Category: Alberta Politics

alberta politics notes 2/04/2011

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date February 4, 2011
5 Comments on alberta politics notes 2/04/2011

A reality check from the Cosh.
Colby Cosh has delivered a cynical and un-sensationalist reality check for Albertans getting starry eyed or swept up in a whirlwind of political change. While Alberta’s political landscape may be more unstable than it has been in years, and it is exciting to be part of new emerging parties and movements, it is important to step back and keeping some perspective is key.

Cabinet resignations.
With cabinet ministers expected to resign in order to seek the PC Party leadership, Albertans could witness a series of cabinet shuffles over the coming months. The resignation of Finance Minister Ted Morton and potential resignations of Deputy Premier Doug Horner, Justice Minister Allison Redford, and Housing Minister Jonathan Denis could put a number of Parliamentary Assistants and backbench MLAs in cabinet positions. I would not be surprised if Greg Weadick, Janice Sarich, Diana McQueen, or Manmeet Bhullar had cabinet experience by the end of 2011.

American scientist resigns from Alberta Water panel.
Only days after the new panel to create a new provincial environmental monitoring system was appointed, prominent University of California-Irvine professor Helen Ingram has quit the panel.

According to the Edmonton Journal, Dr. Ingram resigned ‘citing concerns about a lack of scientific and First Nations representation on the panel, and what she saw as an overzealous draft confidentially agreement.’ The panel includes a number of credible scientists and is co-chaired by former TransCanada CEO Hal Kvisle, who has leveled strong criticism against environmental groups.

Budget on February 24.
Premier Ed Stelmach told an audience during speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce yesterday that the 2011 provincial budget will be tabled on February 24. The Assembly is scheduled to begin spring session on January 22 with the Speech from the Throne.

Redford getting some Carter power.
Wildrose Alliance Vice-President Membership Blaine Maller tweeted last night that Calgary political operative Stephen Carter has been hired to manage Allison Redford‘s campaign for the PC leadership. Mr. Carter had been staff to Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith and was a key player in Naheed Nenshi‘s successful Mayoral campaign in Calgary.

PC campaign manager exits.
Not surprisingly, the departure of Premier Ed Stelmach has also led to the departure of PC campaign manager Randy Dawson, who managed the party’s 2008 campaign and had been reappointed to manage their next election campaign.

Taylor versus Taylor?
Hinton Mayor Glenn Taylor is expected to launch his campaign for the Alberta Party leadership on February 8 in Edmonton. Mr. Taylor was elected to his third-term as Mayor of Hinton in October 2010. It will be a battle of the Taylor’s if Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor enters the leadership contest, as some political watchers expect him to.

An awkward place.
What an awkward place the Official Opposition caucus must be this week. Laurie Blakeman is reportedly weighing her options to seeking the leadership of the Alberta Party or the Liberal Party. This news comes the same week as leader David Swann announced his resignation. Ms. Blakeman’s colleague Edmonton-Gold Bar MLA Hugh MacDonald is said to have ambitions for his party’s leadership.

Paramedic Rick Fraser wants to inject himself into the next election as the PC candidate in Calgary-Hays.

More candidates step up.
The list of nominated and declared candidates for the next provincial election has been updated to include Lori Sigurdson, who is seeking the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Riverview.

Ms. Sigurdson is the Professional Affairs Coordinator for the Alberta College of Social Workers and previously worked for former NDP leader Ray Martin when he was the MLA for Edmonton-Norwood. That constituency has been represented by Liberal MLA Kevin Taft since 2001, who was re-elected in 2008 with 50% of the vote. Dr. Taft is not be seeking re-election. The Wildrose Alliance has nominated John Corie as their candidate.

Calgary Paramedic Rick Fraser is seeking the PC nomination in Calgary-Hays. The constituency is currently represented by PC MLA Art Johnston, who was first elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2008 with 54% of the vote. Former Libertarian Party of Canada leader Dennis Young is seeking the Wildrose Alliance nomination in that constituency.

Read more in the Alberta Politics Notes archive.

Alberta Politics

tories to celebrate 40 years as government with new leader.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date February 3, 2011
1 Comment on tories to celebrate 40 years as government with new leader.

