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Alberta Politics

former ndp leader ray martin trying for a comeback in edmonton-glenora.

In a very unexpected move, former MLA and NDP leader Ray Martin has announced that he is seeking the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Glenora. Mr. Martin served as the MLA for Edmonton-Norwood from 1982 to 1993 and Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview from 2004 until 2008. He aws the leader of the Alberta NDP from 1984 until 1994 and he has stood for federal office numerous times, including as the federal NDP candidate in Edmonton-East in 2008 and 2011.

RAY MARTIN TO RUN FOR NDP NOMINATION IN EDMONTON-GLENORA

EDMONTON – Ray Martin will seek the NDP nomination for Edmonton-Glenora for the upcoming Alberta provincial election.

“I’m excited to return to politics and have a chance to speak out on issues that matter Alberta’s working families.” said Martin

Ray Martin, a former four-term MLA and Leader of the Opposition, pointed to a number of issues that he’s looking to speak out on, including the export of jobs through the Keystone pipeline, improving family health care, and stopping cuts to education.

“Glenora residents are looking for an experienced voice to challenge the government on these issues.” said Martin. “I’d be happy to provide that voice to them.”

But it was a special letter that came in the summer which prompted Martin to come out retirement as well.

“Jack Layton sent me a letter shortly before he passed, and it was very meaningful to me that he would reach out to me when he was facing his cancer.” said Martin. “It’s given me the resolve that I need to continue contributing to the change that he talked about both to me and to all Canadians.”

New Democrats in Edmonton-Glenora are anticipated to nominate their candidate in early October.

– 30 –

The Glenora constituency is currently represented by Progressive Conservative MLA Heather Klimchuk. Aside from Minister Klimchuk, the only other nominated candidate is the Alberta Party‘s Sue Huff. It is unclear what connection Mr. Martin has to the communities in this west of downtown constituency.

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Alberta Politics

what to make of the wildrose drop, the ndp growth, and the tory restoration?

I am not the first political watcher to weigh in with my views on the Calgary HeraldEdmonton Journal poll conducted by Environics that I mentioned on my blog yesterday morning, but I am going to offer my thoughts nonetheless.

The poll of 900 Albertans showed that the Progressive Conservatives have once again risen to a dominant position over the opposition parties, including the ambitious Wildrose Party. This is just one poll, and as we learned from the May 2011 Federal Election, campaigns do matter. Keeping this in mind, here are my interpretations of what the poll could mean for Alberta’s political parties:

Alberta Provincial Party Voting Intentions July 2011 Edmonton Journal-Calgary Herald Environics Poll
The results of a recent Calgary Herald-Edmonton Journal poll conducted by Environics.

Progressive Conservatives: The death of the near-forty-year governing PC Party has been greatly exaggerated. The poll shows PC support is above 50% across the province and above 60% with voters over the age of 65 (who show up to vote).

It is difficult to say if support for the Tories will change when they choose their new leader in September or October, but it is clear that the departure of Premier Ed Stelmach is boosting their electoral fortunes. Unless the next PC Party leader (and Premier-Designate) manages to become more unpopular than Premier Stelmach in the next year, it would be easy to see this party return to its dominant status.

Alberta Liberal leadership candidates July 2011
Liberal leadership candidates Bill Harvey, Bruce Payne, Raj Sherman, Laurie Blakeman, and Hugh MacDonald

Liberals: These numbers should be very concerning for the Liberal Party, which could possibly be polling at its lowest level of support since before the party returned to the Assembly in the 1986 election. The party is in the midst of a leadership contest and despite opening voting to non-members, it has struggled to get media attention.

The one morsel of comfort that the Liberals can take from this poll is that none of the other opposition parties have been able to capture the imagination of Albertans. If they choose the right leader in their September 10 vote, they may be able to survive the coming electoral storm.

Alberta NDP leader and MLA Brian Mason
NDP leader Brian Mason

New Democrats: With help from the bolstered ranks of their brothers and sisters in Ottawa, Alberta’s NDP are showing signs of growth.

The poll shows the NDP are the second choice among voters between the ages of 18 and 24 (30.9%), and of voters outside of Calgary and Edmonton. In Edmonton, the NDP’s traditional seat of strength in Alberta, the party is polling near the same level of support it received in the last provincial election. The question is whether current NDP leader Brian Mason is the right person to capitalize on this bump.

Alberta Wildrose leader Danielle Smith
Wildrose leader Danielle Smith

Wildrose: This poll will put a sour face on the most strident Wildrose supporter. I speculated earlier this month that the Wildrose may have reached the peak of their support in 2010 and this poll certainly suggests that this may be the case.

The departure of Premier Stelmach this fall appears to have removed the lightening rod that turned the Wildrose into a political force in 2010. Forming government looks further away now than it did a year ago, but the Wildrose is still in a better financial and organization position than the other opposition parties. They may have to get used to the sound of the words “Official Opposition Leader Danielle Smith.”

Alberta Party leader Glenn Taylor and MLA Dave Taylor
Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor and leader Glenn Taylor

Alberta Party: This is poll has no good news for the Alberta Party (and almost no news at all). This poll should be a signal to this party that they should focus their electoral efforts on supporting candidates in two or three constituencies across Alberta, the most obvious being their leader Glenn Taylor in West Yellowhead, MLA Dave Taylor in Calgary-Currie, and former acting-leader Sue Huff in Edmonton-Glenora.

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Alberta Politics

politicos march in edmonton’s 2011 pride parade.

