Category: Alberta Politics

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Alberta Politics

guest post: evan berger and the politicization of the alberta public service.

Evan Berger Alison Redford
Evan Berger being sworn in as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on October 12, 2011. Premier Alison Redford in the background. (Photo from @PremierofAlberta on Flickr)

By Jerry MacDonald

As we observe the farce of a defeated former MLA & Agriculture Minister, Evan Berger, being hired by the Deputy Minister of his former department, we must take a long and serious look at the politicization of the Alberta public service caused by over 40 years of one-party rule, and how it poisons the well for any other party that might get elected in future.

It is a tradition of Westminster-style parliamentary government, which is the model in Canada both at the federal and the provincial level, that the professional public service can and does support policy developed by an government of any political stripe, from right-wing to centrist to left-wing, with equanimity and professionalism. The result of this is that a change of government in this country does not trigger the kind of wholesale purging of senior government posts that we see in Washington every time a new Administration takes office. There is a reason a new President needs two full months of “transition” before taking office, whereas in Canada a new Prime Minister or provincial Premier is usually in place a week or two after an election.

However, in Alberta, the Progressive Conservative Party and the public service are so intertwined, like mating octopi, that if the current government is ever defeated at the polls, we will need a US-style purge of the entire upper levels of the public services. Every Deputy Minister, Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) and direct report to ADMs will need to be fired & replaced, or the new government will inevitably be undermined by the public service’s senior management.

————

Jerry MacDonald has been a Registered Nurse for 25 years and was educated in Halifax. Moved to Fort Vermilion, Alberta in 1985, and to Grande Prairie in 1988. Former UNA activist and local president at QEII Hospital (2003-2006).NDP candidate in 2004 provincial election (Grande Prairie-Wapiti); also worked on several other campaigns at both provincial and federal levels. Married to Nancy; three adult children. BSc in Nursing, post-RN (U of A 2010).

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Alberta Politics

carmangay confusion puts tory southern alberta prospects to the torch.

Ian Donovan David Eggen MLA
Little Bow Wildrose MLA Ian Donovan and Edmonton-Calder NDP MLA David Eggen at a rally in front of Premier Alison Redford’s constituency office in Calgary on August 14, 2012.

Confusion about the closure of the Little Bow Continuing Care Centre in the tiny southern Alberta village of Carmangay has triggered a backlash by local residents against the Progressive Conservative government.

Fred-Horne-Alberta
Fred Horne

The closure of the facility, which houses local residents and is the main employer in the community, has also united politicians from across the political spectrum.

At a rally in front of Premier Alison Redford‘s constituency office in Calgary-Elbow, Edmonton-Calder NDP MLA David Eggen, Little Bow Wildrose MLA Ian Donovan, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake Wildrose MLA Kerry Towle, and Calgary-Shaw Wildrose MLA Jeff Wilson stood with more than 80 people in opposition to the facility’s closure. At a previous rally, Highwood MLA and Wildrose leader Danielle Smith and Alberta Union of Provincial Employees president Guy Smith stood with local mayor Kym Nichols, who works at the facility.

While the decision to close the Little Bow facility would have made by Alberta Health Services, the final approval for the closure must be made by Health Minister Fred Horne. This is because, as an Approved Hospital, Section 28 of the Operation of Approved Hospitals Regulation states:

28 Every hospital shall require prior approval of the Minister for
(a) any proposed major change or termination of an existing service provided by the hospital, or
(b) the introduction of a new service.

Since the Wildrose Party swept rural southern and central Alberta, electing 17 MLA’s across the province in the May 2012 election, the long-governing Progressive Conservatives have faced the first rural MLA dominated official opposition since the early 1970s. Minister Horne has visited the community and apologized for the confusion, but the apology appears to have only confirmed the feelings held by some people that the big city Tories do not understand the needs of small rural communities.

The confusion around the closure of the facility has led more than a few members of the community wonder if a recent change in their voting patterns have affected their political influence on this issue. In the recent election, residents of the community voted overwhelmingly for Wildrose candidate and now-MLA Mr. Donovan over PC candidate John Kolk. Previous to that election, Carmangay had been a reliably Tory voting area.

If the Tories are trying to win back the hearts and minds of voters in the rural south, their grand strategy is beginning with a rough start.

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it’s getting a little more crowded on the ndp tarp.

