alberta New Democratic Party enters the half way mark of their first four-year term in office and the United Conservative Party chooses its next leader, a big question…
This week at the UCP: huge cuts, social conservative sins, and complaints of fractious fibs dominate the conversation
PHOTOS: A screenshot of United Conservative Party leadership frontrunner Jason Kenney as he appeared during his Internet town hall Tuesday. Below: UCP leadership contenders Doug Schweitzer and Brian Jean, U…
Celebrating a different kind of Labour Day in Alberta – one with something to celebrate!
PHOTOS: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and friend with unionized firefighters at last year’s Edmonton and District Labour Council Labour Day BBQ. Below: Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan at…
Alberta premier’s quietly capable chief of staff, John Heaney, returns to his family and law practice in B.C.
PHOTOS: John Heaney last spring at the Alberta Legislature. Below: Mr. Heaney’s predecessor as Premier Rachel Notley’s chief of staff, Brian Topp, and his successor, Nathan Rotman (Photo: Twitter). The…
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – The Star’s editorial board offers a needed response to the Fraser Institute’s tired anti-social posturing: The study’s greatest failing, however – the omission…
Time for a changeup? UCP Caucus’s money troubles are funny and ironic, but not enough to win an election for the NDP
PHOTOS: NDP Health Minister Sarah Hoffman. Is she the best person to hold Alberta’s finance portfolio as Alberta’s 2019 election edges nearer? Below: Finance Minister Joe Ceci and Jason Kenney,…
Len Bracko, 74, was St. Albert MLA, city councillor, schoolteacher and respected community builder
PHOTOS: Len Bracko in his days as a St. Albert councillor at the site of the city’s wetland park on the east shore of Big Lake. Below: Mr. Bracko helping…
UCP leaders edge away from Rebel Media after NDP House Leader rips their cozy past with alt-right group
PHOTOS: NDP House Leader Brian Mason, one of the fiercest fighters in Premier Rachel Notley’s government, ripped into UCP leadership contenders Jason Kenney and Brian Jean yesterday for their long…