Tens of thousands of Edmontonians packed the streets of downtown on Saturday  for the first major festival event of the summer – Edmonton’s Pride Parade. Held the same day as the City Centre Market and the Al Fresco Block Party on 104 Street, our city’s downtown core into a vibrant and very fun day-long party. The Pride Parade that kicked off the day was also an opportunity for politicos of most stripes (no blue coloured political signs spotted) to fly their flags and have some fun celebrating Pride Week. Here are some photos of some of the politicos who joined in the festivities:

A photo of myself and my dog Max at the 2011 Pride Parade in Edmonton.
Max and I marched with the Alberta Party crew in the parade.
A photo of City Councillor Don Iveson in Edmonton's 2011 Pride Parade.
City Councillor Don Iveson with MLA Laurie Blakeman in the background (Photo credit: britl. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
A photo of the Alberta Party crew at Edmonton's 2011 Pride Parade.
The Alberta Party crew, including Edmonton-Glenora candidate Sue Huff and Edmonton-Rutherford candidate Michael Walters.
A photo of City Councillor Ben Henderson in Edmonton's 2011 Pride Parade.
City Councillor Ben Henderson (Photo credit: britl. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
A photo of NDP MLA Rachel Notley and David Eggen in Edmonton's 2011 Pride Parade.
Edmonton-Strathcona NDP MLA Rachel Notley and Edmonton-Calder candidate David Eggen. (Photo credit: britl. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
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Alberta Politics

updated: alberta candidate nomination updates – june 2011.

The summer months are here and while the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals are preoccupied with choosing new leaders, the Wildrose Alliance are focusing on nominating a swath of candidates across the province. Here are some updates to the list of candidate nominations happening across Alberta:

Travis Olson, Wildrose Alliance candidate in Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater
Travis Olson, Wildrose Alliance candidate in Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater

Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater: Travis Olson was nominated as the Wildrose candidate on June 3, defeating Smoky Lake County Councillor Lori Danyluk, Thorhild social worker Lauri Genert and Sturgeon County Mayor Don Rigney in a mail-in ballot nomination contest. Athabasca-Redwater PC MLA Jeff Johnson has been nominated as his party’s candidate.

Calgary-Bow: Tim Dyck and John Hilton-O’Brien are vying for the Wildrose Alliance nomination. Mr. Hilton-O’Brien was the Alberta Alliance candidate in Grande Prairie-Wapiti in the 2004 election. PC MLA Alana DeLong has been nominated as her party’s candidate.

Calgary-Currie: Carrie Adolph was nominated as the Wildrose Alliance candidate defeating Sonja Chycoski. Ms. Adolph will face Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor, who has represented this constituency since 2004.

Calgary Fort: The Wildrose Alliance is now without a candidate after Bob McInnis withdrew his candidacy for personal and professional reasons.

Calgary-Hays: Former Wildrose Alliance nomination candidate Wendi Moore appears to have withdrawn from the contest and is now supporting real estate agent Gene Sarmaga, who is facing Libertarian Party of Canada leader Dennis Young.

A photo of Cory Morgan, nomination candidate for the Wildrose Alliance in Wildrose Cory Morgan Calgary Klein North Hill
Former separatist leader Cory Morgan is a Wildrose Alliance nomination candidate in Calgary-Klein.

Calgary-Klein: Recent Aldermanic candidate Jeremy Nixon and former Alberta separatist leader Cory Morgan are seeking the Wildrose Alliance nomination scheduled for June 29. This will be Mr. Morgan’s fourth attempt at provincial elected office, having run as a candidate for the Alberta Independence Party in Banff-Cochrane in 2001, the Separation Party of Alberta in Highwood in 2004, and the Wildrose Alliance in Calgary-Mountain View in 2008.

Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill: The host of the popular CHQR radio show Calgary Today Mike Blanchard and Roy Alexander are seeking the Wildrose Alliance nomination in this constituency at a June 13 meeting.

Calgary-Northern Hills: Prasad Panda was nominated as the Wildrose Alliance candidate on May 27, 2011. Mr. Panda replaces previously nominated candidate Harpreet Nijjar, who withdrew from the nomination earlier this year. Calgary-Mackay PC MLA Teresa Woo-Paw has been nominated as her party’s candidate.

Cardston-Taber-Warner: This constituency was represented by now-Calgary-Glenmore Wildrose MLA Paul Hinman from 2004 until 2008. Dave Wright and Stirling businessman Doug Cooper are seeking that party’s nomination.

Mike Blanchard, Wildrose Alliance nomination candidate in Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill
Mike Blanchard, Wildrose Alliance nomination candidate in Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill

Chestermere-Rockyview: It would appear that Chestermere Town Councillor Heather Davies defeated Said Abdulbaki to become the Wildrose Alliance candidate in that constituency.

Edmonton-Centre: Four-term Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman was acclaimed as her party’s candidate on May 15. The Wildrose Alliance has nominated Barb de Groot, the Executive Director/Registrar of the College of Alberta Professional Forest Technologists.

Edmonton-Decore: The Wildrose Alliance has nominated lawyer Chris Bataluk as their candidate.

Edmonton-Glenora: Former Alberta Party acting-leader Sue Huff is expected to be acclaimed as her party’s candidate in this constituency. PC MLA Heather Klimchuk has been nominated as her party’s candidate.

A photo of Cindy Olsen, Edmonton Catholic School District Trustee
Catholic School Trustee Cindy Olsen is considering a run for NDP in Edmonton-Manning, according to unnamed source.

Edmonton-Manning: According to an unnamed source, Edmonton Catholic School District Trustee Cindy Olsen is strongly considering seeking the NDP nomination in this constituency, which is one of five in the province where the NDP candidate placed second in 2008. (UPDATE: Ms. Olsen announced this morning that she will seek the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Manning. See media release and confirmation from Edmonton-Strathcona NDP MLA Rachel Notley in the comments below) Already seeking the nomination is Mike Scott, who was the Edmonton-Sherwood Park NDP candidate in the recent federal election (and is also formerly known as Mike Koala on 100.3 FM The Bear). The NDP has scheduled their nomination meeting for June 27.

Edmonton-Whitemud: Rick Newcombe and Ian Crawford are seeking the Wildrose Alliance nomination. Although this will be Mr. Crawford’s first time seeking a Wildrose nomination, he has run unsuccessfully for City Council numerous times since 1992, for the Reform Party nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona in 1993, for the PC nominations in Edmonton-Rutherford and Edmonton-Ellerslie in 1993, for the Canadian Alliance in Edmonton-Southeast nomination in 2000, and for the PC nomination in Edmonton-Meadowlark in 2007 against Raj Sherman and Debbie Cavaliere. PC MLA Dave Hancock has been nominated as his party’s candidate.