A late evening tweet from Progressive Conservative Party President Bill Smith was the first official announcement that Premier Ed Stelmach would formally resign as leader of his party in September 2011. The Premier announced his intentions to resign last week, but did not specify an exact date.

September 2011 is a milestone year for the PCs. On September 10, 1971, Peter Lougheed was sworn in as his party’s first Premier in Alberta and the PC has kept that line partisan-pure ever since. I imagine that party members has mixed feelings about the date. On one hand, forty years of majority governments is an impressive achievement for any political party. On the other hand, it is also risky to draw too much attention to this kind of longevity when a thirst for political change is in the air.

I am sure that many PCs wish their fortieth anniversary as government to be an occasion to celebrate a fresh new face as the leader. Some PC members have started an online campaign to recruit the outspoken 30-something MLA Doug Griffiths, but so far the only candidate to officially announce he is running for that party’s leadership is 61-year old former Finance Minister Ted Morton. Current Deputy Premier Doug Horner, son of Premier Lougheed’s Deputy Premier Hugh Horner, is expected to enter the PC leadership contest in the next few days.

The Tories are not the only party seeking a new leader. With both the Alberta Party and Liberal Party also looking for new leaders in 2011, there is a lot of opportunity for the PCs fortieth anniversary to be much more interesting than anyone could have imagined.

Tags Bill Smith, Doug Griffiths, Doug Horner, Ed Stelmach, Hugh Horner, Laurie Blakeman, Paula Simons, Peter Lougheed, Ted Morton

Alberta Politics

not seeing the forest for the trees: swann’s departure will change little.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date February 1, 2011
62 Comments on not seeing the forest for the trees: swann’s departure will change little.

After a tumultuous two years as leader of Alberta’s Liberal Party, Calgary-Mountain View MLA David Swann announced that he will not lead his party into the next election, and that he will formally submit his resignation after the Spring Session of the Alberta Legislature.

Dr. Swann is a good person and one of the kindest souls in provincial politics. Realistically, he never stood a chance as his party’s leader despite these qualities. It would be easy to blame the dismal state of the Liberal Party on the outgoing leader, but there is a greater responsibility belonging to members of a party establishment who played a central role in creating a dysfunctional political culture.

Starting with the quick leadership contest after the party’s devastating result in the 2008 election, the party establishment opted for political expediency, rather than taking advantage of an opportunity to reflect on the party’s future and heal internal rifts. This expediency effectively eliminated any opportunity that the party had to attract potential outside candidates for leader, limiting the pool to a handful of current and former MLAs.

Dr. Swann took the leader’s chair with a mandate for change and quickly discovered that this desire for change was not shared by some MLAs and many in his party. The Party establishment’s strong connections to the federal Liberal Party and its unhealthy obsession with their party’s past successes are just two of the many psychological barriers that Dr. Swann would have immediately faced in his job.

You do not have to spend much time inside the Liberal Party to become aware of how iconized their successes in the 1993 election are. As many Albertans will remember, that election saw former Edmonton Mayor Laurence Decore lead the Liberals to their best showing in decades. The establishment Liberal motto against large-scale change within their party – especially a name change – has centered around the 1993 vote. “We won 32 seats under Decore and we can do it again,” is something that I have heard countless times.

Dr. Swann faced an establishment of Liberal stalwarts who could not fathom the concept of moving away from their beloved party identity (and it really is their identity). By wrapping themselves in their party identity, the party establishment always knew they were right, even when they lost. Dr. Swann challenged this identity when he tried to change the party’s name and when he offered to cooperate with other parties.

With near religious vigor, the Liberal establishment has sought the perfect leader, and when their chosen one has not succeeded in the monumental task of defeating the strongest Progressive Conservative organization in Canada, they are undermined from within or simply driven out. Nick Taylor, Mr. Decore, Grant Mitchell, Nancy MacBeth, Ken Nicol, Kevin Taft, and now Dr. Swann all faced these internal divisions and saw their leadership undermined by the party establishment and their fellow MLAs because they could not appease it.

A quick change of leader may appear to be an easy fix, but the departure of Dr. Swann will not solve the internal problems that have created this dysfunctional political culture.