NDP Edmonton Folk Fest Ad
A crowded tarp.

The Alberta NDP ad in the 2012 Edmonton Folk Music Festival program.

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liberals: tories blowing too much smoke while driving a leaky gravy train through the dark that will derail because of smoke and mirrors.

Raj Sherman Metaphors
The playbook.

The world of opposition politics in Alberta can be an unforgiving place where, in many cases, well-meaning politicians linger until they either give up and leave politics all together or join the long-governing Tories.

In the past, the opposition NDP has typically held the title as masters of media release metaphors (including some odd and obscure metaphors), but a recent media release from the Alberta Liberal Caucus may claim the 2012 summer title. The metaphors packed into this Liberal Caucus media release are almost too much to bear:

Raj Sherman Liberal Party leader Election 2012
Raj Sherman, the metaphorical leader of the Alberta Liberal Party.

Too much smoke blowing from PC gravy train

Edmonton – Alberta Liberal Leader Raj Sherman says the province is doing little more than using smoke and mirrors to clean up the spill from the latest gravy train derailment.

The PC government feigned surprise and concern over the hiring and practices of Merali, brought to light by freedom of information requests, belies the fact he was hand-picked by cabinet in March to be the province’s financial controller.

“Once again, the PCs are blowing smoke at Albertans,” says Sherman. “This is the same premier, minister, and cabinet who, just a few short months ago, offered Merali control over all of the public purse.”

In an effort to mitigate growing public outrage, AHS announced yesterday that Merali will not receive an additional severance package and an outside firm would be hired to conduct an audit of his expenses.

Sherman says the PCs are in damage control mode by cutting out the Auditor General, limiting the review only to Merali’s expenses, and reporting the findings to the minister.

“This just proves the PCs want to control any additional blowback,” says Sherman.

The government has had problems controlling the Auditor General in the past, instead electing to handle similar scandals internally:

– October 2009 Report (p.256) from Alberta’s Auditor General found lack of oversight, poor process, and overpayment for executive termination.

– April 15, 2010 – AHS defends payments to previous Regions’ CEOs and executives as “legacy” agreements—contractual obligations that AHS inherited to which it was bound to comply—and highlights new process for executive contracts.

– November 24, 2010 – In the now infamous “cookie incident”, AHS agreed to a settlement totaling $735,630—including severance, variable pay, and contingent liabilities to Dr. Stephen Duckett.

– August 6, 2012 – AHS board announces no severance for Chief Financial Officer Allaudin Merali and a forensic audit of his expenses. The Auditor General has been asked to review AHS current policies and practices.

“The PCs are content to let the gravy train chug along silently in the dark” says Sherman, “but when a leak comes to light, it’s quickly cleaned and running back on schedule.”

Sherman believes the government is too compromised by its past involvement to handle the issue with any legitimacy. He is calling for a complete Auditor General’s review of AHS and the former Capital Health Region’s finances, with a report directly to the Legislature.

– 30 –

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canada needs national leadership on energy and natural resource development.

john-a-macdonald-national-leadership
Canada needs national leadership on energy.

If there ever was a time for Canada to show national leadership on the energy file, now is it.

Why Nexen sale can’t be allowed
Diane Francis, Financial Post · Jul. 28, 2012

The proposed takeover of Nexen Inc. by China National Offshore Oil Co., or any other like it, cannot be allowed. If the acquisition of Canada’s resource companies is not banned, then much of Calgary’s skyline will be snapped up by the world’s gigantic state-owned enterprises.

Resource companies are as important as banks or the stock exchange. The same ownership ring fence must be drawn around them, or a limit of 10% foreign ownership imposed. If that policy had not been adopted years ago by Ottawa, Toronto’s skyline would be very different.

The reality is that Canada is a small economy that must be protected, from potash to the TMX, from the foreign governments that have more money than Ottawa and bankroll enterprises and investment portfolios. Read more…

Perhaps it is time to look at how other resource rich western countries, like Norway, are managing their oil wealth.

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calgary-centre by-election nominations take a strange turn.

The Calgary-Centre Conservative Party nomination contest took a turn for the strange over the past few weeks.

Originally shaping up to be a three-candidate contest, Alderman John Mar and former Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation chairman Andy Crooks dropped out of the race earlier this summer, leaving political commentator Joan Crockatt as the lone survivor of the original three candidates in the nomination contest.