Innisfail-Sylvan Lake: Developer Rod English and real estate broker Kerry Towle are seeking the Wildrose Alliance nomination, which is scheduled to happen on June 16.

Joe Anglin is seeking the Wildrose Alliance nomination in Rocky Mountain House-Sundre
The Rimbey Review reports that Joe Anglin is seeking the Wildrose Alliance nomination in Rocky Mountain House-Sundre

Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills: Village of Beiseker Mayor Bruce Rowe was acclaimed as the Wildrose Alliance candidate.

Rocky Mountain House-Sundre: The Rimbey Review is reporting that Rocky Mountain House Town Councillor Sheila Mizera and Rimbey Town Councillor Joe Anglin are seeking the Wildrose Alliance nomination. Mr. Anglin is well-known as a vocal advocate for landowners rights and earned 23% of the vote as the 2008 Green Party candidate in Lacombe-Ponoka. He served briefly as the Leader of the Alberta Green Party until it was dissolved in 2009.

UPDATE: I have received an email from Mr. Anglin in in regards to the news he is seeking the Wildrose Alliance nomination: “I have been fishing in the Yukon for the last two weeks. Just returned today. This is news to me. I have not made any such announcement.

Whitecourt-Ste. Anne: Whitecourt Town Councillor Maryann Chichak was announced as her party’s candidate on May 20. PC MLA George VanderBurg has been nominated as his party’s candidate.

Am I missing anyone? Post a comment below or send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com.


Categories
Alberta Politics

recap: alberta party leadership convention.

Outgoing Alberta Party interim leader Sue Huff sang a tongue-in-cheek rendition of "Over the rainbow" to participants at the Alberta Party leadership convention at Edmonton's Shaw Conference Centre on May 28, 2011. Over 300 people attended the Alberta Party leadership convention.
Over 300 people attended the Alberta Party leadership convention.

The Alberta Party held their leadership convention on May 27 and 28 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton and I attended as a member from the Edmonton-Centre constituency. Despite my reservations about the low-key leadership contest, I was impressed with the quality, organization, and positive energy of the event, which drew over 300 attendees from across the province.

Hinton Mayor Glenn Taylor was selected as leader of the Alberta Party on the first ballot at the May 28, 2011 leadership convention at Edmonton's Shaw Conference Centre.
Glenn Taylor was elected on the first ballot.

Hinton Mayor Glenn Taylor was elected leader by earning 55% support on the first ballot. Candidate Randy Royer placed second with 23%, Lee Easton placed third with 12%, and Tammy Maloney placed fourth with 8%. One thousand  two hundred voting members cast their leadership ballots over the telephone and the internet. Twelve hundred votes may not seem like a lot, but it is a significant number when you take into account that the Alberta Party only had around 40 members at the beginning of 2010.

Outgoing Alberta Party interim leader Sue Huff sang a tongue-in-cheek rendition of "Over the rainbow" to participants at the Alberta Party leadership convention at Edmonton's Shaw Conference Centre on May 28, 2011.
Outgoing Alberta Party interim leader Sue Huff sang a tongue-in-cheek rendition of "Over the Rainbow."

Mayor Taylor takes over the party leadership from acting-leader Sue Huff, who has stepped into the position after former leader Edwin Erickson resigned in November 2010. Ms. Huff is expected to be nominated as her party’s candidate in Edmonton-Glenora, an area she represented as a Public School Board Trustee until October 2010. During the convention, Ms. Huff wowed convention attendees with a tongue-in-cheek rendition of “Over the Rainbow,” a good-humoured response to critics of the Alberta Party’s focus on its new approach to policy development through the Big Listen process.

Campaign swag from the various Alberta Party leadership candidates at that party's leadership convention on May 28, 2011 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton. Candidates were Glenn Taylor, Randy Royer, Lee Easton, and Tammy Maloney
Campaign swag from the Alberta Party leadership candidates

Aside from the announcement of the leadership vote, the May 28 program included updates on constituency organizing from Michael Walters and the party’s 60 constituency Presidents, and speeches from Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor, Election Readiness Chair Chima Nkemdirim, and the announcement of the Alberta Party’s new Health Care policy brief. The policy was introduced to attendees by University of Alberta Public Health PhD student Elaine Hyshka and former U of A Hospital CEO Don Schurman. The policy brief puts a strong focus on primary care and long-term care elements of Alberta’s health care system.

A campaign fortune cookie from the campaign of Glenn Taylor, who won the Alberta Party leadership on May 28, 2011 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton.
A campaign fortune cookie from Glenn Taylor's campaign.

On the evening of Friday May 27 the Alberta Party launched its new visual identity and held a Pecha Kucha-style Big Ideas Night, giving participants five minutes on stage to share their “big idea.” Speakers included Dennis Lenarduzzi,  Everett Smith, Danielle Klooster, Connie Jensen, Lisa Marie Fox, Glenn Taylor, Jesse Rowe, and Wade Ferguson. I missed the Big Ideas Night while volunteering at Homefest’s One Room concert that night, so I was glad to read that Mack Male had written about it on his blog.

Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor and newly elected Alberta Party leader Glenn Taylor at the May 28, 2011 Alberta Party leadership convention at Edmonton's Shaw Conference Centre.
Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor and newly elected leader Glenn Taylor.

Having attended countless political events organized by nearly every major political organizations in the province, I have become accustomed to spotting the “usual suspects” in these organizations. One of the measurements I use to judge the success of political organizations are the amount of people I do recognize when attending political events. This weekend, I was pleased to discover that I only recognized around 1/3 of the convention attendees, which I believe is promising news for the Alberta Party.

I have posted more photos from the Alberta Party leadership convention on Flickr.

Categories
Alberta Politics

photos: a march afternoon health care rally in edmonton.

Over 200 people braved the cold this afternoon to rally in support of a public inquiry to investigate the intimidation of health care professionals.