After being elbowed to the sideline by the growing narrative of the Wildrose Alliance as the next government-in-waiting, and the growth of the new Alberta Party, the Liberal Party’s biggest challenge in 2011 is to be relevant. The Liberals jumped too quickly to choose a new leader a year after the last election. Now they are stuck in the polls with a resigning leader one year before the next election.

UPDATE: The Edmonton Journal’s Paula Simons is reporting that Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman is weighing her options at running for either the Alberta Party or Liberal Party leadership. Meanwhile, Edmonton-Gold Bar MLA Hugh MacDonald has taken the position that “The Alberta Liberal party was good enough for Laurence Decore, Bettie Hewes and Sheldon Chumir, and it’s good enough for me.”

Tags David Swann, Grant Mitchell, Ken Nicol, Kevin Taft, Laurence Decore, Nancy MacBeth, Nick Taylor

Alberta Politics

photos: david swann’s media conference.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date February 1, 2011
2 Comments on photos: david swann’s media conference.

As predicted last night, Liberal leader David Swann announced his resignation as party this morning in Edmonton. Dr. Swann will remain leader until the end of the Spring Session, when he will formally submit his resignation to the Liberal Party.

David Swann resigns — David Swann's wife, Laureen, and his son stand by his side as he announces his resignation as Liberal Party leader.

David Swann resign — The Press Gallery media room was packed for David Swann's resignation announcement.

I have a number of thoughts on Dr. Swann and how his resignation announcement will not solve the problems facing the Liberal Party. I also have a day job, so those thoughts will have to wait until this evening. What do you think?

Tags David Swann

Alberta Politics

swann’s song: liberal leader david swann expected to resign.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date January 31, 2011
16 Comments on swann’s song: liberal leader david swann expected to resign.

Alberta Liberal Caucus — Six Liberal MLAs stood behind David Swann at this 2010 media conference. How many will stand behind him tomorrow?

As first reported by Global Calgary and the Globe and Mail, Calgary MLA David Swann is expected to resign as leader of Alberta’s Liberal Party tomorrow. This announcement will take place exactly one week after Premier Ed Stelmach‘s announced that he would not lead his party into the next election.

After reportedly consulting party officials about his future this past weekend, Dr. Swann is expected to officially announce his resignation to the eight MLA Liberal caucus at a 10:00am meeting tomorrow morning.

One Liberal source told me tonight told me that Dr. Swann is expected to make his announcement public at an 11:30am media conference tomorrow morning at the Alberta Legislature Building. He is expected to announce that he will remain as leader until the end of the Spring Session, when a leadership contest will start or interim leader could be appointed.

I am told that Lethbridge-East Liberal MLA Bridget Pastoor was shocked to learn with short notice of Dr. Swann’s intentions to announce his resignation only days before a scheduled Caucus outreach tour and major fundraising dinner in Lethbridge.

Dr. Swann was elected leader in December 2008, replacing Edmonton-Riverview MLA Kevin Taft as Leader of the Official Opposition. Under the well-meaning and soft-spoken Dr. Swann, the Liberals have faced a number of problems in the form of resignations, internal party divisions, and which have manifested itself into some substantial external communications challenges, which have all been magnified as that party fell to third place behind the Wildrose Alliance in public opinion polls.

Sources tell me that Edmonton-Gold Bar MLA Hugh MacDonald is likely to seek the Liberal Party leadership.

Tags Bridget Pastoor, David Swann, Ed Stelmach, Harry Chase, Hugh MacDonald, Kent Hehr, Kevin Taft, Laurie Blakeman

Alberta Politics

choosing a new captain of the mothership.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date January 31, 2011
5 Comments on choosing a new captain of the mothership.

Happier times in the PC Caucus when Ted Morton and Dave Hancock held hands and sang Kumbaya.

Former Finance Minister Ted Morton believes that he is the best person to bring conservatives back to the PC “mothership,” but that is not stopping the speculation of who will challenge him in the contest to fill his party’s top job.

Stelmach’s McGarry
Rarely in the spotlight, Premier Ed Stelmach‘s Chief of Staff Ron Glen spoke with the Calgary Herald about his boss’ resignation announcement and the politics of the past week.

Vote a vote for Jim in 2011?
Completely ruling out returning to politics when asked last Tuesday, former Finance Minister and 2006 PC leadership contest front-runner Jim Dinning was less committal later in the week. Many Tories I have spoken with in the past week tell me that while they would love Mr. Dinning to return to politics, that they believe it is unlikely that the University of Calgary Chancellor will seek his party’s leadership.