Jon Lord Calgary-Centre Conservative
Jon Lord

Video store owner, former Alderman and Progressive Conservative MLA Jon Lord is one of the new candidates to enter the contest. Mr. Lord placed a distant sixth in his bid to become Mayor of Calgary in 2010 and was unsuccessful in his attempt to win back the PC nomination in Calgary-Currie before the recent provincial election. In the 2004 provincial election, Mr. Lord was unseated as MLA by Liberal Dave Taylor.

Lawyer Rick Billington has also joined the contest. Mr. Billington is a long-time Conservative Party director in the neighbouring riding of Calgary-Southwest. His website biography lists him as having participated in the Leaders Debate preparation team for Premier Alison Redford during the 2012 Alberta election.

Also running are Stefan Spargo, who was former MP Lee Richardson‘s campaign manager and also made an unsuccessful bid for the PC nomination in Calgary-Currie, and past Conservative riding president Greg McLean, who entered the contest last week.

Calgary Joe Soares
“Calgary Joe” Soares

Perhaps the strangest candidate to join the Conservative nomination contest is Quebec political advisor and Ottawa-area resident Joe Soares – who describes himself as “Calgary Joe.” It is not known whether Mr. Soares has spent any significant amount of time in Calgary or has any connection to the city or the province of Alberta.

The messaging on Mr. Soares’ website is a textbook case of negative partisanship, taking aim at New Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair, who he accuses of wanting to destroy Alberta’s economy. The political insider also takes aim at the perceived frontrunner Ms. Crockatt, who he accuses of defending former Ontario Conservative MP Belinda Stronach when she crossed the floor to the Liberal Party in 2005 (which I imagine is a top of mind issue for Conservative Party members in Calgary-Centre).

The date of the Conservative nomination vote has not yet been set, though the deadline to enter the contest occurred last week.

Despite rumours that popular Calgary-Mountain View MLA David Swann might enter the Liberal Party nomination contest (or the NDP contest), only two candidates will be on the ballot at the vote on September 15, 2012. Lawyer and former Canadian Parks and Wilderness Association President Harvey Locke and educator Rahim Sajan.

Past candidate William Hamilton has already declared his interest in running for the Green Party and author Chris Turner told the Calgary Herald that he is considering seeking the nomination.

Anne McGrath NDP
Anne McGrath

Their status as Official Opposition in Ottawa does not seem to have generated wide interest in the NDP nomination. I have heard very little about who the NDP candidate in this by-election could be.

However unlikely, the latest speculation I have heard is that some party members are trying to draft Anne McGrath to carry her party’s banner in the downtown Calgary riding. Ms. McGrath is the former President of the NDP and chief of staff to former NDP leader Jack Layton. She ran for the provincial NDP in the Calgary-McCall by-election in 1995.

The newly created Online Party of Canada has attained registered status with Elections Canada just in time to nominate a candidate to run in the Calgary-Centre by-election.

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allaudin merali’s extravagant expenses and severance package a blow to alberta health services, redford government.

The highest echelons of Alberta Health Services are once again being rocked by a firestorm of public criticism after it was revealed that AHS Chief Financial Officer Allaudin Merali had claimed more than $345,000 in expenses to the former Capital Health regional authority.

Allaudin Merali Alberta Health Services
Allaudin Merali

Mr. Merali was fired by AHS hours before the Canadian Boardcasting Corporation aired the story about how he claimed thousands of dollars on lavish meals at restaurants, bottles of wine, catering, and an expensive phone for his Mercedes Benz car. Shifting quickly into damage control mode, AHS soon after released Mr. Merali’s expense claims on their website.

Making the controversy even more outrageous, Mr. Merali is expected to receive a severance package from AHS after his employment was terminated with cause (even AHS CEO Chris Eagle does not have this provision included in his contract).

The story was uncovered by intrepid CBC reporter Charles Rusnell, who has become one of Alberta’s star investigative journalists after uncovering cases of pork-barrel politics and scores of illegal donations made by public institutions to the Progressive Conservative Party.

The controversy claimed a second high-ranking AHS official yesterday as former Capital Health CEO Shiela Weatherill resigned from the AHS board of directors. Seen as a voice of credibility after her successful time as the CEO of Capital Health until it was merged into AHS in 2008, Ms. Weatherill was appointed to the AHS board after the departure of controversial former AHS President and CEO Stephen Duckett in late 2010. Ms. Weatherill was Mr. Merali’s boss when he served as CFO of Capital Health, when many of the expense claims were made.