 

AFL President Gil McGowan, NDP candidates Deron Bilous and Ray Martin, and Alberta Party acting leader Sue Huff on the steps of the Alberta Legislature.
Friends of Medicare's David Eggen and UNA President Heather Smith
Federal NDP candidates Lewis Cardinal, Linda Duncan, and Ray Martin.
Liberal Party leader David Swann.

See more photos on Flickr.

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Alberta Politics

raj sherman’s redemption.

NDP leader Brian Mason, Alberta Party leader Sue Huff, Independent MLA Dr. Raj Sherman, Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith, and Liberal leader David Swann.

What started off as a less than stellar week for Independent Edmonton-Meadowlark MLA Raj Sherman, turned out to be not so bad for the Doctor turned politician.

Starting the week by failing to produce proof of the serious allegations he raised the previous week accusing the government of paying doctors to stay quiet about patient deaths. A similar, less sensational story, than Dr. Sherman’s story was uncovered days later by intrepid journalists at the CBC.

Dr. Sherman credibility was redeemed at a Friday morning media conference at the Legislature where he joined the leaders of Alberta’s four opposition parties in unity calling for the PC Government to launch an independent public inquiry into health care system. The opposition leaders wanted the PC Government to call a public inquiry to investigate over 300 cases of “compromised care” brought forward by Dr. Paul Parks in the 2010 Fall Session of the Assembly. PC leadership candidates Doug Griffiths and Alison Redford also supported the Opposition’s calls for an inquiry. Although Premier Ed Stelmach and Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky initially resisted the calls, they soon caved to the Opposition’s demands and will allow an investigation by the Health Quality Council of Alberta.

All four of the opposition parties were able to unite around Dr. Sherman’s message this week and this may be the final time they all share the same podium on this issue. The philosophical and political agendas of the four parties, especially the Wildrose Alliance, differ on the future of the public health care system.

The Liberals, Alberta Party, and NDP should be cautious not to fall into Wildrose Alliance‘s consistent narrative, which places much of the blame on the public health care system and Alberta Health Services, rather than the years of instability created by short-sighted policies political interference and constant restructuring by PC Governments. As I have written before, our public health care system is not broken, it just needs some stability – and tender loving care.



A remaining question that Dr. Sherman has yet to answer is whether he will remain an Independent MLA after the Spring sitting of the Assembly. When asked earlier this year, Dr. Sherman said he would make a decision by the end of March, and may even seek the top job of one of the three parties looking for new leaders. Some political watchers have pointed out reasons why he does not have the qualities to be a party leader, yet last week’s redemption would still make him an appealing MLA for the opposition caucuses.

Until he makes his decision, he has already booked engagements with the Edmonton-Rutherford Alberta Party at their March 14 Town Hall meeting on health care, and with the Edmonton-Mill Woods Liberals as the guest speaker at a tribute dinner for the retiring Dr. David Swann.

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Alberta Politics

alberta politics notes 1/28/2011.

What’s next?

The sudden Tuesday morning announcement by Premier Ed Stelmach that he will resign before the next election caught many people by surprise, but beyond the broad statement there was little detail about when he would actually resign and when he would be replaced. At a press conference in Calgary yesterday, Premier Stelmach gave a little more detail saying that he would continue in his role until at least the end of the Spring Session of the Legislature.

Dr. Ted Morton after presenting the 2010 Provincial Budget.

Morton’s savvy move

Yesterday’s departure of Finance Minister Ted Moron from the provincial cabinet is an unsurprising move by the conservative former University professor. Dr. Morton’s resignation as Finance Minister will allow him to concentrate on his leadership bid and more importantly distances himself from a 2011 budget which is expected to include a substantial deficit, which would hurt his credibility among his conservative supporters.

Not having to stand up on the Legislative Assembly floor and present a deficit budget in 2011 will not give the Wildrose Alliance the pleasure of attacking his credentials as a fiscal hawk (or fiscal mallard). The battle over whether to accept a deficit or balance the budget (resulting in serious budget cuts) was a fight that is suspected to have contributed heavily on Premier Stelmach’s resignation announcement earlier this week.

New Finance Minister Lloyd Snelgrove flipping pancakes at the 2010 Premier's Breakfast in Edmonton.

Lloyd from Lloydminster

Mr. Morton’s departure from cabinet made way for Treasury Board President Lloyd Snelgrove‘s appointment as Minister of Finance. Minister Snelgrove was first elected as the MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminster in 2001, replacing former Finance Minister Steve West (who was known as Dr. Death for the part he played in the government cuts of the 1990). Minister Snelgrove was one of the nine  MLAs who supported Premier Stelmach’s bid for the PC leadership in 2006 and has been a key member of the Premier’s inner circle since.

Video interviews with Danielle Smith and Jonathan Denis

Ontario Conservative political blogger Stephen Taylor has posted two video interviews this week with Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith and Housing Minister Jonathan Denis in reaction to Premier Stelmach’s resignation announcement.

Alberta Party acting leader Sue Huff and the first Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor.

The Economist weighs in.

The Economist published a review of Alberta’s current political situation titled “Prairie fire” that gives a good synopsis of the PC leadership strife, the rise of the Wildrose Alliance, and the growth of the new Alberta Party with its first MLA Dave Taylor.

Another Liberal departure

Media Coordinator Tanara McLean is leaving the Liberal Caucus to take a position with SunTV reporter starting next month. This will be the second departure from the Liberal Communications Office in 2011. Communications Director Neil Mackie left in early January.

MLA Dr. Raj Sherman announced that he will continue to sit as an Independent MLA in the upcoming Spring Sitting of the Legislature.

Raj Sherman Media Conference

Independent Edmonton-Meadowlark MLA Dr. Raj Sherman held a media conference yesterday to announce that he will be entering the Spring Session of the Legislature as an Independent MLA. He also reminded the media of his upcoming townhall tour with the Friends of Medicare‘s David Eggen.

