daveberta.ca – Alberta Politics and Elections

looking back at 2011: alberta mla’s who made a difference.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 29, 2011
9 Comments on looking back at 2011: alberta mla’s who made a difference.

Each year around this time, I compile a list of a handful of Members of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly who I believe deserve mentioning following their political performance over the past year. This is just my list, so please feel free to agree, disagree, or make your own suggestions in the comment section below. Here is my list of MLAs that made a significant impact on Alberta’s political scene in 2011:

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and his wife Marie Stelmach at the Premier's resignation announcement on January 25, 2011. — Premier Ed Stelmach and his wife, Marie, as he announces his resignation as Premier.

Ed Stelmach (Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville) – Honest Ed – Triggering Alberta’s most significant political event of 2011, Premier Ed Stelmach surprised many political watchers when he announced his retirement after only four years in the job. Almost immediately, his party’s political fortunes improved, showing increased support in the polls and attracting six candidates to its leadership contest.

Characterized by his opponents as a back-country rural politician, I believe history will be kinder when his achievements, such as the initiation of the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness, the creation of the Capital Region Board, and significant public infrastructure investments across the province, are fully realized.

Alberta Premier Alison Redford — Premier Alison Redford

Alison Redford (Calgary-Elbow) – ‘New Hope‘ – Bringing renewed hope of generational renewal to the PC Party, first-term MLA and now Premier Alison Redford set a positive tone after being elected as leader in October 2011. She is smart, well-spoken, and bring a world of experience with her to the office. She still has to answer for the half-fulfilled promises like the creation of a “fixed election period” rather than the promised fixed-election date and empowering the quasi-judicial Health Quality Council, rather than the promised Judicial inquiry, to investigate the intimidation of health care professionals. Her reasonable responses to international corporations questioning Alberta’s environmental record is both refreshing and reasonable, now let us see some action.

Alberta Deputy Premier Doug Horner — Deputy Premier Doug Horner

Doug Horner (Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert) – Steady Second in Command – Placing third in the crowded PC leadership contest, cabinet minister Doug Horner’s support of Ms. Redford on the second ballot of the PC leadership contest helped make her Premier. Now as Deputy Premier and President of the Treasury Board, Minister Horner sits in the powerful position of being his party’s northern Alberta messenger in the next provincial election. This is similar to a role played by his father, Dr. Hugh Horner, when he served as Deputy Premier to Premier Peter Lougheed in the 1970s. He is smart and tough, and is in an ideal position to place himself as Premier Redford’s successor if the next election does not go smoothly for their party.

Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason — NDP Leader Brian Mason

Brian Mason (Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood) – Veteran leader with a cause – With a talented knack for quippy one-liners, NDP leader Brian Mason continues to outshine the other opposition leaders in the media and on the Assembly floor. With the Liberals moving to the political-right in order to compete with the Tories and Wildrose Party, Mr. Mason has carved out a recogizable piece of the political spectrum for his tiny social democratic party. With only a few months before the next provincial election, the NDP’s chances of making electoral gains in 2012 looks good. Will Mr. Mason get a new title in 2012? Maybe Leader of the Official Opposition?

Alberta Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman — Liberal leader Raj Sherman

Raj Sherman (Edmonton-Meadowlark) – new Liberal – Former Tory backbencher Raj Sherman inherited a divided and drifting party when he was elected Liberal Party leader in September 2011. Dr. Sherman talks about creating a business-friendly and socially-liberal party, which sounds suspiciously like political real estate already happily occupied by the PC Party. It is still unclear what the future of the Liberal Party will look like under his leadership, especially after losing the floor-crossing Lethbridge MLA Bridget Pastoor and retiring veteran MLAs Kevin Taft, Harry Chase, and Hugh MacDonald.

Edmonton-Gold Bar Liberal MLA Hugh MacDonald — MLA Hugh MacDonald

Hugh MacDonald (Edmonton-Gold Bar) – True Grit & Defender of the Faith – Edmonton-Gold Bar MLA Hugh MacDonald ran a passionate campaign of partisan preservation in this year’s Liberal Party leadership contest. His campaign did not prevail and following his defeat to Dr. Sherman he announced his plans to retire when the next election is called. Mr. MacDonald’s loss is also a loss for the Assembly, which will lose one of the hardest working and determined opposition MLAs. If the next election does not go well for his party, there may be more than a few Liberal stalwarts asking for Mr. MacDonald to come back.

Rob Anderson (Airdrie-Chestermere) – The Wildrose’s Thorn – First elected as a PC MLA in 2008, Rob Anderson crossed the floor to the Wildrose Party in 2010. Since then, he has relished in his role as an opposition MLA, becoming his party’s unofficial leader on the Assembly floor. While he is sometimes over the top (and negative) in his accusations against the governing Tories, his presence overshadows his three Wildrose caucus colleagues to the point where he might as well be a one man opposition caucus.

