“At year’s end there is a saying, “Out with the old and in with the new”
“Unfortunately, this does not apply to your St. Albert Provincial Liberal Constituency Association. The reality of our situation is that “The old is not out and the new is the same old.”
A letter sent to current and past Alberta Liberal Party supporters in the St. Albert constituency gives a glimpse into how disorganized and far-behind the Liberal Party is in preparing for the next provincial election in some constituencies.
The letter, signed by local activist Wilf Borgstede and constituency association president and former MLA Jack Flaherty, outlines the trouble that the Liberals have had in recruiting a candidate to run in that constituency in the upcoming provincial election.
The letter makes reference to two prospective candidates who showed interest in running, but declined because of the lack of support the local organization would be able to provide them during the election campaign.
According to the letter, the last Annual General Meeting was held in 2008, the year which Mr. Flaherty was defeated. The letter suggests that despite a brief boost in interest in the party during the recent leadership contest and when former Tory MLA Raj Sherman was chosen as leader, that interest has since disbursed.
When contacted about this letter, Liberal Party campaign chairman Corey Hogan, always an optimist, wrote via email that “I suspect the launch of our platform on the 6th will further invigorate members and supporters in St. Albert and elsewhere as we get prepared for the coming contest.”
Meanwhile, the four other main political parties have nominated candidates. Alberta Party candidate Tim Osborne was nominated more than a year ago, the NDP acclaimed activist Nicole Bownes in 2010, and the Wildrose have chosen former Alderman James Burrows (who is a former Liberal Party member). Two weeks ago, the PCs held a hotly contested nomination meeting that drew three candidates and hundreds of local supporters to select a replacement to retiring MLA Ken Allred. Businessman Stephen Khan was the successful PC nominee.
The letter may be symptomatic of broader problems facing the Liberal Party. Two staffers who recently left the Liberal Caucus Office have landed in the PC camp. Former Liberal Researcher Kyle Olsen recently left the Caucus for a job as a researcher at the PC Caucus and former public relations coordinator Andrew Fisher is now supporting Edmonton-Centre PC candidate Akash Kokhar‘s campaign.
Judging by past performances, not rocking the boat is a difficult thing for Finance Minister Ron Liepert, who managed to table a budget yesterday that will rock Albertans to sleep before it rocks them into a riot. Reminding Albertans of just how good their forty-year government is, the Tories are subtly trying to convince Albertans not to do anything too drastic, like voting for another party in the upcoming election.
Stable increases to the health care and education budgets, increased funding AISH and to end homelessness will appeal to soft Liberal and New Democrat voters that the PCs hope to capture in the next election.
This puts Alberta’s opposition parties in a difficult position. NDP leader Brian Masonquestioned the PCs optimistic projections about the next economic boom, saying that the 40-year governing party is “hiding a big deficit.” Liberal leader Raj Sherman, himself a former Tory MLA, called the budget dishonest and accused the Tories of making “unrealistically high revenue predictions.” Alberta Party leader Glenn Taylor accused the government of having neglected to listen to Albertans priorities in this budget.
Meanwhile, Wildrose leader Danielle Smith continues to insist that the government is “poised to raise taxes,” even after Minister Liepert said at least 38 times during his budget speech that he would not raise taxes. Not heeding the political Right’s calls for drastic cuts, the Tories have happily ceded the radical fiscal conservative territory to Ms. Smith’s party.
Premier Alison Redford‘s pre-election budget is tailored to the moderate majority of Albertans, who, unlike the political class, will likely have a hard time getting angry about this budget. Keep Calm and Carry On Voting Tory.
Wildrose candidate John Oplanich is offering a big-screen television and $25,000 in University of Alberta scholarships to constituents who visit him in his Edmonton-Castle Downs campaign office.
“Come in to learn how you can win a brand new 50-inch 1080p TV valued at $1,000 on election night,” Oplanich said in a local newspaper advertisement.
“If elected as a member of the legislative assembly of Alberta I will give away $25,000 of my own money on election night in the form of $1,000 post-secondary scholarships to 25 students in the Edmonton-Castle Downs constituency.”
Officials with Elections Alberta are investigating whether the offer is legal, but have not yet been able to reach Oplanich and have not issued a decision.
As I first wrote about in yesterday’s post, former Calgary-McCall MLA Shiraz Shariff has been disqualified as the Progressive Conservative candidate in Calgary-West after complaints of voting irregularities at the recent nomination meeting.
