Who wants to lead Alberta’s PC Party?
A surprisingly strong turnout of 1,001 registered participants at last weekend’s Progressive Conservative Party annual general meeting in Red Deer gave party stalwarts a glimmer of hope for the third-place…
Ric McIver
Votaries of right-wing unity gather in Red Deer, vote to form yet another conservative party
PHOTOS: Progressive Conservative interim Leader Ric McIver and Wildrose Leader Brian Jean in a rare recent moment of amity at, but of course, the Manning Centre’s Ottawa beanfest for right…
Don’t blame loudmouth extremist Craig Chandler for PC Leader Ric McIver’s troubles – they’re all his own
PHOTOS: Tory Dream Team, 2014 edition. From left to right, Jim Prentice, Ric McIver and Thomas Lukaszuk. You’ve got to admit, from the perspective of 2016, Mr. Lukaszuk is lookin’…
Alberta PCs to debate leadership changes, including delegated conventions
Activists from Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Party will be electing executive officers and debating amendments to their organization’s constituency at an annual general meeting on May 7, 2016 in Red Deer.…
Where’s the beef? Alberta’s cattle industry is only getting what it ordered from Earls
PHOTOS: Where’s the beef? Not in Alberta, if this province’s beef industry can do anything about it. One thing this story has nothing to do with is small-time ranchers like…
Alberta Advanced Education Ministry now maintaining close watch on Athabasca University
PHOTOS: A recent newspaper ad seeking a new board chair for Athabasca University. Below: Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt at the Legislature on Budget Day; Athabasca MLA Colin Piquette; and…
Ric McIver’s tantrum and return to the House explained: In Alberta, being a Tory means never having to say you’re sorry!
PHOTOS: Interim Tory Leader Ric McIver, mid tantrum, tells Alberta Speaker Bob Wanner he’s not sitting down until he gets his way! Below: Mr. Wanner, looking appropriately annoyed; the notorious…
Motion demanding public support for private and charter schools backfires on Alberta Tory Leader
PHOTOS: Interim Alberta Tory Leader Ric McIver and another PC are ejected from the Legislature yesterday by the Sergeant at Arms. Actual Alberta MLAs may not appear exactly as illustrated.…
Notley’s Budget: Myths and Facts
The NDP government unveiled its budget on Thursday. The conservatives reacted as if the government dropped a neutron bomb on the people. Wildrose leader Brian Jean worried that parents driving…
Acclaimed to party official’s job, social conservative activist Craig Chandler is sure to embarrass Ric McIver and his sad sack PCs
PHOTOS: Craig Chandler – about the closest thing there is to ballot box poison in Alberta. (Photo from Mr. Chandler via the CBC.) Below: Progressive Conservative interim Leader Ric McIver.…
Time to share the pain and stop wasting taxpayers’ dollars on elite private and cherry-picking charter schools
PHOTOS: A typical Alberta charter school class, at least as imagined by supporters of the expensive idea. Actual charter and private school students in 2016 may not appear exactly as…
Whatever the outcome, today’s Calgary-Greenway by-election is sure to be a spinner’s dream
PHOTOS: Some of the candidates in today’s Calgary-Greenway by-election. (CBC photo) Below: Manmeet Bhullar, the PC MLA for the riding killed in a highway crash last November, NDP candidate Roop…
“Kudatah”: It’s not a joke
Ms Soapbox is deeply troubled by last week’s failed Kudatah. The Kudatah (or “coup d’etat” for those who know how to spell) was George Clark’s attempt to overthrow the NDP…
“Over My Dead Body” – This week in Alberta’s Big Happy Conservative Family
It was only last week that the leaders of Alberta’s two main conservative political parties – Progressive Conservative interim leader Ric McIver and Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean – were…
Wherever there’s Alberta unite-the-right chatter, Preston Manning’s name keeps popping up
PHOTOS: Preston Manning, looking right as usual, photo taken at the 2013 Manning Conference in Ottawa. Below: Alberta PC leader Ric McIver, Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean Wildrose Party photo),…
Will simply uniting Alberta’s right add up to victory over the NDP? A conservative strategist concludes it won’t
PHOTOS: Oh, what fools these Tories be? Please forgive this Puckish caption. Former Progressive Conservative campaign manager Susan Elliott, below left, suggests that her party’s members think carefully before they…
Poll puts NDP in third place among Albertans – a plausible result despite a pollster’s debatable analysis
PHOTOS: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. Below: Pollster Quito Maggi of Mainstreet Research, grabbed from his Twitter account, and former PC premier Ed Stelmach, whose personal popularity held through the economic…
Notley’s Royalty Review
Rachel Notley is driving Brian Jean and Ric McIver crazy. Every time they think they’ve backed her into a corner on the energy file she comes out with a creative…
As widely predicted, Calgary-Bow MLA Deborah Drever invited to rejoin New Democratic Party Government’s caucus
PHOTOS: Surrounded and supported by NDP House Leader Brian Mason, Calgary-Varsity MLA Stephanie McLean and Finance Minister Joe Ceci, Calgary-Bow MLA Deborah Drever addresses the media in Calgary yesterday after…
A Rookie Crew: Eleven Alberta MLAs to watch in 2016
The past few years in Alberta politics have reminded us that politics can be an extraordinarily unpredictable and forecasting the future can be a very tricky business for political pundits.…