Two more candidates?
Edmonton-Leduc Conservative MP James Rajotte is said to be considering a bid for the PC leadership. First elected as a Canadian Alliance MP for Edmonton-Southwest in 2000, Mr. Rajotte . He was the Ottawa roommate of Rahim Jaffer in the 1990s, when he worked as the legislative assistant for Edmonton-Strathcona MP Hugh Hanrahan and Surrey-North MP Margaret Bridgeman, and later as executive assistant to Edmonton MP Ian McClelland. Mr. Rajotte is currently the chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.

First elected as the MLA for Edmonton-Whitemud in 1997, Minister Dave Hancock placed fifth out of eight candidates with 7,595 votes on the first ballot of his party’s 2006 leadership contest. He endorsed Premier Stelmach on the second ballot. Minister Hancock has served as Minister of Justice, Health, Advanced Education, and Education (among others) and has been a PC Party insider since serving as Youth President in the 1970s.

In his current role as Education Minister, Hancock encouraged Trustees, parents, administrators, and others to think big about the future of the education system. This process had encouraged good among education system participants until recently, when the government attempted to renegotiate an already agreed upon contract with Alberta’s teachers.

The right time for Griffiths?
A leadership bid by Battle River-Wainwright MLA Doug Griffiths is not only gaining support in internet polls. Metro Calgary columnist DJ Kelly wrote a column last week suggesting that the outspoken and insightful Mr. Griffiths might be the best candidate for the job.

Benitomania or Benitolution?
Tongue in cheek campaign or the next big political shift? Paula Simons examines the political career of Edmonton-Mill Woods PC MLA Carl Benito and the recent online chatter about him.

Tags Carl Benito, Dave Hancock, Dj Kelly, Doug Griffiths, Ed Stelmach, Hugh Hanrahan, Ian McClelland, James Rajotte, Jim Dinning, Margaret Bridgeman, Rahim Jaffer, Ron Glen, Ted Morton

Alberta Politics

david swann’s song to raj sherman.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date January 30, 2011
No Comments on david swann’s song to raj sherman.

x2_45f901a — Dr. Raj Sherman, Dr. David Swann, and David Eggen. Photo via @jbsno1.

Only days after announcing that he would remain an Independent MLA in the upcoming Spring Sitting of the Assembly, the Liberals continue to court former PC MLA Dr. Raj Sherman. The day before the first stop of a province-wide Friends of Medicare tour which Dr. Sherman is a keynote speaker, the Liberal Caucus distributed a media release suggesting that the it was a joint appearance of the Independent MLA and Liberal leader Dr. David Swann (Dr. Swann was front and centre at the town hall meeting held in his constituency of Calgary-Mountain View).

After experiencing a year of dismal political fortunes in 2010, the Liberals would love Dr. Sherman to join their eight MLA Official Opposition Caucus, especially at the expense of the new Alberta Party, which gained its first MLA last week. Regardless of Dr. Sherman’s political arrangement in the coming months, focusing on health care could be a smart strategy for the Liberals in 2011.

Adding to the peculiarity to the situation is Friends of Medicare’s effective voice, David Eggen, who is a former NDP MLA and that party’s nominated candidate in Edmonton-Calder. Staff at the NDP Caucus have invited almost 400 of their supporters to join a Facebook Page urging the Good Doctor Sherman to join their ranks. This is the NDP’s second attempt at creating a Facebook movement to recruit the Independent MLA into their two MLA Caucus.

All-Party debate on health care
Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith accepted a challenge by Dr. Sherman to participate in an all-party leaders debate on health care. As a columnist with the Calgary Herald, Ms. Smith wrote in support of changes implemented by former Health Minister Ron Liepert and as her party’s leader supported the bankrupt private-for-profit Health Resource Centre.

It might be a difficult debate to arrange anytime soon due to the Progressive Conservatives and Alberta Party each being in a period without permanent leaders.

No-win for David Swann
The Edmonton Journal’s Graham Thomson wrote a column on the no-win situation facing Dr. Swann and its similarity to that of the Premier.