Shiraz Shariff
Mr. Shariff narrowly defeated former Alberta Health Services chairman Ken Hughes, who sits in Premier Alison Redford‘s inner circle and was widely seen as the front-runner in the contest. Both Mr. Shariff and Mr. Hughes entered the contest only weeks before the nomination meeting. Mr. Shariff had been seeking the nomination in Calgary-Hawkwood until late 2011, when he switched constituencies.
Posting a statement on his Facebook profile, Mr. Shariff maintained that his campaign was run fairly and was aware “a potential bias from the onset of my candidacy and during my campaign for nomination… ran even as deep as within the PC Board of Calgary West.” He called on the PC Party to begin an arbitration process to address the complaints.
“I have not been made aware of specific issues, have not been consulted in this decision, and have not been offered an arbitration process, as stated in the PC Party constitution. If there were irregularities, I request that the PC Party will make them known and address how the security of the day, guided by the leadership of the Board, could not have protected the process against these irregularities.”
In a media release yesterday quoting President Bill Smith and Executive Director Kelley Charlebois , the PC Party announced that they would ask the local board of directors in Calgary-West to submit the names of three replacement candidates for Premier Redford to select.
Farouk Adatia
Mr. Hughes may seem like the obvious choice for the appointed candidacy, but Tory sources say that lawyer Farouk Adatia may end up being Premier Redford’s choice. Mr. Adita served as Chief Financial Officer for Premier Redford’s leadership campaign and he was recently defeated in the crowded PC nomination contest in Calgary-Hawkwood.
It may be another month before the PCs actually drop the Writ and time to hold another open nomination meeting is cut short by that party’s public deadline to nominate candidates before February 10. This weekend, the PCs are holding a pre-election campaign training school in Edmonton, which will be a pep rally to energize their activist base. At these schools, the PCs will also select three candidates to stand in the upcoming Senator-in-Waiting election, which will be held along with the general election.
The PCs also appointed candidates in two other constituencies. Emerson Mayers, who was defeated in the Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood nomination contest will run against NDP MLA Rachel Notley in Edmonton-Strathcona. Jamie Lall, who was defeated in the Calgary-McCall nomination contest will challenge Liberal MLA Kent Hehr in Calgary-Buffalo.
Following claims of voting irregularities at the recently held Calgary-West Progressive Conservative nomination meeting, Tory sources are saying that Premier Alison Redford may find a new candidate to carry her party’s banner in that constituency.
The hard fought nomination battle saw former Calgary-McCall MLA Shiraz Shariffshock political watchers by defeating past Alberta Health Services Chairman Ken Hughes. A former Member of Parliament, Mr. Hughes was a member of Premier Redford’s transition team and was seen as a star candidate for the PCs.
The constituency is currently represented by Finance Minister Ron Liepert, who is not seeking re-election. Sources say that the new candidate could be someone other than Mr. Hughes.
This is not Mr. Shariff’s first brush with controversy. In 2008, private-citizen Naheed Nenshispoke to CBC about what he believed were irregularities carried out at the polls by Mr. Shariff’s campaign workers during the 2004 election. Mr. Shariff narrowly defeated Liberal Darshan Kang in that election (Mr. Kang later defeated Mr. Shariff in the 2008 election).
This would not be the first time the PCs have had to find a last minute replacement for a candidate in Calgary-West.
In 1997, Premier Ralph Klein‘s barber Mike Nasserstepped down as the PC candidate after it was revealed he was the subject of a city lawsuit and several complaints regarding his business proceedings. The runner-up from the previously held nomination meeting cut her Mexican vacation short to fly back and hold the party banner in the election. Karen Kryczka served two terms as MLA after that.
The Tories are also expected to appoint candidates to challenge popular Liberal MLA Kent Hehr in Calgary-Buffalo and NDP MLA Rachel Notley in Edmonton-Strathcona. No candidates entered the previously scheduled nomination contests in these two constituencies. Sources suggest that recent Calgary-McCall PC nomination candidate Jamie Lall will be appointed in Calgary-Buffalo. This will be the second consecutive election where the PCs have had to appoint a candidate to challenge Ms. Notley.
UPDATE: A media release from the PC Party says that Mr. Shariff is no longer the candidate in Calgary-West. Jamie Lall and Emerson Mayers have been appointed as PC candidates in Calgary-Buffalo and Edmonton-Strathcona. See the comment section of this blog post for the entire text of the media release.
