Given the uproar over an article widely perceived as expressing racist sentiments by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s speechwriter, it will be interesting to see how the Conservative Party of Canada reacts to the fact Paul Bunner is also chief executive of its Edmonton Strathcona constituency association. As of the close
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Alberta Politics: As predicted, ‘Fair Deal’ Panel reheats the Firewall Manifesto to manufacture consent for policies Albertans don’t want
Consider the report of Alberta’s “Fair Deal” Panel, released yesterday by Premier Jason Kenney with considerable fanfare. It strongly suggests the Harper-Kenney wing of the Canadian Conservative movement is made up of people who purport to be Canadian patriots when they’re in power in Ottawa but are Prairie separatists when
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Stephen Harper and Preston Manning, joined at the hip by history and not particularly liking it, make changes
On Wednesday, former prime minister Stephen Harper abruptly quit the Conservative Party of Canada’s fund-raising board, supposedly to give himself time to prevent Jean Charest from becoming leader of Canada’s Conservatives or prime minister of Canada. Yesterday, we learned that Preston Manning would quit his eponymous market-fundamentalist call centre in
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Donner Canadian Foundation, prominent funder of right-wing groups, helps bankroll new ‘think tank’ closely connected to CTF
A new “think tank” with close connections to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation received $50,000 last year from the Donner Canadian Foundation, a prominent funder of right-wing ideological organizations in Canada. SecondStreet.org describes itself on its website as “a new think tank that will be launching in early 2019.” The organization’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: So sorry to see you go so soon, Manning Centre … here’s your hat
Shed a tear for the Calgary-based Manning Centre, which Postmedia’s Cowtown website of record sadly reported yesterday is “stepping back from its advocacy work.” Since polishing up Tiny Tories to make them acceptable for election door-knocking and serving as a launch pad for development-industry-financed attacks on Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: UCP quashes giant bozo-erruption in the making by dropping anti-Muslim nomination candidate
The United Conservative Party quashed a giant bozo-erruption in the making this week when the party asked S. Todd Beasley to withdraw his candidacy for the nomination in the new Brooks-Medicine Hat district. Beasley, who was an organizer for the anti-NDP Alberta Wide Rallies held in 2016 and is the organizer
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Money from wealthy right-wing ideologues helps fuel group challenging Alberta’s protections for GSA members
The so-called Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms achieved its first goal yesterday, generating plenty of publicity for itself and its social conservative supporters at the first day of its court bid to overturn the Alberta NDP Government’s legislative effort to protect students who join gay-straight alliances. By the sound of
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Alberta Election Candidate Nomination Update: 2018/02/02
Photo: Dave Schneider, Cameron Westhead, Morgan Nagel, and Todd Loewen With only about 13 months left until a potential provincial election call, the number of candidates stepping forward to run for party nominations is growing (this is the second time this week that I have written an update on candidate
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Bill 24 passes, making it hard for Alberta schools to obstruct gay-straight alliances and illegal to out members to their parents
PHOTOS: Alberta Education Minister David Eggen, whose Bill 24, An Act to Support Gay-Straight Alliances, was passed by the Alberta Legislature yesterday. Below: UCP Leader Jason Kenney, former Alberta Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman, and social conservative activist John Carpay. Bill 24, An Act to Support Gay-Straight Alliances, passed third and
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Will the Alberta Together takeover turn the Alberta Party into PC 2.0?