Fred Horne Alberta Health Minister
Fred Horne

Questions are also being raised about the role of Alberta’s current Ethics Commissioner, Neil Wilkinson, who served as chair of the Capital Health board of directors during Mr. Merali’s time as CFO of the former regional health authority.

The controversy is a blow for Premier Alison Redford‘s PC government, which was swept into office earlier this year after promising to breath new life into the four decade old government. To his credit, Health Minister Fred Horne responded quickly to the controversy and promised that future expenses for public officials at that level will be made public on a quarterly basis. With the damage already done, the largest measure of response the government has is to ensure this does not happen again.

As others have already pointed out, public funds used to fill these types of extravagant expense claims only take money away from where it belongs – on the front-lines of our public health care system.

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gone to deutschland.

Germany is Wunderbar
Germany is Wunderbar

I will be spending the next few weeks traveling through Germany and the Czech Republic. Regular posts will resume upon my return in August.

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what happens after prime minister harper? prime minister redford? prime minister mulcair?

Premier Alison Redford, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Premier Alison Redford, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, Prime Minister Stephen Harper

With the start of Stampede season came the latest round of gossip and predictions about what the future might hold for Calgary MLA and Alberta’s Premier Alison Redford. Earlier this week in a column in the Edmonton Journal, Graham Thomson speculated that Premier Redford’s next political challenge could be the biggest in the land – Prime Minister of Canada.

I have no reason to doubt Premier Redford’s political acumen or capability. Having only become Premier of Alberta eight months ago, she has hardly had an opportunity to demonstrate leadership on the national stage.

The upcoming Premiers’ conference, hosted by Premier Darrell Dexter from July 25 to 27 in Halifax, might give Albertans, and Canadians, an opportunity to watch Premier Redford demonstrate her leadership skills on a national level.

The issue of oil exports and pipeline construction, which will certainly be a topic of conversation at the Premiers’ meeting, became more complicated this week as American National Transportation Safe Board investigators criticized Enbridge for its slow response to a major pipeline leak in Michigan in 2010. Supported by the Government of Alberta, Enbridge wants to begin construction of the Northern Gateway Pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. Adding another roadblock to the pipeline’s construction is BC Premier Christy Clark, who called Enbridge’s response to the Michigan spill disgraceful.

Closer to home, more than 50 organizations are calling on the Alberta Government to review the safety standards of the province’s aging pipelines.

Premier Redford has an opportunity to lead, and distinguish herself from her federal counterparts, by taking a positive lead on the renewal of the Canada Health Accord. The Accord, which was signed 10 years ago and expires in 2014, gave the provinces a significant monetary transfer for health care funding. The previous incarnation had little strings attached and the success of a future accord would benefit Canadians if more accountability were attached to the federal transfer.

Premier Redford’s road to 24 Sussex Drive is also complicated by another major factor. Only six years in to the job and still a young 53 years old, there is no indication that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be retiring in the near future.

Relations with Premier Redford’s Progressive Conservatives is cool to cold in some, or perhaps even most most, federal Conservative circles. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney‘s recent reply-all email describing Deputy Premier Thomas Lukazsuk as a “complete and utter asshole” serves as a reminder of how strained the relations are between some federal and provincial Conservatives. In the recent election, a significant number of Conservative Members of Parliament supported Danielle Smith‘s upstart Wildrose Party.

Two years ago it would have seemed impossible, but current federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair may actually have a shot at 24 Sussex Drive after the next federal election. The NDP are tied or leading in the polls and while there is three years until the next election (aka an eternity in politics when anything could happen), Mr. Mulcair appears to be the first Leader of the Official Opposition to take an aggressive offensive position against Prime Minister Harper’s Conservatives.

Earlier this week, the NDP released an attack ad against Prime Minister Harper, giving the federal Conservatives a taste of their own medicine. If anything, the ads demonstrate that Mr. Mulcair’s NDP are not afraid to use the same tactics that Prime Minister Harper’s Conservative Party used to destroy the political careers of weak former Liberal leaders Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff.

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albertans in the dark after rolling power blackouts.