The title of this blog post will sound like an oxymoron to many Albertans.
Launching an election campaign early, PC MLA-turned-Liberal leader Raj Sherman released his party’s 2012 election platform yesterday. After reading the platform, I was surprised that the Liberals were actually able to pull together such a well-presented document.
The platform continues to emphasize the Liberal Party’s focus on health care (also a key issue of former leaders Kevin Taft and David Swann) and includes some interesting ideas, such as the creation of a post-secondary endowment fund to eliminate tuition by the year 2025.
The creation of a Municipal Heritage Fund to provide direct funding to neighbourhood projects is an interesting idea that could help alleviate the pressure put on cash-strapped municipalities to fund projects.
Looking to change the way Albertans vote in elections, the Liberal platform calls for the introduction of a preferential ballot system and the consolidations of constituencies that would leave the Assembly with 66 MLAs.
To their credit, the platform calls for an end to Alberta’s unfair flat-tax system and would introduce fair tax brackets for individuals who earn more than $100,000 annually. I do believe that there needs to be a larger focus on decreasing taxes on middle income earners, but this is a good start.
Sitting as low as 12% in public support according to some recent polls, “go bold and go for broke” may be the best strategy that Alberta’s official opposition party has left.
With the Spring sitting of the Assembly beginning this afternoon, Dr. Sherman will have this platform to hold up against the Progressive Conservative budget, expected to be tabled on Thursday. Whether the Liberals will be able to compete with the media onslaught that the PCs and Wildrose Party’s will unleash in the upcoming weeks is a completely different question.
After a week away from the blogging world, I spent some time this weekend catching up with plenty of election nomination candidate updates. Alberta’s political parties are all in varying degrees of preparation for the upcoming election and for the next session of the Legislative Assembly. The Spring sitting of the Assembly begins this week and the provincial budget is expected to be tabled by Finance Minister Ron Liepert by the end of the week.
Recently nominated PC candidates include Linda Johnson in Calgary-Glenmore, Bridget Pastoor in Lethbridge-East, Steve Young in Edmonton-Riverview, Kelly Hegg in Airdrie, Ron Casey in Banff-Cochrane, Maureen Kubinec in Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock, Christine Cusanelli in Calgary-Currie, Jason Luan in Calgary-Hawkwood, Donna Kennedy-Glans in Calgary-Varsity, Mike Allen in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo, Everett McDonald in Grande Prairie-Smoky, John Barlow in Highwood, John Kolk in Little Bow, Cris Basualdo in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood,Matt Jeneroux in Edmonton-South West, Stephen Khan in St. Albert, Sandra Jansen in Calgary-North West, and Bev Esslinger in Edmonton-Calder.
In Edmonton-Mill Woods, Sohail Qadri defeated controversy-prone one-term MLA Carl Benito to win the PC nomination. Mr. Benito is the third PC MLA to lose a nomination contest in the run up to the next provincial election. The PCs have been unable to find candidates to run in Calgary-Buffalo and Edmonton-Strathcona.
The NDP, with more than 70 nominated candidates, acclaimed University of Alberta student Aditya Rao as a candidate in Drumheller-Stettler last weekend.
The Liberal Party, with only 29 candidates nominated, recently chose Pete Helfrich in Banff-Cochrane, Wilson McCutchan in Calgary-West, Les Vidok in Innifail-Sylvan Lake and Jason Chilibeck in Red Deer-South. Liberal leader Raj Sherman is expected to release key parts of his party’s election platform in Calgary and Edmonton today.
By my estimate, the Wildrose Party has 81 candidates chosen across the province, including recently nominated Tim Dyck in Calgary-Bow and Tim Copithorne in Banff-Cochrane. The party held a campaign school in Red Deer last weekend, drawing candidates and campaign workers from across the province. The Wildrose Party has been accused of launching another round of negative push polls aimed at Premier Alison Redford.
The Alberta Party recently nominated Brandon Beasley in Calgary-Shaw and will soon nominate candidates Midge Lambert in Battle River-Wainwright. On March 4, Alberta Party members in Lacombe-Ponoka will choose either Tony Jeglum or Brent Chalmers as their candidate in a contested nomination.