Nomination contests

A few new additions to the list of declared candidates seeking party nominations for the next provincial election. In Calgary-Varsity, previously declared Kevin Dick is now facing Justin Anderson for the Wildrose Alliance nomination. Other newly declared seeking Wildrose candidate nominations are Tim Dyck in Calgary-Bow and Cory Morgan in Calgary-North Hill (soon to be Calgary-Klein). Mr. Morgan was the Wildrose candidate in Calgary-Mountain View in the 2008 election and some people may remember him as the leader of the Alberta Independence Party in 2001.

In Edmonton-Decore, Zack Siezmagraff is seeking the Liberal Party nomination to reclaim the constituency from PC MLA Janice Sarich. This riding under its current and previous names was represented by Liberal MLAs Bill Bonko, Bill Bonner, and its namesake Laurence Decore from 1989 to 2008.

Read more in the Alberta Politics Notes archive.

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Alberta Politics

quotes in response to ed stelmach’s resignation.

On his decision to not run in the next election:

Premier Ed Stelmach told the Fort Saskatchewan Record: “I got to thinking when I was interviewing the MLAs coming in and asking them for a five year commitment,” he said. “Another five years would put me close to 65 and I know there’s many politicians older than that and doing well, but that would have been 30 years of public service.

“Having served the constituency for many years. I feel good in terms of what we’ve been able to accomplish, in terms of improved infrastructure, whether it be Fort Saskatchewan, Vegreville or the communities in between.

“I know it’s time for a change and politics is demanding, and will be increasingly demanding, and that’s why I made the decision.”

Party insiders on the next leadership contest:

PC Party Executive Director Pat Godkin told Sun Media that “there is no timeline whatsoever” in place for a leadership contest.

PC Party President Bill Smith told iNews880 that “I think more along the lines we’re looking at spring and summer.”

Ralph Klein’s former Chief of Staff Rod Love told Global News: “You know there’s 68 members in the caucus, a lot of the names are well known about who might be in, who might be out.”

Potential candidates::

Deputy Premier Doug Horner told the St. Albert Gazette: “I was asked the question whether or not I would consider it and my response honestly is, well yeah, you’re going to consider it but it doesn’t mean I’m going to do it just yet.”

Former Finance Minister and current University of Calgary Chancellor Jim Dinning on CKNW Radio in Vancouver: “While I still have the passion and the interest, I do not want to run for that job.”

Finance Minister Ted Morton told the Calgary Herald: I have not made that decision. It is still, as I said (Tuesday), inappropriate for you guys to ask those questions and inappropriate for me to answer.”

Justice Minister Alison Redford told the Calgary Herald: “It might be something in the future that I’ll consider. Whether that is imminent or not I just don’t know at this time. That’s my honest answer.”

Culture and Community Spirit Minister Lindsay Blackett told the Calgary Herald: You always have to consider it,” he said shortly after hearing of Stelmach’s decision, “and see what level of support there is for you to try to do something like that. But I’m also mindful I’ve only been on the game for three years.”

Alberta Mayors:

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel told CTV Edmonton: “I was a huge fan of the premier. He was a fine, fine man who was I think a great representative of the Province of Alberta. I wish him and his wife the best.”

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi told the Calgary Herald: “Right now I think it’s not time to think about politics. It is time to think about Premier Stelmach’s legacy as a really decent human being and a really dedicated public servant.”

Red Deer Mayor Morris Flewwelling told the Red Deer Advocate: “This government and Mr. Stelmach have done a good job of recognizing that municipalities are the engines of the economy. Stelmach came from municipal politics so he understood the revenue sharing and imbalance of revenue for municipalities.”

Opposition Parties comment:

Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith told the Edmonton Journal: “Make no mistake, the reason I ran for leadership of the Wildrose party was to replace Ed Stelmach as premier of this province… “I think it’s too late at this point for the PCs to recover any of their former glory. … We think the next election will be a time for Albertans to turn the page on this Tory dynasty. It’s been in power for 40 years and it’s a new chapter.”

Liberal leader David Swann told the Edmonton Journal: “Everything will be on a holding pattern in the ministries to wait until direction comes from the party leader. Without clear leadership — in fact, division at the top — for what really needs to happen in terms of fixing health care, there will be a polarizing from those who want to see more private services provided to pick up the gap and those who feel that the primary problem is in leadership and management.”

Alberta Party acting leader Sue Huff told the Edmonton Journal: “I think it’s time for Albertans to really decide what it is they want for the future, for their children, for their grandchildren, and decide if we really want extreme right-wing politics to decide the day.”

NDP leader Brian Mason told the Edmonton Journal: “The Alberta Tories can’t be trusted to protect public health care. They have repeatedly sought to bring in more private care under various leaders, and leaked documents show they are planning it again. They run the least competent government in Canada. That’s the real problem.”

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Alberta Politics

calgary mla dave taylor joins the alberta party.

Updated photo: Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor and acting leader Sue Huff at a January 25, 2011 media conference at the Legislature.

Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor will announce that he is joining the new Alberta Party this morning, becoming that party’s first ever MLA.

From the Calgary Herald:

Ex-Liberal MLA Dave Taylor will throw his support to the Alberta Party today, adding a third opposition party to the increasingly crowded legislature floor.

“I am joining the Alberta Party and that obviously means I will sit as an Alberta Party MLA,” Taylor told the Herald on the weekend.

“I’ve taken a long time to make this decision but I believe it is the right one. The Alberta Party is a good fit with my values and my principles. I can be very comfortable with these people.”

The Calgary-Currie MLA will make the announcement this morning at a downtown news conference with interim party Leader Suff Huff, other party advocates, and members of his Currie riding association.

His decision is a “tremendous boost to this new party and another nail in the coffin of the Liberals,” says Mount Royal University professor David Taras.

“So far the Alberta Party is below the radar with most Albertans. Not many could pick the leader out of a lineup.

“And now here’s Dave Taylor all of a sudden. He’s known, he’s articulate and he’s effective. People could start to get really interested in this new party.

A former radio host on Calgary’s AM770, Mr. Taylor was first elected as a Liberal MLA in 2004 and left that party to sit as an Independent MLA in April 2010. As the new Alberta Party’s first MLA, he will certainly give the new party a boost in public attention as the Legislature resumes sitting on February 22, 2011. Today’s announcement also challenges the growing narrative that only the Wildrose Alliance has momentum going into an expected 2012 provincial general election.

