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In this episode Dave and Ryan discuss the latest Alberta’s election developments, including the fallout from Mark Smith’s homophobic comments, Jason Kenney’s interview with Charles Adler and how it might impact voters on April 16, the televised leaders’ debate, and what Rachel Notley needs to do in the final week of Alberta’s 2019 election. We also dive into the giant mailbag of questions sent in by our listeners and we share our results from the CBC Vote Compass survey.
The Daveberta Podcast is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB Financial. You can listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you find podcasts online.
We always love to feedback from our listeners, so let us know what you think of this episode and leave a review where you download. You can also comment on the blog, Facebook or Twitter or send us an email at podcast@daveberta.ca.
And we were thrilled to welcome back our producer, Adam Rozenhart! A big thanks to our excellent guest producer, Chris Chang-Yen Phillips, who kept us on track for the last two episodes.
Thank you for listening and to everyone who sent in questions this week!
Recommended reading/listening:
- Albertans want a leader who sees Trudeau as an adversary, not an ally: pollster (CBC The Current, April 5, 2019)
- Charles Adler interview with Ryan Jespersen
- Charles Adler interview with Jason Kenney
- Are we really okay with Jason Kenney, by Jen Gerson (Maclean’s, April 6, 2019)
- Fiscal fortitude absent from Alberta election as leaders again shirk sales tax debate, by Keith Gerein (Postmedia, April 5, 2019)
Remember to vote!
Alberta’s provincial general election is on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. Voting stations on Election Day will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on April 16. Advance voting stations will be open on April 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. Visit Elections Alberta to find the location of your voting station.
Voters who will be away from their electoral division on Election Day and during the advance voting days can request a Special Ballot from Elections Alberta.
2 replies on “Episode 33: Ballot Questions, the Leaders’ Debate, and your great Alberta Election questions”
Does anyone want to give odds whether or not Mr. Cournoyer will review the legislative record of the current government before the next election?
I seem to recall is e discussion, perhaps from the mailbag, about how divisive, polarized & downright nasty this campaign ha sheen and still is. The level of vitriol is virtually unprecedented for an Alberta election, at least one held in our collective lifetimes.
One thing you failed to mention in relation to this, is the “accidental government” narrative that has come from the Right virtually since the day the NDP won the 2015 election. Yes, First Past the Post meant that he PCs & Wildrose “split” the conservative vote in many ridings and allowed the NDP to win with less than a majority. But, in fact, that is exactly how FPTP electoral systems usually work, and only in electorates with only two parties, such as the United States—and in fact, often not there either—does the seat count roughly reflect the popular vote.
Proportional Representation in some form would alleviate this issue and allow the seat distribution in the House to better reflect the distribution of the popular vote, but here’s the thing: conservative parties all across the country, no matter their formal title, have vociferously opposed PR every time it has been brought up. So, I find it pretty rich when conservatives then turn around and complain when the current electoral system functions exactly as it is designed and produces the results it does, but only when those results are not to their advantage.
Maybe instead of a shotgun wedding between the PCs and Wildrose, Alberta’s conservatives should have pushed for electoral reforms that would allow different flavours of conservatism to continue to exist. Those reforms would also help the centre & left parties to remain relevant as well.