EVERGREEN PARTY
Celebrating two years since reforming their organization, the Alberta Party is no longer the newest kid on the political block. Rising from the ashes of the financially-mangled and now-defunct Alberta Green Party is the new EverGreen Party. Leader Larry Ashmore is carrying his party’s banner in Livingstone-Macleod. Mr. Ashmore earned 937 votes as the Green Party candidate in Foothills-Rockyview in the 2008 election.
THE RETURN OF JAMES FORD
In the electoral realm beyond political parties, Sherwood Park Independent owner James Ford announced that he will run as an Independent candidate in Sherwood Park. Mr. Ford is better known as the Independent candidate who placed a strong second to Conservative Tim Uppal in the 2008 and 2011 federal elections. Mr. Ford’s candidacy in the federal elections were in response to Mr. Uppal’s nomination win over Strathcona County Councillor Jacquie Fenske, which many in the local Conservative establishment believed to be unfair. Ms. Fenske is now the nominated PC candidate in the neighbouring Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville constituency.
Edmonton-Centre: Young lawyerAkash Khokhar defeated Nicole Martel to win the PC nomination. In the next election, Mr. Khokhar will face Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman, who has represented the constituency since 1997.
Edmonton-Gold Bar: Past Mayoral candidate David Dorward defeated past City Council candidate Lori Jeffrey-Heany to become the PC candidate. This is Mr. Dorward’s second attempt at becoming MLA in Gold Bar. In 2008, he placed second to Liberal MLA Hugh MacDonald, who will be retiring at the next election.
Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville: Strathcona County Councillor Jacquie Fenske defeated Tofield Mayor Nabil Chehayeb, former Fort Saskatchewan Mayor Jim Sheasgreen, Gene Hrabec, and Adam Kozakiewicz to become the PC candidate. Former Premier Ed Stelmach has represented this region since 1993.
UPCOMING NOMINATION MEETINGS
The PCs will be holding a packed week of nomination meetings that will see Alberta’s 40 year governing party nearly fill its entire slate of 87 candidates. Two final nomination meetings are scheduled to be held in February to replace MLAs who recently announced their retirements.
I will be away from my blog for the next week, so to earn forgiveness for my absence, here is a look at the PC nomination meetings that will be happening in the final week of January. I will provide updates when I return.
Calgary-Glenmore (January 26, 2012): Lawyer Byron Nelson and Linda Johnson are seeking the PC nomination.
Bridget Pastoor
Lethbridge-East (January 26, 2012): Former Liberal MLA Bridget Pastoor is facing Lethbridge County Reeve Lorne Hickey for the PC nomination. Ms. Pastoor has represented the constituency since 2004 and cross the floor to join the PC caucus in late 2011. Lethbridge Alderman Jeff Carlson and Lethbridge Senior Citizens Origanization executive director Rob Miyashiro announced this week that they will seek the Liberal nomination (date not scheduled). The constituency has been represented by Liberal MLAs since 1993.
Edmonton-Riverview (January 27, 2012): Edmonton police office Steve Young and businessman Tom Choucair are seeking the PC nomination. The constituency has been represented by Liberal MLA Kevin Taft, who is not seeking re-election.
Edmonton-Strathcona (January 27, 2012): No candidate stepped forward to claim the nomination, though the date is still listed on the PC Party website.
Kelly Hegg
Airdrie (January 28, 2012): Former Airdrie Mayor Linda Bruce, Councillor Kelly Hegg, and Michael Crawford are seeking the PC nomination. The constituency is represented by MLA Rob Anderson, who left the PC Party in 2010 to join the Wildrose Alliance.
Banff-Cochrane (January 28, 2012): The PC nomination contest has drawn a crowd to replace retiring MLA Janis Tarchuk. Real Estate broker Jon Bjorgum, Canmore Mayor Ron Casey, Rob Seeley, businessman John Fitzsimmons and Cochrane Mayor Truper McBride are seeking the nomination.
Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock (January 28, 2012): The retirement of Speaker Ken Kowalski, who has represented this region since 1979, has attracted five candidates including Morinville Mayor Lloyd Bertschi, Westlock Town Councillor David Truckey, ministerial executive assistant Tim Schultz, and Westlock County Councillors Maureen Kubinec and Bert Seatter.
Calgary-Varsity (January 28, 2012): Former Nexen Vice-President Donna Kennedy-Glans is facing Ph.D. business student Rhiannon MacDonnell. The constituency has been represented by Liberal MLA Harry Chase since 2004. Mr. Chase is retiring at the next election.
Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo (January 28, 2012): Four candidates have lined up to earn the right to face PC-turned-Wildrose MLA Guy Boutiler as the PC candidate. Candidates include Councillor Mike Allen, teacher Andrew Highfield, Nick Sanders, and School Trustee Jeff Thompson.
Tab Pollock
Grande Prairie-Smoky (January 28, 2012): The retirement of former cabinet minister Mel Knight has sparked a three-way nomination contest that has drawn Grande Prairie County Reeve Everett McDonald,Tab Pollock, and Tom Burton.
Highwood (January 28, 2012): Associate publisher at the Okotoks Western Wheel John Barlow, John Hankins, and Okotoks Town Councillor Ed Sands are seeking the PC nomination. Wildrose leader Danielle Smith is also seeking election in this constituency.
Little Bow (January 28, 2012): Deputy Reeve of the County of Lethbridge Henry Doeve and former County Councillor John Kolk are seeking the PC nomination.
Medicine Hat (January 28, 2012): Former Alderman Darren Hirsch, retired school district superintendent Linda Rossler, and Investment Advisor Dan Hein are seeking the PC nomination to replace long-time MLA Rob Renner. Mr. Hein is the former campaign manager for Medicine Hat MP LaVar Payne
Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood (January 30, 2012): Past City Council candidate Cris Basualdo and Emerson Mayers are the two candidates I have heard are seeking the PC nomination. The constituency has been represented by NDP MLA Brian Mason since 2000.
Edmonton-South West (January 30, 2012): This new constituency has drawn the candidacy of four PC nominees Charles Balenga, Tofael Chowdhury, Matt Jeneroux, and Eva Mah-Borsato.
Calgary-Buffalo (January 30, 2012): Donna Haslam is the only candidate that I am aware of who is seeking the PC nomination. The constituency has been represented by popular Liberal MLA Kent Hehr since 2008.
Edmonton-Mill Woods (January 31, 2012): Despite bizarre nomination shenanigans, the PC nomination contest will still include Ron Randhawa, Sohail Qadri, and controversy-prone MLA Carl Benito.
St. Albert (January 31, 2012): School Trustee Jacquie Hansen, businessman Stephen Khan, and retired armed forces pilot Jeff Wedman are seeking the PC nomination to replace retiring one-term MLA Ken Allred.
A new survey by Leger Marketing released today shows Alberta’s governing Tories with a huge lead in voter support over the opposition parties. The results of this survey contradict results from a Forum Research survey released earlier this week showing the Wildrose Party closing in on the PCs.
Here are the province-wide results from the Leger Marketing survey:
We are pleased to announce that registration is well underway for the free 2012 Alberta Student Vote program! Registering now will ensure that materials for the program can be shipped to your school the moment the writ drops. The election is still weeks away, but more than 50,000 ballots have already been requested from almost 300 schools in the province.
Student Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that aims to build the capacity and commitment of young Canadians to participate in their democracy. Our flagship program is a parallel election for students under the voting age, coinciding with official election periods. The program combines in-class learning, family dialogue, media consumption and an authentic voting experience. The purpose is to provide young Canadians with an opportunity to experience the democratic process firsthand and practice the habits of informed and engaged citizenship.
We first ran our Alberta provincial program in 2004, and have since completed four federal elections within the province. In May 2011 Federal Election, 710 schools and 84,152 students from Alberta participated in Student Vote. You can find the complete results here.
Student Vote 2012
Following up on our very successful federal program last Spring, and seven excellent provincial elections last fall, we’re planning on executing our most successful and widespread program in Alberta this year.
Although you have participated with us before, your school must register again to ensure we have an accurate address, contact information, and details for your Student Vote package.
To register, visit www.studentvote.ca/ab2011 or call us toll free to speak to a member of our team: 1-866-488-8775.
We hope that you will join us for the 2012 Alberta Student Vote! As you prepare, be sure to visit our website to read the “Alberta News” section of the Student Vote blog.
Surveys conducted by Environics, Angus Reid, and Lethbridge College in the final months of 2011 tell a different story, showing the Tories with a commanding lead placing more than 20% ahead of the opposition parties. Finding different results, the Forum survey shows the PCs up one-percent from a previous survey conducted by the same firm in December 2011 and the Wildrose up six points in the same period of time. I will wait to see whether other surveys begin to show similar results before I begin to believe that the PCs and Wildrose are this close in electoral support.