In December 2010, the Alberta Party Board of Directors surprised some political watchers when they approved a set of guidelines for future Alberta Party MLAs and MLAs wishing to join that Party. The Alberta Party also kicked off its leadership contest in January 2011 with voting for a new leader to take place in May 2011.

Mr. Taylor’s move creates an even more oddly split Assembly with 67 Progressive Conservative MLAs, 8 Liberal MLAs, 4 Wildrose Alliance MLAs, 2 New Democrat MLAs, 1 Alberta Party MLA, and 1 Independent MLA.

(Note: I am a member of the Alberta Party. Read my closing remarks to the Party’s 2010 Policy Convention to get a good idea of why I joined)

Categories
Alberta Politics

2010 in review: alberta politics.

This past year has been a fascinating one in Alberta politics. We have felt the rise of a new political opposition, witnessed more floor crossings than in decades, and a long-serving government that is trying desperately to find a direction. What have the changes in the past year meant for Alberta’s political players and what will it mean for them in 2011?
Progressive Conservatives
The challenges facing the PC Party on the eve of 2011 are similar to the challenges they faced a year ago. During the mid and late 1990s, the PCs were driven by an all-consuming desire to defeat the provincial deficit and debt. Once those goals were accomplished in the mid-2000s, the PCs lost their driving force. As in 2009, they continued to drift through 2010, without a defining purpose.

To say that the government was on auto-pilot in 2010 might be too generous a description because even that assumes that the ship is purposefully being steered in one direction. This is not to say that the PCs have driven Alberta into the ground. Alberta is still one of the most economically vibrant regions in Canada, but even the biggest optimist would admit that with a lack of strong leadership an institutional mediocrity has begun to define the leadership of Premier Ed Stelmach.

Protecting the reputation of the oil sands has become a raison d’aitre for many cabinet ministers, including Premier Stelmach and Environment Minister Rob Renner, but issues like health care have overshadowed these environmental issues on a domestic level. The firing of Alberta Health Services CEO Stephen Duckett along with a public shaming by the ER Doctors, and a very public battle with Edmonton-Meadowlark MLA Dr. Raj Sherman over Emergency Room wait-times turned the Tories to damage control mode late in 2010.

The PCs had initially hoped to turn health care as one of their positive stories of 2010 and promised one of the most important pieces of health care legislation in decades. The flagship Alberta Health Act was initially created to bring all health care laws under one piece of legislation, but once it made it to the Assembly floor, it was watered down to include a non-binding health charter and empowering the Health Minister to make more decisions in closed door cabinet meetings, rather than through Legislative votes.

In a number of year end interviews, Premier Stelmach has already begun managing expectations for 2011, stating that the provincial budget deficit may not be paid down until 2013, which creates an interesting political environment for an election expected in March 2012. The Premier has also stated that he will shuffle his cabinet in early 2011 in advance of the next election.

The next year will give the PCs an opportunity to mend some fences in their former stronghold of Calgary. The election of Mayor Naheed Nenshi in October 2010 could create a new cooperative tone between the Premier and the Mayor of Alberta’s largest city (a relationship that was not kind to the Premier when Dave Bronconnier was Mayor). If the PCs are unable to regain lost ground in Calgary, they might begin asking what, or who, caused their decline in support, and whether the reason responsible should be replaced.

Liberals
After being elbowed to the sideline by the growing narrative of the Wildrose Alliance as the next government-in-waiting in 2010, the Liberal Party’s biggest challenge in 2011 is to be relevant. Unable to defeat the PCs after 17 years as the Official Opposition, the Liberal Party has started to look and feel like yesterday’s opposition party.

The party has paid down its enormous debt and the caucus has released a series of new policies, but under David Swann‘s leadership the party has been unable to show any momentum as it slipped to third place in nearly every poll in 2010.

The departure of Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor in April 2010 hurt the Liberals and I am told that many of the party’s traditional big donors in Edmonton are not pleased with the current leadership or Dr. Swann’s last minute appeal for cooperation with other opposition parties. With up to three of the party’s eight MLAs planning on retiring at the next election, the party is hoping to draw on a number of former MLAs defeated in the 2008 election to bolster its slate in the next election. Not exactly the sign of renewal that they will need to build momentum.

Wildrose Alliance
The past year has been a spectacular one for the Wildrose Alliance. With four MLAs, that party now has the third largest caucus in the Assembly, the most charismatic leader, Danielle Smith, a slew of staffers and organizers who have fled the PCs, a growing membership, and a group of 26 already nominated candidates knocking on doors across the province. The annual fundraising reports expected to be released by Elections Alberta in March 2011 will reveal another part of this party’s story in 2010 and will show if they will be able to compete with the PC Party’s multi-million dollar war chest.

The Wildrose Alliance is becoming more adept at using political wedge issues to draw out the weakness of the governing PCs. For example, where the PCs will never admit that they have ever attempted to increase privatization of our public health care system, the Wildrose Alliance is much more open with their desire to introduce private insurance and private providers (of course, their arguments around private health care delivery hit a bump in the road when they decided to defend the bankrupt Health Resource Centre in Calgary).

On the municipal front, Ms. Smith briefly entered the City Centre Airport redevelopment debate and received a stunning rebuke from Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel. While Ms. Smith’s entry into the debate does not appear to have helped that cause, it did give her party the opportunity to organize in their weakest region of the province (a maneuver that appears to have paid off).

A party cannot grow this fast without bumps along the road and the Wildrose has had a few. A few months ago, the entire Board of Directors of that party’s Little Bow Constituency Association resigned over allegations of central party interference in the nomination contest that selected Ian Donovan over Kevin Kinahan in November 2010. This week, the Board of Directors of the Medicine Hat Wildrose Constituency Association resigned over the acclamation of candidate Milvia Bauman.