“Talk to a Tory MLA about Stelmach and you hear about a decent, honest and intelligent man who is awkward, uncharismatic and a political disappointment. It’s like talking to a Liberal MLA about Swann.”

Tags Danielle Smith, David Eggen, David Swann, Raj Sherman, Ron Liepert

Alberta Politics

unmanned aircraft falling out of the sky hurts local economy.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date January 28, 2011
2 Comments on unmanned aircraft falling out of the sky hurts local economy.

Meanwhile, in non-Ed Stelmach or Ted Morton resignation news, Medicine Hat Conservative MP Lavar Payne and Alderman Jeremy Thompson comment on the bizarre story of an unmanned aircraft falling out of the sky, the effects it is having on the local economy, and Ottawa’s slow response.

Tags Ed Stelmach, Jeremy Thompson, Levar Payne, Ted Morton

Alberta Politics

pc leadership poll results: doug griffiths takes an early lead.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date January 28, 2011
22 Comments on pc leadership poll results: doug griffiths takes an early lead.

After two days of voting, the results have been tallied in the first poll asking readers of this blog who they thought should replace Premier Ed Stelmach as leader of Alberta’s PC Party. Thank you to the 813 readers who voted in this online poll.

Some people might be surprised by the strength of Battle River-Wainwright MLA Doug Griffiths in this poll, but as the PC MLA with the highest personal online profile it is not surprising that online political watchers would support the idea of him as the next PC leader (or as a friend said this week, “he would be the first PC leader who actually understands 21st century communications”). As a moderate Tory, Justice Minister Alison Redford would have some natural appeal to readers of this blog. As for Edmonton-Mill Woods MLA Carl Benito‘s support, I imagine that it was his unique position on tuition and property taxes that earned him those 76 votes.

Here is the breakdown of the results.

Who should PC Party members vote to replace Premier Ed Stelmach in their upcoming leadership contest?

Doug Griffiths (25%, 205 Votes)
Alison Redford (21%, 170 Votes)
Ted Morton (15%, 119 Votes)
Jonathan Denis (10%, 79 Votes)
Carl Benito (9%, 76 Votes)
Jim Prentice (5%, 44 Votes)
Doug Horner (5%, 40 Votes)
Dave Hancock (3%, 28 Votes)
Cindy Ady (3%, 26 Votes)
Gary Mar (2%, 13 Votes)
Thomas Lukaszuk (1%, 7 Votes)
Lloyd Snelgrove (1%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 813

Tags Alison Redford, Carl Benito, Cindy Ady, Dave Hancock, Doug Griffiths, Doug Horner, Ed Stelmach, Gary Mar, Jim Prentice, Jonathan Denis, Lloyd Snelgrove, Ted Morton, Thomas Lukaszuk

Alberta Politics

alberta politics notes 1/28/2011.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date January 28, 2011
3 Comments on alberta politics notes 1/28/2011.

What’s next?

The sudden Tuesday morning announcement by Premier Ed Stelmach that he will resign before the next election caught many people by surprise, but beyond the broad statement there was little detail about when he would actually resign and when he would be replaced. At a press conference in Calgary yesterday, Premier Stelmach gave a little more detail saying that he would continue in his role until at least the end of the Spring Session of the Legislature.

Finance Minister Ted Morton — Dr. Ted Morton after presenting the 2010 Provincial Budget.

Morton’s savvy move

Yesterday’s departure of Finance Minister Ted Moron from the provincial cabinet is an unsurprising move by the conservative former University professor. Dr. Morton’s resignation as Finance Minister will allow him to concentrate on his leadership bid and more importantly distances himself from a 2011 budget which is expected to include a substantial deficit, which would hurt his credibility among his conservative supporters.

Not having to stand up on the Legislative Assembly floor and present a deficit budget in 2011 will not give the Wildrose Alliance the pleasure of attacking his credentials as a fiscal hawk (or fiscal mallard). The battle over whether to accept a deficit or balance the budget (resulting in serious budget cuts) was a fight that is suspected to have contributed heavily on Premier Stelmach’s resignation announcement earlier this week.