It is important to remember that surveys and polls are snapshots of where a population is at an exact moment in time. They are helpful at detecting trends, but as all political watchers should remember – campaigns matter – and Albertans will have an opportunity to see their political parties in full electoral action in the coming months.
Ed Stelmach
Without Premier Ed Stelmach as their lightening-rod in Calgary perpetually unhappy oil company community, the Wildrose Party appears to have lost the steam from the high point they sat at in mid-2010. In response, they are trying their best to cast Premier Alison Redford as a flip-flopper and have come out strong with negative advertising aimed at the Tories. There is plenty to criticize in the Tory record book, but the relentless angry and outrageous attacks lend little suggestion that the Wildrose Party would be a very pleasant crew if they ever form government.
As I said in the National Post, there are not many people talking about the Wildrose Party forming government these days – except Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith. Ms. Smith appears to be doing very little to manage the expectations of her party’s core activists, many whom are still wearing the [wild]rose coloured glasses they donned when the their party hit the peak of its meteoric rise in 2010.
Alison Redford
Not properly managing expectations can be a politically deadly mistake. While the political environment was different, the most appropriate example may be the Alberta Liberal experience following the infamous 1993 election. With early polls showing a meteoric rise in the polls for the long-outcast Liberal Party, leader Laurence Decore had pumped expectations of forming government so-high that when his party only formed Official Opposition, he faced open revolt from his caucus and defections to the Tories. The Liberals have not come close to this high-point since.
I also point to the quick rise and fall of Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day or Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, who both filled their supporters minds with great expectations of electoral glory, only to disappoint when the votes were counted.
What results of the Forum survey and other surveys suggest to me is that the PCs remain Alberta’s big-tent political party – one that both blue conservatives and moderate liberals are comfortable joining – and that the opposition is increasingly polarizing to the political left and right.
The rise of the conservative Wildrose Party to what may become the default opposition and the increase in support for the social democratic NDP may leave a difficult space for the moderate opposition parties that want to occupy the political centre – the Liberal and the Alberta Party.
As an election approaches, Alberta’s political parties are busy nominating candidates across the province. Listed below are some of the most recent updates made the list of nominated candidates, including recent Progressive Conservative nominees in Calgary-Fish Creek, Calgary-McCall, Calgary-West, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, and Sherwood Park.
Nominated Alberta Election candidates by region - January 23, 2012Shiraz Shariff
Calgary-West: Former MLA Shiraz Shariffsurprised political watchers by defeating past Alberta Heath Services Chairman and former Member of Parliament Ken Hughes and Calgary Police Officer Mike Ellis to win the Progressive Conservative nomination contest. Mr. Shariff served as the PC MLA for the northeast Calgary-McCall from 1995 until 2008, when he was defeated by Liberal Darshan Kang.
Wendelin Fraser
Calgary-Fish Creek: Mount Royal University’s former Dean of Business Wendelin Fraser defeated political blogger Joey Oberhoffner to win the PC nomination. Ms. Fraser will face off against Wildrose MLA Heather Forsyth, who crossed to the Wildrose in 2010 after serving as a PC MLA since 1993. The election contest in Fish Creek will be a gauge of both PC and Wildrose popularity in the next election.
Mohammad Rasheed
Calgary-McCall: Engineer Mohammad Rasheed defeated a crowded field in the PC nomination contest that included candidates Khandaker Alam, Deepshikha Brar, Afzal Hanid, Amtul Khan, Jamie Lall, Aslam Malik, Ravi Prasad, Jagdeep Sahota, and Jangbahadur Sidhu. Mr. Rasheed will face Liberal Mr. Kang in the upcoming election.
Ty Lund
Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre: Six-term PC MLA Ty Lund defeated challenger Jimmy Clark to win his party’s nomination. Mr. Lund was first elected in 1989 and served in a number of cabinet portfolios during Ralph Klein‘s Premiership. He began his occupation of the Tory backbenches when Ed Stelmach because Premier in 2006. His main competition in the upcoming election is expected to be landowners rights advocate and former Green Party leader Joe Anglin, who is now running for the Wildrose Party.