New Democratic Party
The NDP are well… the NDP. The party’s two MLAs, Brian Mason and Rachel Notley, were vocal opponents in the Assembly this year and the party hosted a reasonably well-attended policy conference. The NDP Caucus released some positive policy this year, but rather than offering a constructive alternative to the current government the two MLAs fell back into the comfortable opposition attack-dog position.

The party shows very little signs of serious growth in the polls outside its traditional areas of support, but they are in a position to benefit from a weakened Liberal Party inside Edmonton’s city limits. Barring a change in leadership, which could see Ms. Notley or former MLA David Eggen step up, the NDP may have missed their window of opportunity to broaden their support beyond a handful of Edmonton constituencies a number of years ago.

Alberta Party
After the merger of the old Alberta Party with the Renew Alberta group in late 2009, the new Alberta Party has experienced huge growth.

Through the Big Listen process, the party attracted many disenchanted Tories, Liberals, New Democrats, former Greens, and independents to its ranks and has grown to nearly 1000 member in just one year. The party has been bolstered through the presidency of Chris Labossiere and in a smart move the party hired community organizer Michael Walters as their provincial organizer in Spring 2010. This still-growing party is expected to have over 40 constituency associations organized by the end of January 2011.

Acting Leader Sue Huff replaced leader Edwin Erickson in November 2010 and a full leadership contest will be launched in January 2011. A few potential candidates have already stepped up, including Hinton Mayor Glenn Taylor and Calgarian Chris Tesarski. The Alberta Party received a boost in public and media interest in October 2010, when many of its key organizers helped vault Naheed Nenshi to the Mayoralty in Calgary.

As an active member of this party, I see the Alberta Party’s big challenge of 2011 to move past the Big Listen to the next step of initiating some Big Action.

Categories
Alberta Politics

alberta politics notes 12/12/2010

Don Martin goes to Ottawa
After 32-years writing for the Calgary Herald, Don Martin wrote his final column last week titled “ My last words on Alberta politics.” Mr. Martin will soon take over as the host of CTV’s Ottawa-based Power Play.

Budget
The City of Edmonton approved their 2011 budget with a 3.85% tax increase. Read Councillor Don Iveson‘s blog post on the budget debates and results. The City of Calgary also recently passed their 2011 budget with a 5% tax increase.

Urban municipalities conference
The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association held their annual general meeting at the end of November where they debated and adopted a series of new policies. Conference delegates also acclaimed Village of Breton Councillor Darren Aldous as their President for a second-term.

Lethbridge By-Election
The sudden death of Alderman-elect Bob Babki in October has triggered a by-election for Lethbridge City Council scheduled for February 1, 2011. Jeff Coffman, Kevin Layton, George McCrea, Wade Galloway are standing in the by-election.

Canadian Wheat Board elections
Allen Oberg of Forrestburg, Alberta, Stewart Wells of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Kyle Korneychuk of Pelly, Saskatchewan, John Sandborn of Benito, Manitoba, and Henry Vos of Fairview, Alberta were elected or re-elected to the Canadian Wheat Board. All Board Members with the exception of Mr. Vos are supporters of a single desk seller. Just over 41 per cent of the eligible 28,481 eligible farmers returned their mail-in ballots.

Alberta Party releases MLA Guidelines
The Alberta Party has released a series of guidelines for MLAs and a process for sitting MLAs who want to join that party, which has generated some interesting debate on Facebook. The Edmonton Journal’s Sheila Pratt has wrote about a recent chat with the Alberta Party’s Acting-Leader Sue Huff, as did Angela Brunschot in SEE Magazine.

New Alberta Liberal Executive
The Alberta Liberals elected a new President at their recent annual general meeting. Erick Ambtman was acclaimed to the position as were VP Policy Debbie Cavaliere and Secretary Nancy Cavanaugh. Two other board positions appear to be vacant as VP Communications Jody MacPherson resigned for personal reasons at the AGM and the VP Fundraising position is listed as vacant on the party website.

Mar blocked Maryland global warming Bill
Alberta’s representative in Washington DC Gary Mar helped stop a piece of global warming legislation in the State of Maryland in 2009. According to The Tyee, Mr. Mar travelled to Maryland to speak against the Oil Sands Responsibility Act introduced by Representative Roger Manno. The Bill would have prohibited State agencies from purchasing high-carbon fuel, including fuel derived from Alberta’s oil sands.

Ted Morton running against Danielle Smith?
Probably not, but that has not stopped the speculation that the PCs would take advantage of changes in the electoral boundaries to put their top fiscal mallard Ted Morton on the ballot against Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith.

Social Credit AGM
The elusive Social Credit Party held its annual general meeting on November 20, 2010 in in Innisfail where its members reaffirmed the leadership of Len Skowronski and heard what I am sure was a fascinating a speech from Paul Kennett, President and CEO of the Alberta Credit Union Deposit Corporation. The party also elected a new board of directors, consisting of President Gordon Barrett, Vice-Presidents Helge Nome and Garnet Medicraft, Area Directors Myrna Kissick, Gordon Musgrove, Tom Stad, Raj Sinha, Charles Relland, and Bob Whyte. Both Mr. Relland and Mr. Whyte are former members of the Alberta Party, which they both left after the party’s renewal attracted in an influx of new members over the past year.

Election earlier than 2012?
Liberal leader David Swann and Wildrose Alliance leader Ms. Smith are predicting an election in early 2011. Although I have heard similar rumours as they have, I still believe that as long as Premier Ed Stelmach is the leader of his party the next election will be in March 2012, as he has consistently said.

Read more in the Alberta Politics Notes archive.

Categories
Alberta Politics

sue huff acting leader of the alberta party.

Former Edmonton Public School Trustee Sue Huff is now the Acting Leader of the Alberta Party. Ms. Huff replaces Edwin Erickson, who became leader in late 2009 and announced his intentions to step down at the party’s Annual General Meeting in October. The Alberta Party is preparing to hold a leadership contest that will take place next spring.

The first set of policies ratified by participants of their first convention were also released this week. The party is currently in the process of establishing and organizing constituency associations across the province (founding meetings are being held this week in Edmonton-Centre, Leduc-Beaumont-Devon, Calgary-Mountain View, and Edmonton-Glenora).