Photo: Alberta Party leader Greg Clark on the campaign trail in Calgary-Elbow in 2014. Source: Twitter. In the latest shakeup in Alberta politics, Greg Clark announced last Friday that he would resign as leader of the Alberta Party at the party’s upcoming annual general meeting on November 18, 2017. Clark
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Desperation anyone? The clock runs out on Brian Jean’s campaign to lead the UCP
PHOTOS: UCP leadership candidate Brian Jean, with loyal MLAs Leela Aheer, Glenn van Dijken and Todd Loewen, in front of Premier Rachel Notley’s constituency office yesterday. (Screenshot of Jean Campaign video.) The wind was blowing. Below: Former Calgary MP Jason Kenney, whose coronation as leader of the UCP is expected
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Right-wing propaganda instantly pivots to explain away progressive successes Monday in Alberta municipal elections
PHOTOS: Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who overcame a full-blown attack by all the usual suspects on the right in Monday’s Alberta-wide municipal elections, addressing the biennial convention of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions in Calgary in June. Below: Bill Smith, Mr. Nenshi’s main conservative challenger, who didn’t do as
Continue readingAlberta Politics: In a pragmatic move, Premier Rachel Notley appoints former Tory minister from Calgary to infrastructure portfolio
PHOTOS: Newly appointed NDP Infrastructure Minister Sandra Jansen speaks during yesterday’s swearing-in ceremony at Government House in Edmonton. With her are new Parliamentary Secretaries Jessica Littlewood and Annie McKitrick, left and right, and Premier Rachel Notley (Photo: Government of Alberta). Below: Pierre Trudeau and Peter Lougheed, looking pretty friendly for
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Don’t expect an NDP cold war between Jagmeet Singh’s federal New Democrats and Rachel Notley’s Alberta caucus
PHOTOS: Jagmeet Singh, whose campaign to lead the national New Democratic Party came to a successful conclusion yesterday. (Photo: NDP.ca.) Below: Alberta NDP Leader and Premier Rachel Notley, former Alberta Progressive Conservative premier Alison Redford, and former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith. So, it’s Jagmeet Singh, and decisively. But don’t
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Derek Fildebrandt’s mini-Skypalace: proof Tory entitlement is still a thing in Alberta
PHOTOS: A scene from Derek Fildebrandt’s mini-Skypalace, the taxpayer subsidized Fildepartment in downtown Edmonton, grabbed from his Airbnb listing. Note the binoculars to the right of the window, presumably used for spotting examples of taxpayer dollars being wasted in the high-rises beyond. Below: The Fildebed, the Fildecloset, the Fildepot and
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Here we go again: Opacity not transparency characterizes Alberta’s right-wing merger talks
PHOTOS: Wildrose Opposition Leader Brian Jean and Progressive Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney uncomfortably shake hands in this obviously staged photo in what appears to be Mr. Jean’s office. (Wildrose Party photo.) Below: Tanis Fiss, chair of the insider committee working behind closed doors to unite the two parties (from
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Like rust, Preston Manning apparently never sleeps: Jason Kenney is just his latest manifestation
PHOTOS: Preston Manning has every reason to feel pleased with himself as he moves toward his goal of uniting Alberta’s right on his own terms, with an extreme social conservative candidate like Jason Kenney in the vanguard. Below: Mr. Kenney; Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark; Danielle Smith, just before she
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Ted Byfield’s back, cyber-crusading for Jason Kenney’s bid to lead Alberta back to the Fifties!
PHOTOS: Ted Byfield at the microphone (Edson leader photo). Below: Alberta Education Minister David Eggen, the late Link Byfield, Mr. Byfield’s son, and a cover from the bad old days of Alberta Report magazine. Like the proverbial bad penny, Ted Byfield is back. It should come as no surprise that
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Canadians can be thankful for small, and probably temporary, mercies in wake of U.S. presidential debate
PHOTOS: Republican candidate Donald Trump stalking Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton around the debate stage in St. Louis yesterday evening (CNN Photo). Below: 20th Century screen star Bela Lugosi, Edmonton political commentator Chanchal Bhattacharya and a Wildrose supporter in a Trump-style ball cap (National Observer photo). Happy Thanksgiving! I guess we
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Stephen Harper quits his day job, sets up ‘international’ consultancy – brace for trouble!
PHOTOS: Former PM Stephen Harper, finally sailing into the sunset? Don’t count on it. (Photo grabbed from the Harper PMO’s now-defunct website. I believe this is the best photo ever taken of Mr. Harper, peering, as it does, right into his soul.) Be…
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