Lloyd from Lloydminster

Mr. Morton’s departure from cabinet made way for Treasury Board President Lloyd Snelgrove‘s appointment as Minister of Finance. Minister Snelgrove was first elected as the MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminster in 2001, replacing former Finance Minister Steve West (who was known as Dr. Death for the part he played in the government cuts of the 1990). Minister Snelgrove was one of the nine MLAs who supported Premier Stelmach’s bid for the PC leadership in 2006 and has been a key member of the Premier’s inner circle since.

Video interviews with Danielle Smith and Jonathan Denis

Ontario Conservative political blogger Stephen Taylor has posted two video interviews this week with Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith and Housing Minister Jonathan Denis in reaction to Premier Stelmach’s resignation announcement.

Alberta Party - Sue Huff and Dave Taylor — Alberta Party acting leader Sue Huff and the first Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor.

The Economist weighs in.

The Economist published a review of Alberta’s current political situation titled “Prairie fire” that gives a good synopsis of the PC leadership strife, the rise of the Wildrose Alliance, and the growth of the new Alberta Party with its first MLA Dave Taylor.

Another Liberal departure

Media Coordinator Tanara McLean is leaving the Liberal Caucus to take a position with SunTV reporter starting next month. This will be the second departure from the Liberal Communications Office in 2011. Communications Director Neil Mackie left in early January.

Raj Sherman Media Conference

Independent Edmonton-Meadowlark MLA Dr. Raj Sherman held a media conference yesterday to announce that he will be entering the Spring Session of the Legislature as an Independent MLA. He also reminded the media of his upcoming townhall tour with the Friends of Medicare‘s David Eggen.

Nomination contests

A few new additions to the list of declared candidates seeking party nominations for the next provincial election. In Calgary-Varsity, previously declared Kevin Dick is now facing Justin Anderson for the Wildrose Alliance nomination. Other newly declared seeking Wildrose candidate nominations are Tim Dyck in Calgary-Bow and Cory Morgan in Calgary-North Hill (soon to be Calgary-Klein). Mr. Morgan was the Wildrose candidate in Calgary-Mountain View in the 2008 election and some people may remember him as the leader of the Alberta Independence Party in 2001.

In Edmonton-Decore, Zack Siezmagraff is seeking the Liberal Party nomination to reclaim the constituency from PC MLA Janice Sarich. This riding under its current and previous names was represented by Liberal MLAs Bill Bonko, Bill Bonner, and its namesake Laurence Decore from 1989 to 2008.

Read more in the Alberta Politics Notes archive.

Alberta Politics

ted morton resigns from pc cabinet.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date January 27, 2011
3 Comments on ted morton resigns from pc cabinet.

And the scoop goes to Josh Wingrove from the Globe and Mail:

Alberta Finance Minister Ted Morton has resigned from cabinet, two days after first planning to do so and after reluctantly agreeing to support a large deficit budget.

A source tells The Globe and Mail Mr. Morton resigned on Thursday, but remains in the Progressive Conservative caucus.

Premier Ed Stelmach has called a press conference in Calgary for Thursday afternoon, where he’s expected to confirm the move.

Premier Stelmach’s joint press conference with soon-to-be-announced-former Minister Morton is also expected to reveal that Treasury Board President Lloyd Snelgrove will take over as Finance Minister.

We can now confidently say that the race to become the next leader of Alberta’s PC Party has begun.

Tags Ed Stelmach, Josh Wingrove, Lloyd Snelgrove, Ted Morton

Alberta Politics

quotes in response to ed stelmach’s resignation.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date January 27, 2011
3 Comments on quotes in response to ed stelmach’s resignation.

On his decision to not run in the next election:

Premier Ed Stelmach told the Fort Saskatchewan Record: “I got to thinking when I was interviewing the MLAs coming in and asking them for a five year commitment,” he said. “Another five years would put me close to 65 and I know there’s many politicians older than that and doing well, but that would have been 30 years of public service.

“Having served the constituency for many years. I feel good in terms of what we’ve been able to accomplish, in terms of improved infrastructure, whether it be Fort Saskatchewan, Vegreville or the communities in between.

“I know it’s time for a change and politics is demanding, and will be increasingly demanding, and that’s why I made the decision.”

Party insiders on the next leadership contest:

PC Party Executive Director Pat Godkin told Sun Media that “there is no timeline whatsoever” in place for a leadership contest.

