Who is it going to be: Nenshi or Smith?
This Monday Calgary voters will elect their mayor. The winner will be expected to lead Calgary out of one of the worst economic downturns it has experienced in decades. So,…
Politics and Government
Common Sense?
No one needs policies anymore. Everything can be decided by using good ol’ common sense. A group calling itself Common Sense Calgary is telling Calgarians that “the same unions that…
How Do We Talk About the Edmonton Terrorist Attack?
A police officer is stabbed and four people are injured when a man drives a U-Haul into a crowd of pedestrians in Edmonton. The suspect is identified as 30-year-old Abdulahi…
The Politicians are Coming…
Paul Keating said, “Politicians come in three varieties: straight men, fixers and maddies.” Oh, please let there be a fourth kind of politician–a thoughtful visionary. Calgarians go to the polls…
How Truth Dies
The UCP leadership race just began and already we’re being asked to choose between two conflicting versions of the truth. Jason Kenney says Brian Jean is a poor financial manager…
Lessons in Leadership from a Red Tory
Are there any Red Tories left in Alberta? If so they should consider what Kim Campbell has to say about leadership and apply her comments to the men vying for…
A Pop Quiz
Ms Soapbox is shocked. She just returned from the Alberta Teachers’ Association Summer Summit on Public Education and discovered that she knows far less about education and teaching in Alberta…
What a Week
The week started out strange and got a whole lot stranger. Derek Fildebrandt’s Bev Oda moment This week we learned that Derek Fildebrandt Airbnb-ed his taxpayer subsidized apartment, pocketed the…
Jason Kenney: Servant Leader…what?
Now isn’t this a conundrum… The impetus to unite the Wildrose and the Progressive Conservative parties was the assumption that only a united conservative party could beat the NDP in…
UCP Merger…a message from the this-could-get-ugly department
Jason Kenney is busy ticking off the boxes in his quest to be the next premier of Alberta: Become the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party—check. Maneuver Brian Jean (WR)…
The Communists are Coming!
Jason Kenney says he has not heard a “single voice of opposition” to the unification of the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties except for “a communist professor from the University…
Hallelujah
This was going to be a Ms-Soapbox-is-stampeding-see-you-next-week-blog…then she remembered something. Ms Soapbox’s sister and brother-in-law popped into town just in time for the Calgary Stampede. We did the fair grounds,…
Trudeau forgets Alberta; Alberta flips out
Canada is a special place; but Alberta is a little prickly. The Soapbox family celebrated Canada Day at Olympic Plaza trying to dislodge a Big Red Ball wedged between some…
The Emotional Mr Kenney
“When it comes to politics, all I can offer is emotion.” — David Sedaris, author of numerous books including “Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls” If we didn’t know any better…
Susan on the Soapbox 2017-06-18 21:57:30
Unsolicited Advice from a Conservative Pundit This week Preston Manning, former leader of the Reform Party, offered some advice to the yet to be formed United Conservative Party (or whatever…
The Wildfire Reports: A political firestorm
Wildrose leader Brian Jean is furious with the NDP government’s response to two reports on the Fort McMurray wildfire. He says the government is attempting to whitewash the reports’ findings…
Bill 17: A Unicorn or a Chimera?
Last week the NDP government introduced the Fair and Family-Friendly Workplaces Act (Bill 17). It’s intended to update workplace legislation that became increasingly outdated under Progressive Conservative rule. Premier Notley…
Meet the “United” Conservative Party
Say what you will about the Wildrose, they were always grassroots party…that is until Jason Kenney blew them out of the water. Last week Jason Kenney and Brian Jean unveiled…
The Conservative Ideology
“ideology” \ˌī-dē-ˈä-lə-jē, -ˈa-, ˌi-\ a systematic body of concepts, especially those of a particular group or political party—Merriam-Webster The word “ideology” was coined by the French philosopher Destutt de Tracy.…
What Would the Romans Do?
It’s a pity Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt hadn’t read Jane Jacobs’ Dark Age Ahead before he launched into his description of how the ancient Romans dealt with governments that were,…