UCP or NDP? Depends on your age … and gender
Some surprising results in an Angus Reid survey of Albertans this week. The UCP and the NDP are tied in voter support, each at 38 percent. This is quite a…
Kenney (Jason)
Is Alberta “slipping into authoritarianism”?
Guy Smith, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), sees a disturbing trend in the province. He suggests that, under the rule of Jason Kenney and his UCP,…
I’m with Kenney on this one
Our premier and I come at politics from such different angles, it always comes as a surprise to me when I find myself agreeing with him. But sometimes I do.…
Conservatives Struggle with Science
When conservatives talk about “the elites,” and they talk about them a lot, it isn’t always clear who they are talking about. They certainly aren’t referring to the rich, who…
Albertans Want off the Oil Train … Eventually
A common opinion about Albertans is that when it comes to energy they are about oil and nothing but oil. Like most generalizations this contains some truth, but also like…
Back to the 30s?
“We are facing a period of profound adversity unlike any we have since the 1930s,” Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said last week. The premier was referring to the province’s economy…
Is Kenney Coming After Our Pensions?
Premier Jason Kenney, ardent free market conservative, has started sounding a little like Peter Lougheed, a former premier with more progressive conservative leanings. Indeed Lougheed was once labelled “Peter the…
Are Albertans Regretting Their Decision?
Jason Kenney and his UCP won a convincing victory in Alberta’s April election, winning 55 percent of the popular vote, impressive in a country where 40 percent often gains a…
Is This the Line in the Sand?
Crunch time. How far will Trudeau go to placate Alberta? Premier Kenney may just have drawn the line in the sand. He has said that the federal government faces a…
Is Kenney Costing Alberta Investment and Jobs?
Calgary Economic Development CEO Mary Moran reported recently that a tech company that had considered setting up its head office in Calgary had changed it mind. The reason? Talk of…
The Extraordinary Arrogance of "Kamikaze" Kenney
Lorne Gibson, Alberta’s elections commissioner, has had his differences with the province’s Conservatives. In 2009, he was Alberta’s chief electoral officer and, unhappy with the 2008 election, he recommended 182…
Alberta after Fossil Fuels
Alberta and oil are almost synonymous. But if the province is to do its share to avoid the apocalypse that global warming threatens, it must kick the oil habit, or…
Can Trudeau Make a Future with Alberta?
Life is full of little surprises. Often pleasant ones. I encountered such a surprise this week reading the Calgary Herald, not a paper usually on my wave length. And yet…
War Rooms, Secrecy and a Little Patronage—Democracy in Alberta
Former journalist and conservative lobbyist Tom Olsen was the UCP candidate in my riding of Calgary-Buffalo in this spring’s Alberta election. Tom lost to Joe Ceci of the NDP, but…
The ghost of Bible Bill Haunts us still
In the late ’30s and early ’40s Alberta’s premier was the colourful William Aberhart, known as “Bible Bill” for his bible studies classes and radio sermons. Founder of the Social…
Kenny’s revealing prank
As a resident of Alberta, I am used to living under Conservative governments. Although I lean left, I can accept this with good grace. After all I am a democrat…
I’ll Trade You a Jason for a Greta
I am a democrat and therefor I must accept the election of Jason Kenney and his United Conservative Party as government of my province. The UCP won convincingly, after all,…
Mr. Kenny’s arbitrary guidelines
As part of a new bill enhancing the powers of the immigration minister, Jason Kenney has revealed new guidelines he would apply to deny entry to foreign nationals. Currently, visitors…
Kenny’s power play should be opposed
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is proposing legislation which will give the minister the power to deny visitors entry to Canada even if they don’t have a serious criminal record. Now…