PC Party President Bill Smith told iNews880 that “I think more along the lines we’re looking at spring and summer.”

Ralph Klein’s former Chief of Staff Rod Love told Global News: “You know there’s 68 members in the caucus, a lot of the names are well known about who might be in, who might be out.”

Potential candidates::

Deputy Premier Doug Horner told the St. Albert Gazette: “I was asked the question whether or not I would consider it and my response honestly is, well yeah, you’re going to consider it but it doesn’t mean I’m going to do it just yet.”

Former Finance Minister and current University of Calgary Chancellor Jim Dinning on CKNW Radio in Vancouver: “While I still have the passion and the interest, I do not want to run for that job.”

Finance Minister Ted Morton told the Calgary Herald: I have not made that decision. It is still, as I said (Tuesday), inappropriate for you guys to ask those questions and inappropriate for me to answer.”

Justice Minister Alison Redford told the Calgary Herald: “It might be something in the future that I’ll consider. Whether that is imminent or not I just don’t know at this time. That’s my honest answer.”

Culture and Community Spirit Minister Lindsay Blackett told the Calgary Herald: You always have to consider it,” he said shortly after hearing of Stelmach’s decision, “and see what level of support there is for you to try to do something like that. But I’m also mindful I’ve only been on the game for three years.”

Alberta Mayors:

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel told CTV Edmonton: “I was a huge fan of the premier. He was a fine, fine man who was I think a great representative of the Province of Alberta. I wish him and his wife the best.”

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi told the Calgary Herald: “Right now I think it’s not time to think about politics. It is time to think about Premier Stelmach’s legacy as a really decent human being and a really dedicated public servant.”

Red Deer Mayor Morris Flewwelling told the Red Deer Advocate: “This government and Mr. Stelmach have done a good job of recognizing that municipalities are the engines of the economy. Stelmach came from municipal politics so he understood the revenue sharing and imbalance of revenue for municipalities.”

Opposition Parties comment:

Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith told the Edmonton Journal: “Make no mistake, the reason I ran for leadership of the Wildrose party was to replace Ed Stelmach as premier of this province… “I think it’s too late at this point for the PCs to recover any of their former glory. … We think the next election will be a time for Albertans to turn the page on this Tory dynasty. It’s been in power for 40 years and it’s a new chapter.”

Liberal leader David Swann told the Edmonton Journal: “Everything will be on a holding pattern in the ministries to wait until direction comes from the party leader. Without clear leadership — in fact, division at the top — for what really needs to happen in terms of fixing health care, there will be a polarizing from those who want to see more private services provided to pick up the gap and those who feel that the primary problem is in leadership and management.”

Alberta Party acting leader Sue Huff told the Edmonton Journal: “I think it’s time for Albertans to really decide what it is they want for the future, for their children, for their grandchildren, and decide if we really want extreme right-wing politics to decide the day.”

NDP leader Brian Mason told the Edmonton Journal: “The Alberta Tories can’t be trusted to protect public health care. They have repeatedly sought to bring in more private care under various leaders, and leaked documents show they are planning it again. They run the least competent government in Canada. That’s the real problem.”

Tags Alison Redford, Bill Smith, Brian Mason, Danielle Smith, David Swann, Doug Horner, Ed Stelmach, Jim Dinning, Lindsay Blackett, Morris Flewwelling, Naheed Nenshi, Pat Godkin, Rod Love, Stephen Mandel, Sue Huff, Ted Morton

Alberta Politics

alberta pc leadership poll.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date January 27, 2011
16 Comments on alberta pc leadership poll.

There is no shortage of topics to write about this week, so as I work on a few bigger posts I have posted a poll on the sidebar of this blog asking the question:

Who should PC Party members vote to replace Premier Ed Stelmach in their upcoming leadership contest?

Who do you think?

Alberta Politics

albertan gothic: ed stelmach’s resignation: the morning after.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date January 26, 2011
20 Comments on albertan gothic: ed stelmach’s resignation: the morning after.

Premier Ed Stelmach resigns — Albertan Gothic: Premier Ed Stelmach and his wife, Marie, at yesterday's media conference.

