The political history of Alberta is filled with larger than life characters. I read a lot about Alberta history, and while politicians like William Aberhart, Ernest Manning, Peter Lougheed, and Ralph Klein dominate the history books, I have frequently come across some really interesting lesser known characters. I thought it would be interesting to share are a few of those names with you today.
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You shared your Alberta politics questions and we answered them in our annual Ask Me Anything episode of the Daveberta Podcast.
New and recent episodes of the Daveberta Podcast are available to paid subscribers of the Daveberta Substack. In case you missed them, you can catch up on recent Daveberta Podcast episodes with Edmonton Public School Board chairperson Trisha Estabrooks, thewrit.ca publisher Éric Grenier, and strategist Chris Henderson.
The Daveberta Podcast is hosted by Dave Cournoyer and produced by Adam Rozenhart. This episode was recorded on July 12, 2023.
We are planning to record a new episode of the Daveberta Podcast later this week and I am inviting subscribers of the Daveberta Substack to share their Alberta politics questions for us to answer in this special summer episode. Read the rest on the Daveberta Substack.
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Dust off your cowboy boots and hat. It’s that time of year again. It’s the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. It’s the Calgary Stampede.
The Stampede is a must attend event for politicians of all stripes. Aside from the actual rodeo (the Chuckwagon races are a must see), the free pancake breakfast and BBQ circuit is unparalleled and a huge opportunity for local, provincial and federal politicians to connect with Calgarians. Proper attire is key, as is the ability to wear it properly.
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The Alberta NDP Caucus released the list of critic roles that its roster of 38 Official Opposition MLAs have been tasked to fill.
Every NDP MLA has been assigned a role as a critic or in the caucus leadership, which is not unusual for provincial oppositions in Alberta. But, because of the unusually large size of the opposition caucus, there are more critics than cabinet ministers to shadow.
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It has been almost two weeks since Alberta Premier Danielle Smith named her new 24-member cabinet and a lot of ink has been spilled dissecting what the appointments could mean for the start of the United Conservative Party’s second term as government and the next four years.
There are big challenges facing the new cabinet, especially for ministers appointed to high-profile positions. But what caught my attention among the appointments was the return of two former cabinet ministers who were pushed into the backbenches when Smith entered the Premier’s Office last October.
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It was a historic election result for the Alberta NDP.
Rachel Notley’s NDP won 38 seats in last week’s election and will form the largest Official Opposition in the province’s history. The NDP got more votes in this election than it ever has before, including a historic high of 49% in Calgary. The party ran the most sophisticated, well-organized and best-funded campaign in its history.
But it fell short of its ultimate goal of forming government.
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It has been one week since Alberta’s election and Premier Danielle Smith is expected to appoint a new roster of cabinet ministers soon.
At least six current United Conservative Party cabinet ministers and three former cabinet ministers were defeated in the election. Along with four former cabinet ministers who declined to run for re-election, it means there could be some new and inexperienced MLAs with jobs as cabinet ministers.
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It’s been a few days since Election Day in Alberta and as the dust begins to settle I’ve been able to take a closer look at the results in ridings across the province.
The Alberta election results tell a big story.
1. Alberta is politically divided, but not equally divided everywhere.
2. Alberta is politically competitive, but only in some places.
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Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party will form a majority government in Alberta and Rachel Notley’s NDP will form the Official Opposition.
As of 2:00am, the UCP has 49 seats and the NDP has 38, which I believe is the closest election result in Alberta’s history. There are still some remaining polls that haven’t reported in a few Calgary ridings with tight races, so those numbers could shift slightly.
This election has been a wild ride and the electoral map shows a deeply divided province.
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It’s Election Day in Alberta! If you didn’t vote in the advance polls, voting stations are open today from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm.
Whether you are planning to settle in for a quiet evening of results watching or heading to your local candidate’s campaign office for a victory party, I am happy to share some fun Alberta election trivia you can wow your friends and family with tonight.
Enjoy!
Dave
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Over the course of the election I’ve been doing my best to keep track of which ridings United Conservative Party leader Danielle Smith and Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley visited for events and announcements on the campaign trail between May 1 and May 27, 2023.
The leader’s tour can give some insight into where the parties are on the defensive and where they hope to make gains in an election. And, if competitive ridings are the big measurement, then there were only a few surprises on this map.
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There are two days left until Election Day in Alberta.
I was planning on taking a short break from writing any election commentary this morning, but I decided I had a few thoughts I wanted to share about some recent high-profile election endorsements.
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There are three days left until Election Day in Alberta!
The parties and their leaders are spending the final days making their last pitches to voters and rallying their supporters.
Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley spoke to a crowd of about 350 supporters at a campaign rally in Medicine Hat yesterday before heading back to Calgary to speak at a backyard gathering in support of Calgary-Fish Creek candidate Rebecca Bounsall.
Neither of these places are where an NDP leader would traditionally spend any time during the final days of the campaign in past elections but all of the old assumptions have been tossed out the window in 2023.
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With Election Day only a few days away, Chris Henderson joins the Daveberta Podcast for a deep discussion about Alberta’s election campaign, how we got here and the spicy scenarios that might become reality after the votes are counted on May 29. We also discuss what the possible election outcomes mean for United Conservative Party leader Danielle Smith and Alberta NDP Rachel Notley.
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