Tag: Lisa Young

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Alberta Politics

Alberta First in Red Tape

Government House with a repossession notice attached on April 1, 2024 (source: michaeljanz.ca)
Government House with a repossession notice attached on April 1, 2024 (source: michaeljanz.ca)

“FINAL NOTICE. PROPERTY REPOSSESSED FOR SALE (Effective April 1st, 2024).”

Anyone walking by Government House in Edmonton’s posh Glenora neighbourhood on April 1 might have noticed a white paper sign attached to the grand mansion-turned provincial government conference facility.

The sign was put there by Edmonton City Councillor Michael Janz, and as far as April Fools’ Day jokes by politicians go, it was pretty good – and it made a good point.

The Government of Alberta currently owes the City of Edmonton around $60 million in unpaid property taxes that have accumulated since 2019. That’s a point that Janz first wrote about in a December 2023 op-ed in the Edmonton Journal and that Mayor Amarjeet Sohi raised in a public letter to Premier Danielle Smith this week.

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Alberta Politics

Danielle Smith hosts Alberta’s largest call-in talk show: the United Conservative Party

Premier Danielle Smith speaks to delegates at the 2023 United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Calgary (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)
Premier Danielle Smith speaks to delegates at the 2023 United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Calgary (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)

Any good talk radio host understands that the show doesn’t belong to the host, it belongs to the listeners. And if this past weekend’s annual general meeting is any indication, talk radio host-turned-Premier Danielle Smith might be taking a similar approach as leader of the United Conservative Party.

Aside from a nod to protecting parental rights during her keynote speech, Smith largely stood out of the way as more than 3,700 delegates packed into Calgary’s BMO Centre to vote on party policy and elect a new executive board. It was an impressive crowd and probably the largest provincial political convention in Alberta’s history.

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Alberta Politics

keith archer recommended to become british columbia’s next chief electoral officer.

A committee of British Columbia MLAs has unanimously recommended the appointment of University of Calgary Political Science Professor Keith Archer as that province’s next Chief Electoral Officer.

A special all-party committee of MLAs has unanimously recommended that Keith Archer be appointed as B.C.’s chief electoral officer.

Archer is a professor of political science at the University of Calgary and the director of research at the Banff Centre.

“The quality of applicants considered during our process was very high,” the committee chair, B.C. Liberal MLA John van Dongen, said in a news release today (May 19). “The committee is confident that Dr. Archer is an excellent choice to fill the position of Chief Electoral Officer. He has impressive knowledge of electoral management, voting systems and a strong record of accomplishments in administration and strategic project management.”

Elections B.C. has been without a permanent head for almost a year.

Dr. Archer was recommended for appointment by Official Opposition leader David Swann to Alberta’s most recent Electoral Boundaries Commission, which determined the constituency boundaries for the next provincial election. His most recently published books include Quasi-Democracy? Parties and Leadership Selection in Alberta (written with David Stewart) and Regionalism and Party Politics in Canada (written with Lisa Young).

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