elections: here some relief, there… only fear
I rarely -- almost never -- write about politics anymore, either Canadian or US. But of course the upcoming US election is weighing heavily on my mind, as it surely…
Canadian Politics
How Did Democracy Come To This Sorry State?
My wife and I are members of the Boomer generation. That means our parents, their families, and their friends, their neighbours and their communities were impacted by World War II.…
Is Alberta suffering from the Innovator’s Dilemma?
In listening to Mac Van Wielingen of Viewpoint Investment Partners, on a recent HUB podcast, I was reminded about the highs and lows of Research in Motion (RIM). RIM’s story…
No party snatches defeat from the jaws of victory like the NDP, and none does it with the flair they do in B.C.
No political party can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like the NDP! And, as we watched in horror Saturday night, no Canadian New Democratic Party does it with…
Everybody understands the point of the UCP’s ‘Scrap the Cap’ ads is to use taxpayer money to campaign against the Liberals
Surely everybody understands that the point of the United Conservative Party Government’s $7-million “Scrap the Cap” scare campaign announced yesterday is to use Alberta taxpayers’ money to campaign against the…
What happens to the Alberta Energy Industry when Buildings can produce more energy than they consume?
To me the idea that a building can produce more energy than it consumes is a bit mindblowing. It sounds like a crazy idea. When I first heard it, I…
No pharmacare, please, we’re Alberta Conservatives! … and if there’s no grift, there’ll be no gift!
Alberta still won’t join the federal pharmacare program. Never mind Health Minister Adriana LaGrange’s explanation in her press release Friday – “the federal government has yet to share its vision…
Out of control spending on for-profit nursing agencies to surpass $1.5B in Canada this year: report
Spending on so-called “agency nurses,” nurses employed by for-profit nursing agencies whose services are contracted out to short-staffed public health care employers to fill temporary staffing needs, is out of…
Danielle Smith: Alberta welcomes newcomers, but only if they ‘possess our shared values’
“Alberta has always welcomed newcomers who possess our shared values,” Premier Danielle Smith says in a statement published by on the Government’s official web page yesterday. “Who possess our shared…
Shannon Phillips, former NDP environment minister, teams up with well-known Conservative and Liberal strategists
Former Alberta NDP environment minister Shannon Phillips announced on social media today she is joining a policy advisory firm with Conservative political advisor Ken Boessenkool and his Liberal equivalent Tyler…
The UCP Is Being Petty and Vengeful
The UCP government is now becoming vengeful - openly so. In the 2023 Alberta Election, rural Alberta voted UCP, and urban Alberta didn't (at least not the kind of sweep…
Prime minister announces two Alberta Senate appointments; UCP throws predictably petulant tantrum
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced two long-anticipated Alberta appointments to the Senate of Canada this morning. Kristopher Wells of St. Albert is a post-secondary educator and champion of Alberta’s 2SLGBTQI+…
Larry Hubich, former SFL leader, connects the dots about who is actually putting the country at risk of a national rail shutdown
Reading the universally terrible mainstream news coverage of the continuing negotiations between the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and Canada’s two largest rail corporations, not to mention angry commentary by anti-union…
Insurance will not solve the Canadian Health Care Problem
Everytime, that I read a conservative criticism of the Canadian Health Care System, I am brought back to one of a variety of economics classes. Those classes all described the…
No Dog in That Fight, But I Still Care About the Results
As a Canadian, I can only watch US politics from afar, albeit with unease. My comments on events and issues there are those from an armchair observer who has no…
The UK election will truly effect Alberta
The UK is going to look a lot more like Scandavia by 2030. If you look at the parties in the new Parliament, most of their platforms said the same…
This Epidemic Is Widespread And Growing
On this blog I have never made a secret of my disdain for those who are willfully ignorant and mindlessly led. To allow someone else to do our thinking for…
‘Tubby’ Black, palaverous peer who forfeited Canadian citizenship for plush seat in House of Lords, booted by that chamber
Recently Mr. Black has been heard to muse that he would like to take up his lordly duties again. Too late, alas!
Calling all moderate U.K. Tories: You can’t tame the alt-right; the alt-right will tame you
My friend “Art Sifton,” the social media gadfly found at @ArtSifton, is one of the sharpest political observers I’ve ever met, and not just of Alberta politics. The night I…
Yes, Andrew, Democracy Is Under Attack In Canada
So, Andrew Coyne muses that Justin Trudeau should just step aside in the wake of a recent by-election defeat. His reasoning? Well - it's a bit of a jumble of…