It has been fascinating to watch Premier Ed Stelmach‘s career as Premier culminate towards yesterday’s announcement that he will not lead his party into the next provincial general election. As someone who was too young to remember Don Getty‘s resignation and Ralph Klein‘s accession to the throne, it was certainly an interesting political experience for me to see the entire political life of a Premier for the first time.

It is not a secret that since entering the Office, Premier Stelmach struggled to define his leadership style. Under his Premiership, the general policy direction of his government sometimes appeared to be drifting towards numerous locations at the same time. The Progressive Conservatives have been in office for nearly 40 years and have become a natural governing party that in many ways creates and adopts policy as would a an amorphous blob.

With both his party’s popularity and personal approval rating having drastically dropped since the 2008 election, it would not be surprising to learn that more than a few PC MLAs and cabinet ministers were planning not to seek re-election if there was not a change in leadership. I have also heard that tension between the Premier and Finance Minister Ted Morton, and MLAs and the Premier’s Chief of Staff, Ron Glen, also heavily contributed to yesterday’s announcement.

I'm a Mac, I'm a PC — Malcolm Mayes' Edmonton Journal political cartoon in January 2008 (I'm the Mac).

I had a special relationship with the Premier that began in December 2007 when his lawyers threatened to sue me over my ownership of the URL edstelmach.ca. After forwarding the URL to the wikipedia entry of the last Social Credit Premier Harry Strom, I received a threatening letter from the Premier’s lawyer demanding that I cease and desist (and govern myself accordingly). The Premier may have been insistent that his name was his name, but when push came to shove they backed down (and helped me increase this blog’s readership by at least 500%). Without malice three years later, it turns out that I was closer than I thought with my Premier Strom comparison.

Likeness to Premier Strom aside, it would be unfair to say that Premier Stelmach has not achieved anything while occupying his current office. Always a class act, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said it well in an interview with the Calgary Herald yesterday:

“Right now I think it’s not time to think about politics. It is time to think about Premier Stelmach’s legacy as a really decent human being and a really dedicated public servant.”

He promised and implemented the long-awaited Lobbyist Registry. His 2010 budget provided a five year commitment to stable funding for Health Care and Education, two departments that had felt the brunt of the budget cuts in the 1990s. His government established the Capital Regional Board, which started a long-overdue armistice that ended the regional turf wars between municipalities in the Edmonton region. His personal commitment to ending homelessness should also not be forgotten, as his government has supported the development and funding of municipal 10 year plans to end homelessness.

Many of these accomplishments have been overshadowed by the decision to raise and then again tinker with the natural resource royalties collected by the provincial government, which angered many in Calgary’s energy sector. The downturn in the economy and the return to deficit budgets also changed how many Albertans viewed the PC government, after years of being told that “deficit budgets were illegal” during Premier Klein’s tenure. The forced merger of the province’s nine regional health authorities into one mega-health authority known as Alberta Health Services also raised serious questions about proper planning and the value of centralization in Health Care. His government’s decision to challenge rural landowners over property rights and the construction of high powered electrical transmission lines also created conflict in areas of the province that had been PC strongholds for decades.

Premier Stelmach’s eventual departure does not automatically save the PC Party from their low support in the polls. The party now needs to select a new leader while facing an organized and well-funded opposition in the form of the Wildrose Alliance, who have leaned heavily on federal Conservative Party organizers to build their party machinery. The Liberals and New Democrats remain competitive in some Edmonton and Calgary ridings and the new Alberta Party announced this week that Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor had become their first MLA.

Although Premier Stelmach will remain leader of the government to oversee the next provincial budget, attention will now be turned toward his potential successors. Finance Minister Morton appears to be the early favourite and could even soon resign his cabinet post to focus on a leadership bid. An immediate Morton coronation could be postponed by the entrance of candidates such as former federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice, Advanced Education Minister Doug Horner, Justice Minister Alison Redford, or Treasury Board President Lloyd Snelgrove. It would also be interesting to see some younger talent, like Housing Minister Jonathan Denis or Battle River-Wainwright MLA Doug Griffiths throw their names in the race.

Regardless of Premier Stelmach’s departure and the leader the members of that Party chooses in the upcoming leadership contest, the big question is whether the PCs be able to redefine themselves as they approach 40 years as our province’s governing party? Will a new PC Party leader be able to satisfy Albertans’ new found appetite for political change?