Cathy Olesen
Sherwood Park: Former Strathcona County Mayor Cathy Olesen narrowly won the PC nomination against Matthew Bissett, Brian Botterill, Helen Calahasen, Murray Hutchinson, and Susan Timanson. Ms. Oleson served as Mayor from 2004 until 2010, when she was defeated by Councillor Linda Osinchuk. Ms. Olesen will be the second former municipal official to serve as this constituency’s MLA. Retiring MLA Iris Evans served as Reeve until she was elected as an MLA in 1997.
Calgary-Glenmore: Former MLA Craig Cheffins is expected to seek the Liberal nomination. Mr. Cheffins’ briefly served as the MLA for Calgary-Elbow after winning a by-election, which was triggered by Premier Klein’s resignation in 2007. Under the new electoral boundaries, his neighbourhood of Lakeview will now be located within the boundaries of Calgary-Glenmore. Mr. Cheffins’ entry into the election will add an interesting mix to a contest which will include Wildrose MLA Paul Hinman (himself elected in a 2009 by-election) and the eventual PC nominee. Lawyer Byron Nelson and Linda Johnson are seeking the PC nomination, scheduled for January 26, 2012.
Edmonton-Glenora: Perennial City Council candidate Don Koziak is the nominated Wildrose candidate. Mr. Koziak most recently ran in the 2010 Edmonton municipal election, placing second in a close race against Councillor Kim Krushell.
Edmonton-Mill Creek: Mike Butler has been confirmed as the Liberal candidate. This will be Mr. Butler’s fourth attempt at political office. In 2008 he was provincial NDP candidate in Edmonton-Rutherford and federal NDP candidate in Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont. In 2010, he was the federal Liberal candidate in Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont.
Edmonton-Strathcona: At the recent deadline for candidates to enter the PC nomination contest, no qualified candidates had entered the contest. The constituency is currently represented by NDP MLA Rachel Notley.
Peace River: High Level town councillor Al Forsyth has been nominated as the Wildrose candidate.
Supporters of Joey Oberhoffner, who is running for the Progressive Conservative nomination in Calgary-Fish Creek, rap for their candidate in this YouTube video.
Mr. Oberhoffner is facing former Mount Royal University Dean of Business Wendelin Fraser in today’s nomination vote. Fish Creek is currently represented by Heather Forsyth, who joined the Wildrose Party in 2010 after sitting as a PC MLA since 1993.
I am confident that the LPC convention this past weekend, which I attended as a delegate and past candidate for AB-Yellowhead , is an event that I will look back at in 50 years and tell people, “I was there”.
For those of you who pithily pontificate that the Liberal Party does not fully comprehend the gravity and seriousness of its situation following the 2011 election – we know. Lord in heaven, do we know. As I chatted and dialogued with over 3,200 fellow Liberals in Ottawa, I found unimaginable optimism. With the Harper majority, we have several years to renew and reinvent ourselves – and enough time to get it right.
I believe we have passed the tipping point towards full renewal. We had several bold policy initiatives and constitutional changes on the docket, and with a 2/3 majority required to pass them, there was no certainty at all heading into the convention that the delegates would opt for change and bold ideas as opposed to maintaining the status quo (which won us a great majority in 1980 but hasn’t done much since).
Although we retained leader veto over specific policy and the ability of the leader to appoint candidates, we made several seismic structural changes that have set the stage for the Liberal Renaissance.
First – we are now the most open federal party in the history of the country with the adoption of the “supporter” system. Those delegates that spoke at the microphone for the “No” side of this resolution pleaded that this would open the party to be hijacked by special interests. I marched up to the yes microphone and I told 2,000 Liberals (and whoever was watching on CPAC) that in order for this party to truly become a party of the people, we cannot be afraid of Canadians, we must embrace them. The more voices we have, the better our platform will be. The more Canadians we engage, the more that will trust us with their vote in 2015. Against the odds most pundits and talking heads predicated – the party agreed.
Second – rejecting Sheila Copps for party President, we collectively rejected the leader-centric “Messiah” model in favour of pragmatism. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Ms. Copps, and as talented and dedicated as she would have been, electing her as party President would have sent the wrong message about renewal. Her presence is a reminder of the destructive leadership wars of the 1990s, and I am not convinced that she would not have implicitly gravitated toward the “winning formula” of the 1990s, a formula that only works with a shattered and splintered opposition. Furthermore, I doubt she would have remained in the background. She made more TV appearances in the weeks up to the convention than past President Alf Apps has made in his lifetime.
