Confirmed on last week’s edition of CBC’s The House, and today’s Edmonton Journal, one of the worst kept secrets in Alberta politics is out of the bag – former MP Rahim Jaffer is gearing up for a third re-match with NDP MP Linda Duncan in Edmonton-Strathcona. After spending 12 years in Ottawa, Jaffer was the only Conservative candidate in Alberta to face defeat in the October 15, 2008 federal election. In a master plan drawn up by the authors of the now-defunct “Canadian Rebels” blog, it now appears that Jaffer’s triumphant return to political-life has been in the works since early this year.
The Journal also reports that former Edmonton-Parkallen PC MLA Doug Main will be supporting Ryan Hastman for the Conservative nod in Edmonton-Strathcona. Hastman currently works for Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a Senior Special Assistant in Ottawa.
Since the October 2008 election, both the Conservatives and NDP have paid a lot of attention to Edmonton-Strathcona. The Conservative Party of Canada has used tax-payer funds to pummel Edmonton-Strathcona voters with pro-Conservative mail pamphlets, and a legion of NDP MPs have paid visits (including Jack Layton, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, and Dennis Bevington).
