How to lose an election
Alberta’s election continues to be far more entertaining than the one here in the UK. Amid his party’s plummeting polling numbers, Progressive Conservative Premier Jim Prentice needed to re-connect with…
Alberta
The Morning Line: Alberta 2015.
The May 7 provincial election in Alberta is something of a wake up call as Albertans shake themselves from the Tar Sands dream. It was probably the recent Prentice austerity…
Alberta and Polls: Never Again
The Calgary Flames are preparing to host their first playoff game since 2009 in a matter of days. While the Flames are working hard to even up their series, the…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Henry Mintzberg rightly challenges the myth of a “level playing field” when it comes to our economic opportunities: Let’s level with each…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Alison picks up on Armine Yalnizyan’s important question as to whether the Cons have a Plan B other than hoping for factors…
Alberta stumbles as the Hair’s empire crumbles.
There are at least a couple ridings in Alberta that could attract some smart Liberals for the federal election. Voters in that province are not stupid you know. They might…
New column day
Here, on how the sudden disappearance of Danielle Smith and her fellow Wildrose Party defectors offers a case in point of the dangers of forgetting that politicians ultimately answer to…
Canada’s Economy: Not Exactly Healthy
If you are a worker, you already know that Canada’s economy is a mess. The only people who don’t seem to know it are at the top. Press Progress published…
Canada’s Economy: Not Exactly Healthy
If you are a worker, you already know that Canada's economy is a mess. The only people who don't seem to know it are at the top. Press Progress published…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Simon Wren-Lewis connects the UK’s counterproductive austerity program to the lack of any wage growth. And Gary Lamphier observes that Alberta is…
The "Piss Away" Province
The key to understanding the dilemma is to realize that Tar Sand, bitumen, is just a part of Alberta’s oil history. The province has also produced a vast amount of…
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Michael Babad writes that we should be glad to see jobs being created in the public sector since the private sector is doing…
Prentice makes nice to labour
When governments find themselves in a financial bind they tend to make the civil service their first budget target. Overpaid public servants is a popular cliche. Alberta Premier Jim Prentice,…
Edmonton Journal grants space to debunked anti-WiFi conspiracies
Some parents in Alberta are trying to get schools to ban wi-fi on baseless fears and scare-mongering. The kicker: these same parents are fine with wifi in their house. It’s…
A Closer Look at Oil and Climate Change.
Stephen Harper will not be pleased. The Carnegie Endowment is fingering his cherished Tar Sands. Not all oil is created equal. Sweet crude, of the Saudi sort, comes out of…
Prentice is right—Albertans are to blame
If Albertans want to know why their government is having budget problems, Premier Jim Prentice advises them to “look in the mirror.” His comment went, as they say, viral. Opposition…
Jimbo Prentice Pokes Albertans in the Eye With a Sharp Stick.
Well, this is certain something. Alberta’s unelected premier, Jim Prentice, better learn to bite his tongue. Prentice has sparked a bit of a furor by blaming his constituents for the…
Alberta woes—It ain’t the economy, stupid
Here in Alberta, energy superpower, we are going through the bust part of one of our infamous boom and bust cycles. The premier is weighing the government’s options. Cutting MLA…
Stagnant wages for over 80% of Canadian workers
Are wages in Canada stagnant or growing? The short answer is another question: do you live in an oil boom province? There’s a fairly common meme that while Canada, like…