Third – the policy we passed is Liberal and is in concert with current Canadian sentiment. We rejected the option of severing ties with the monarchy. (For the undecided in the room, all it took was a delegate to march up to the microphone and thunder “Two words: PRESIDENT HARPER”.) We recognized the need for innovation in our infrastructure, and reaffirmed our commitment to development of the oilsands in an environmentally sustainable way.
But of course – the pot resolution. Like most, I was sceptical it would pass. But when I saw the results on the gigantic screen – well over the required 2/3 to pass – I had a profound realization. This convention, with all of the national media in the room – said loud and clear that we are no longer afraid to be Liberal.
As a Liberal, I believe in evidence based policy. I also believe in creative solutions to challenging problems. And I am not afraid to defend my position.
During the tumult of the minority parliaments, we were afraid. Time and again we capitulated to Harper in order to avoid bringing down the government. We did not have the balls to stand up to him – especially on crime. Terrified of the inevitable barrage of “soft on crime” ads, we lied about who we were.
No longer. Not a single person spoke against the pot resolution by arguing that we should be afraid of what Harper will do to us. No one trembled at the thought of an apoplectic Vic Towes predicting Armageddon should this policy come into effect. Why? Because we have evidence, science, and Canadian public opinion on our side. Imagine that. A policy based on evidence. (I’ll explain “evidence” to Gary Goodyear later.)
We opened the party. We took bold policy initiatives. We rejected the celebrity President in favour of a backroom business man with a brilliant vision. And we weren’t afraid to adopt a bold stance on a taboo subject and we will not be afraid to be Liberal.
And we also realize that our return to power will not be easy, and it may take more than one election. The arrogant Liberal Party that sent 3 “power brokers” to Harvard to pluck the next Prime Minister of Canada out of academic obscurity, complete with rigging the local riding nomination to shut out the two local candidates who signed up hundreds of new members, is no more. Casting our eyes south to the hysterical partisanship of a two-party state, we are secure in our belief that there must continue to be a Liberal Party of Canada.
So where does Alberta fit in? Well I learned something astounding. Albertan Liberals are held in tremendous regard by Eastern Liberals. Why? Because given the uphill battle we face in Alberta, our commitment to the Liberal Party is sincere. The supporter motion was born at the Alberta Liberal Party level, and part of the reason I helped convince the delegates to adopt that motion was the fact that the ALP database grew by over 1,000% during the course of last year’s leadership race.
The Liberal Party recognizes that the days of winning majorities with only a smattering of seats in the prairies (see Trudeau, Chretien) are over. There is a sincere and honest desire to build a grassroots, national party. As one delegate put it to me, “when we win a seat in Alberta, it will electrify the whole party.” And I know it can be done. Our new President made it clear that grassroots rebuilding in Alberta is a priority. The Liberal Party gets it. We cannot govern – in fact, I would argue we don’t deserve to govern – unless we can command support across this great nation.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Boy, did we ever (re)invent!
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Zack Siezmagraff is a fixture in the Edmonton Liberal community. He ran for the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2011 election in Yellowhead , and currently serves as the President of the Edmonton-Glenora Provincial Liberal Association. You can follow him on Twitter @ZackSiezmagraff.
Former Public School Trustee Bev Esslinger announced via email today that she will be seeking the Progressive Conservative nomination in Edmonton-Calder. The former north-end trustee announced only weeks ago that she was running for the PC nomination in Edmonton-Riverview. Calder PC MLA Doug Elniskiannounced his retirement yesterday.
Here is Ms. Esslinger’s announcement:
Effective immediately I have chosen to run for the PC Nomination in Edmonton Calder due to the recent announcement by the current MLA Doug Elniski not to seek re-election. I am a resident of Edmonton Calder, former Trustee and Board Chair of Edmonton Public Schools, and current President of Cumberland Oxford Community League.
Candidates already running in Calder include former NDP MLA David Eggen and Wildrose candidate Rich Neumann. The Liberals have not yet chosen a candidate, but Alex Bosse has announced his intention to seek the nomination.
UPDATE: Tory sources tell me that current Edmonton Public School Board Trustee Cheryl Johner may announce soon that she will compete with Ms. Esslinger for the PC nomination in Edmonton-Calder. Ms. Johner was elected to replace Ms. Esslinger in October 2010.
UPDATE [January 20, 2012]: Tory sources say that Ms. Johner will enter the PC nomination contest today.