Alberta Rolling Power Blackouts
A total of four power generating plants went down across the province causing electrical blackout.

Rolling power blackouts yesterday across Alberta have some politicians raising questions about the accountability of privately-operated electrical utility companies. The blackouts also reignited the long-standing debate over the construction of controversial new electrical transmission lines in rural Alberta. A total of four power generating plants went down across the province causing electrical blackout during one of the hottest days of the summer.

Edmonton-Strathcona NDP MLA Rachel Notley told the Edmonton Journal that re-establishing a regulated energy market in Alberta would reduce the chance of market manipulation:

“But if we aren’t going to do that, we better darn well have some answers as to why we have this coincidence of everybody not producing power on the same day,” she said. “We need to look into the relationship between the prices AESO is allowing and these plants all going off-line.”

The sale of electricity in Alberta was deregulated by the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Ralph Klein in the early 2000s.

Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre Wildrose MLA Joe Anglin raised suspicions about the blackout and the provincial government’s drive to build new electrical transmission lines:

“Four major generators tripping off is really weird. It can happen, but I’m having trouble swallowing that at the moment… Even if this is 100-per-cent legitimate, they still need to investigate because economically this costs the province. But on the surface, this looks really suspicious and manipulative.”

During the recent provincial election, the Wildrose Party was successful in translating opposition by landowners to the construction of new transmission lines into electoral success in rural south and central Alberta constituencies. The Wildrose Party swept 14 constituencies in these two regions.

In response to claims of market manipulation, Calgary-West PC MLA and Energy Minister Ken Hughes told the Calgary Herald’s Don Braid:

“I’m not aware of any evidence of that. I think it would be very unlikely.”

(This post was written and published while I was in BT Edmonton studios this morning as part of BT Bloggers Week)

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calgary stampede: the greatest political show on earth.

Naheed Nenshi Horse Calgary Stampede
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi (via @nenshi)

The Greatest Show on Earth, also known as the Calgary Stampede, kicked-off celebrating its 100th anniversary this weekend. Between the chuck wagons and rodeo clowns, politicians off all stripes will drop into Calgary over the next week to kiss babies and grill pancakes.

Twitter was, well, atwitter with chatter comparing the level of applause received by Premier Alison Redford and Wildrose leader Danielle Smith at Prime Minster Stephen Harper‘s annual Stampede BBQ. It sounds silly, because it is, and it signals how deep the divide between Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose partisans are in this province.

No word about whether Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk and federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney took an opportunity to put aside their differences.

Liberal Member of Parliament Justin Trudeau was the talk of the political town at a fundraiser for the yet to be called Calgary-Centre by-election. Along with Beena Ashar, who already announced her candidacy, conservationist and former President of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Harvey Locke and TEDxCalgary organizer Rahim Sajan entered the Liberal Party nomination contest this weekend. As the provincial Liberal candidate in Calgary-Foothills during the 1989 election, Mr. Locke came within 500 votes of unseating Pat Black, who would later become Finance Minister Pat Nelson.

Here are some photos that were floating around social media networks this weekend. Check out Calgary Grit this week for his annual collection of political photos from the Stampede.

Wayne Cao Christine Cusanelli Sandra Jensen Alison Redford Calgary Stampede
Calgary-Fort PC MLA Wayne Cao, Tourism Minister Christine Cusanelli, Calgary-North West PC MLA Sandra Jensen, and Premier Alison Redford. (via Wayne Cao on Facebook)
Deron Bilous Pierre Nantel NDP Calgary Stampede
Edmonton-Beverly Clareview NDP MLA Deron Bilous and Longueuil–Pierre- Boucher NDP MP Pierre Nantel. (via Deron Bilous on Facebook)
Jonathan Denis Calgary Stampede
Justice Minister Jonathan Denis. (via Jonathan Denis on Facebook)
Raj Sherman Calgary Stampede
Alberta Liberal leader Raj Sherman. (via Raj Sherman on Facebook)
Danielle Smith Elizabeth May Calgary Stampede
Wildrose leader Danielle Smith and federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May (via via @katyanderson)
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maps of proposed new federal ridings in alberta.

As mentioned in a post earlier this week, a commission has been struck with the task of redrawing Alberta’s federal ridings for the next general election expected in 2015. The commission released maps of the proposed boundary changes for Alberta’s ridings yesterday and will be holding public hearings to gauge reaction to the new maps in September.