(I shared some closing remarks at the Alberta Party’s first policy conference, which you can read here.)

Categories
Alberta Politics

alberta party annual general meeting & road to policy 2010.


I have travelled across a lot of Canada and while I have experienced some amazing scenery, in my mind little compares with a Fall drive down the Queen Elizabeth II Highway through central Alberta. The colours of the leaves are changing, the farmers are harvesting their crops, and a new season is just around the corner. This was the drive I took this weekend on my way to Red Deer to observe the Annual General Meeting of the Alberta Party.

Around fifty members of the Alberta Party crowded a meeting room at the Holiday Inn to participate in their party’s Annual General Meeting. It was a typical hotel conference room, but the crowd was different. Where most traditional partisans could easily be characterized by their greying hair or balding heads, this crowd was much more generationally diverse than I have seen at other political meetings.

I arrived at noon and was told that I had missed a series of small fireworks set off by some of the old guard of the Alberta Party. The Alberta Party was formed in the 1980s and existed as a Reform Party-esq fringe party until earlier this year when a new group of mainly rural Party members joined forces with the largely urban Renew Alberta group. I was told that some of these older party members felt that the influx of new members and new constitutional changes were changing the party too quickly. After a thorough debate, all the constitutional changes and motions were approved.

Not being able to piggyback on the resources of federal political cousins or traditional party establishments, members of the new Alberta Party have focused on building their party and policy infrastructure through hundreds of “Big Listen” meetings held across the province. The ideas and feedback generated through these living-room and coffee meetings were used in Saturday afternoon’s Road to Policy session to determine the general areas of discussion that will be proposed at the Alberta Party’s Policy Convention in November.

It was my observation that ideas generated from the Big Listens that were discussed this weekend were not extreme or ideological driven. The ideas were moderate and likely reflective of the views of most Albertans. It felt that one of the biggest differences between this party and the traditional establishment parties is not necessarily policy, but the tone of discussions that are shaping that party.

While some political leaders talk about doing politics differently, the Alberta Party is actually doing politics differently. What I witnessed this weekend did not feel like a political party event, it felt like a real collaborative process.

Some criticism levelled at the Alberta Party since they launched their Big Listen campaign has been that they do nothing but listen. A few months ago, I might have been more sympathetic to these criticisms, but I now understand the process that the party is following. Laying a strong foundation of organization and ideas is not something that can be created overnight and it is critical for the survival of a new political party.

One of the big news items of the day was the announcement by Leader Edwin Erickson that he will resign from his position at the November Policy Convention. At that convention an interim leader will be appointed and an open leadership contest will begin.

The thing that impresses me the most about the new Alberta Party is the group of credible and politically savvy people who have joined its ranks over the past ten months.

New Party President Chris Labossiere was previously involved with the Edmonton-Whitemud Progressive Conservatives and played a key role in Dave Hancock‘s re-election campaign in 2008. Vice-President Chima Nkemderim is the campaign director for Naheed Nenshi‘s Calgary Mayoral campaign and managed MLA Kent Hehr‘s 2008 campaign in Calgary-Buffalo. Their Board of Directors includes former Education Minister David King and Edmonton Public School Board Trustee Sue Huff. At the end of the day, the newly elected Alberta Party Board of Directors consisted of 11 women and 14 men from across the province.

Some people have asked me “why I bother writing about the Alberta Party” and why I do not focus on helping get the established opposition parties elected. The truth is I have a difficult time not getting frustrated when writing about the sorry state of Alberta’s traditional establishment opposition parties.

To me, the characteristics that differentiate what I experienced this weekend from what I have experienced at other political meetings is the optimism of the people in the room. The people I spoke with at the AGM are not driven with a singular desire to destroy the PCs or gain power, but are driven with an optimism to change the culture of politics in this province.

The Alberta Party has proven to me that they can attract competent people and actually understand the meaning of practicing politics differently. Their big challenge will be to translate this into support outside their already politically active communities and into the next provincial election.

Categories
Uncategorized

alberta politics notes 6/17/2010

This descriptive photo of Finance Minister Ted Morton was taken from the Alberta Chamber of Commerce website.

– Premier-in-Waiting Ted Morton was joined by Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand this week while rallying against a National Securities registry. According to a recent Angus Reid survey, 48% of Albertans are open to a National Securities Regulator, 23% supported the current model (and I am betting that close to 100% did not know the difference between the two).
– Liberal leader David Swann has joined Minister Morton and Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith in opposing the National Securities Regulator.
– Former Premier-in-Waiting Jim Dinning is now the Chancellor of the University of Calgary.
– Alberta’s representative in Washington DC Gary Mar is spending his time promoting the oilsands in the wake of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
– Culture & Community Spirit Minister Lindsay Blackett has apologized for describing Canadian television as “shit” and “crap.” It was rude and condescending for Minister Blackett to say those things during a panel discussion at the Banff World Television Festival, but there was a certain refreshing quality to his honesty.
– I was saddened to hear of the passing of my former MLA Dave Broda. Mr. Broda served as the MLA for Redwater from 1997 to 2004.
– Federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is in Edmonton on June 19. Dan Arnold has written a good article about why the federal Liberals should focus on the West.
Equal Voice Alberta is hosting a workshop on June 23 for women considering running for municipal council or school board trustee. Panelists include Councillor Janice Melnychuk, retiring Edmonton Public School Board Trustee Sue Huff, former Ward 4 campaign manager Sarah Crummy.
– Independent Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor is hosting a town hall forum with Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell and QR77 radio host Dave Rutherford on June 22. Topic: Do Alberta’s Political Parties represent you?
– The United Nurses of Alberta has recommended the ratification of a new provincial contract. The new three-year agreement would provide a commitment to hire at least 70% of new nursing graduates, no rollbacks from the previous agreement, and a six percent pay increase over three years (two percent productivity increase in the second year and a four percent increase in the third year).

Read more in the Alberta Politics Notes archive.