There are a number of notable changes proposed in these maps. The creation of six additional ridings will increase Alberta’s representation in the House of Commons from 28 to 34 Members of Parliament. The addition of new seats and redistribution in the proposed maps concentrate new ridings in the Red Deer corridor running north-to-south between the province’s two largest cities and the creation of a Grande Prairie regional riding in northwest Alberta.

The proposed maps also eliminate the “rurban” ridings that straddle Edmonton’s suburbs and regional communities in the currently existing boundaries in favour of purely urban ridings within Edmonton city limits. The one exception would be the proposed Edmonton-Wetaskiwin riding, which includes suburban communities in Edmonton’s extreme southern limits with a large rural area stretching towards the City of Wetaskiwin. Counting this riding, Edmonton would have nine ridings.

Calgary’s ridings remain within city limits and would increase from 8 to 10.

Below are the maps showing the current boundaries created after the 2002/2003 redistribution and the maps proposed by the current commission.

Map of Alberta Federal Electoral Boundaries 2004 and 2015 proposed
Maps showing Alberta’s federal electoral boundaries after the 2002/2003 redistribution (left) and the proposed boundaries for the 2015 election (right).
Map of Edmonton Federal Electoral Boundaries 2004 and 2015 proposed
Maps showing Edmonton’s federal electoral boundaries after the 2002/2003 redistribution (left) and the proposed boundaries for the 2015 election (right).
Map of Calgary Federal Electoral Boundaries 2004 and 2015 proposed
Maps showing Calgary’s federal electoral boundaries after the 2002/2003 redistribution (left) and the proposed boundaries for the 2015 election (right).
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nathan cullen aims to unite progressives in calgary-centre.

Nathan Cullen NDP MP
Nathan Cullen

Skeena-Bulkley Valley New Democrat Member of Parliament Nathan Cullen is jumping into Calgary’s Stampede celebrations next week to host a workshop on uniting progressives in advance of the inevitable by-election in Calgary-Centre.

On July 11, Mr. Cullen will co-host a workshop with Edmonton-Strathcona NDP MLA Rachel Notley with the goal of sending “Stephen Harper a stinging message in his own backyard that his divisive politics aren’t going to cut it anymore.”

In 2011, the NDP orange wave made more of a ripple than a splash in Calgary-Centre. Parachute candidate Donna Montgomery earned only 14% of the vote, up from 9% in 2008. It is difficult to imagine any candidate other than a Conservative will win the expected by-election, but it is interesting to see that the NDP are putting some energy into cultivating and engaging potential supporters in this downtown Calgary riding.

Representing the northern British Columbia federal riding through which the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline will travel, Mr. Cullen has been a vocal critic of the development that would export crude oil and bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands to a marine terminal in Kitimat, BC. The NDP launched a spoof website last week in response to claims by Conservative politicians that “radicals” are holding up the public hearing process.

Calgary-Centre Conservative MP Lee Richardson announced his resignation on May 30, 2012 after accepting a job offer to become Principal Secretary to Premier Alison Redford. Mr. Richardson was first elected in this riding in 2004 and was re-elected with 57% of the vote in May 2011.

Conservatives Joan Crockatt and Alderman John Mar have announced their bids to seek their party’s nomination. Beena Ashar is the lone candidate seeking the Liberal nomination and past candidate William Hamilton is seeking the Green Party nomination.

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federal riding boundaries being readjusted in alberta.

alberta electoral boundary commission
How will Alberta’s federal riding boundaries be altered?

Likely unbeknownst to most Canadians, commissions have been struck across the country and tasked with redrawing our federal electoral boundaries in advance of the expected 2015 general election. The process of electoral redistribution, which is done every decade, accounts for population change in the ridings which we elect Members of Parliament to represent us in the House of Commons. Separate commissions have been struck for each province.

Chairing the Alberta commission is the Justice Carole Conrad, who is currently a member of the courts of appeal of Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Ed Eggerer of Airdrie and Donna Wilson of Edmonton are the two public members appointed to the commission.

The commission is also tasked with adding six new ridings to the province, which will increase Alberta’s representation in the House of Commons to 34 MPs. Alberta’s two largest cities, Calgary and Edmonton, and their surrounding regions,  can expect see their representation increased with the six additional ridings.

The federal commission is non-partisan in nature, unlike provincial electoral boundary commissions in Alberta, which include a neutral chairman and two representatives nominated by the leader of the governing party and the official opposition party.

In March 2012, the Alberta commission announced that it would release maps of its proposed boundary readjustments in the coming months (which suggests that it could be soon). Following the release of the maps, the Alberta commission will be holding public hearings to gather feedback on the proposed readjustments commencing in September 2012.

Edmonton-Sherwood Park MP Tim Uppal
Tim Uppal

The last federal electoral redistribution took place before the 2004 general election. In Edmonton, a number of ridings which had previously existed entirely within the City limits were redrawn to include large rural areas surrounding the City. This is why capital region communities like Beaumont, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Sherwood Park, Stony Plain, and Spruce Grove find themselves sharing Members of Parliament with suburban Edmonton voters.

In some cases, these outward stretching boundaries have led to interesting internal political disputes.

James Ford Sherwood Park
James Ford

Before the 2008 general election, conservative partisans in Sherwood Park were upset that Edmontonian Tim Uppal had won the nomination to become the Conservative Party candidate in Edmonton-Sherwood Park following the retirement of long-time MP Ken Epp. Not satisfied with internal party appeals, Sherwood Park resident James Ford challenged Mr. Uppall by running as an Independent candidate in that year’s election. After a fierce election campaign, Mr. Uppal was elected with 17,628 votes to Mr. Ford’s 15,960.

Linda Duncan NDP MP Edmonton-Strathcona
Linda Duncan

A look at the electoral results from that campaign show that support for each candidate was divided almost entirely by the City of Edmonton boundary (Mr. Uppall earning strong support in Edmonton polls and Mr. Ford sweeping polls in Sherwood Park and Fort Saskatchewan). The geographically-based results were replicated to a lesser extent when Mr. Ford challenged Mr. Uppal once again in the 2011 general election (Mr. Uppal earned a commanding 24,623 votes to Mr. Ford’s respectable 16,263).

It is likely that all partisan eyes are waiting to glimpse at what boundary changes will be made to Edmonton-Strathcona, home of Alberta’s only non-Conservative MP. New Democrat MP Linda Duncan increased her margin of victory when she was re-elected in 2011, but shifting boundaries have a way of changing political fortunes.

UPDATE: Maps of the proposed new federal riding boundaries have been released. I will have a post up tonight on this topic.

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remember the canadians who built this great country.

Canada Flag Alberta Lake
Happy Canada Day.

Today is the 145th anniversary of the creation of the only country that I have ever had the pleasure of calling home.

Today in 1867, the Dominion of Canada was born from through The British North America Act.

I love my country. I love its natural beauty and diversity. I love that you can drive through the near deserts of Drumheller and Milk River to the majestic and amazing Rocky Mountains to the incredibly beautiful north filled with forests and lakes and the bald-ass prairie which spans as far as the eye can see – and this all within one province! I love that an area so diverse and vast on its own is part of an even vaster and more diverse country.

In the 1660s, my ancestors immigrated to New France and settled near what is now known as Sorel, Quebec. In the 1890s, my family followed an Oblate missionary westward and homesteaded at a settlement in the North West Territories, later known as Morinville. They were hard working farmers, breaking land and farming through brutally hard conditions. Along with thousands of other pioneers, they started with nearly nothing, but together they succeeded in building healthy and vibrant communities across the western regions of Canada.

The harsh climate was not their only challenge. As western Canadian francophones, they met both resistance and racism from a government dominated by Anglophones and Protestants. It seems bizarre to me that only seventy years ago in Alberta, French language instruction in schools was restricted to the last period of the day (either a half-hour or hour, I believe). It was a policy of assimilation and in many cases it worked.

Despite the overwhelming odds, western Canadian francophones pushed back. I remember my grandfather telling me the story of how my great-great-uncle, attorney Lionel Tellier, fought the Canadian government for the right to have accessible French language census forms in Alberta. The court ruled in his favour in 1941 and census forms became bilingual.

Canadians live in an incredible place. As a country, we have an unbelievable amount of wealth in natural resources, but we also have incredible potential and an untapped wealth of resources in the form of our people.

As we celebrate the 145th anniversary of this great country, let us remember the Canadians who built this country and played a role in strengthening our position as an incredible place to live.

Happy Canada Day!

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