Jonathan Denis (Calgary-Egmont) – Rising Star – In his first-term as a PC MLA, Jonathan Denis has gone from backbencher to holding two cabinet portfolios. As Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs (which is now part of the Ministry of Human Services), Minister Denis supported the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness through its second and third years. The plan’s focus on the Housing-First Principle is key to its success. After supporting Ted Morton and Mr. Mar in the PC leadership contest, Minister Denis found himself promoted to Solicitor General in Premier Redford’s first cabinet.

Dave Taylor (Calgary-Currie) – The Alberta’s Party’s first MLA – The former Liberal MLA became the first Alberta Party MLA in January 2011. He may have played a low key role in the two sittings of the Assembly since he joined that party, but his jumping to the new party helped put them on the political map. Mr. Taylor will not be seeking re-election when the next provincial vote is called.

Doug Griffiths (Battle River-Wainwright) – Young Pup – After almost ten years as a PC backbencher, Doug Griffiths entered this year’s PC leadership contest as a dark horse and a long-shot. On the campaign trail he spoke articulately and passionately about issues that make conservative partisans uncomfortable. He placed last in the leadership contest and made what should have been a political career ending decision when he then endorsed another losing candidate. Somehow, he ended up as a cabinet minister after Premier Redford was elected. His energy and open-mindedness as a cabinet minister is refreshing and much needed.

To keep the list short it is limited to current MLAs, which immediately excludes a few people who made a big impact on the province’s political scene this year. While I did not include them in this list, I feel there are a few non-MLAs who deserve an honourable mention for having made a significant impact on Alberta’s political scene in 2011. They are Gary Mar, Naheed Nenshi, Danielle Smith, Sue Huff, and Stephen Carter.

Alberta Politics

merry christmas from the author of daveberta.ca.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 24, 2011
No Comments on merry christmas from the author of daveberta.ca.

Sunset at Alberta's Legislative Assembly Building - December 13, 2011 — A December sunset at Alberta's Legislative Assembly Building.

Thank you to all the readers who continue to return to this blog each day and new readers who may have found this blog for the first time. I have had a lot of fun writing about the unique world of Alberta politics over the past six years and plan to keep writing for many years to come.

The past year was an exciting time to write about our political scene. Starting in January with Premier Ed Stelmach‘s resignation, followed two days later by Finance Minister Ted Morton‘s resignation, then Liberal leader David Swann‘s resignation a week later, it started with a bang. Two leadership contests, the selection of Alison Redford as Alberta’s first woman Premier, a few cabinet shuffles, floor crossings, and many public opinion polls later, we now enter 2012 on the cusp of what could be an exciting provincial election campaign. I am expecting next year to be an interesting one for political watchers and writers of all political stripes.

This time of year, it is important to take account of what is important. So over the next few days I will be turning my attention away from the down and dirty of politics to focus on what is most important to me – my family, friends, and loved ones. I hope you take the opportunity to do the same this holiday season.

Have a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

See you in 2012!

Dave

PS. Check out this blog next week for my fourth annual list of Alberta’s MLAs who I believe made a big difference in Alberta politics over the past year.

Tags Alison Redford, David Swann, Ed Stelmach, Ted Morton

Alberta Politics

the hypocrisy of ethical oil’s chiquita banana boycott.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 21, 2011
22 Comments on the hypocrisy of ethical oil’s chiquita banana boycott.

If you have been paying any attention to Canadian politics on Twitter or have tuned into any of the Sun Media outlets over the past few days, you will have undoubtably noticed that the greenwashing website “Ethical Oil” has launched the Great Canadian Banana Boycott. Reacting to the Chiquita company’s decision to direct its transportation providers “to avoid, where possible, fuels from tarsands refineries,” the website is urging Canadians to boycott Chiquita bananas and related products.

Inspired by conservative political pundit Ezra Levant‘s book by the same name, the Ethical Oil website purports to “encourage people, businesses and governments to choose Ethical Oil from Canada, its oil sands and other liberal democracies.” The website suggests that “ethical oil” is a “fair trade” alternative to “conflict oil” exploited in some of our world’s more politically oppressive and environmentally reckless countries.

Pointing to Chiquita’s chequered past as the United Fruit Company, the website and its opportunistic political supporters, including Wildrose leader Danielle Smith and a handful of Conservative Party Members of Parliament have joined the fray pledging personal boycotts.

Starting with Mr. Levant, the Ethical Oil mantra has becomes a rotating door for young conservative activists. Until recently, the website was maintained by Alykhan Velshi, a former staffer to Conservative Minister Jason Kenney. Mr. Velshi now works as director of planning for Prime Minister Stephen Harper‘s office. The website’s current spokesperson, Kathryn Marshall, is a former organizer with the Wildrose Party Club on the University of Calgary campus (her husband Hamish Marshall is a pollster and the former Manager of Strategic Planning for Prime Minister Harper).

There is no doubt that countries Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Nigeria have earned their reputations for having horrible human rights and environmental records, but I have never heard Ethical Oil directly challenge the multinational oil companies that operate in those countries. Many of the same companies that exploit “conflict oil” from these oppressive countries also happily operate in Alberta’s oil sands and employ many thousands of Canadians.

The multi-national oil company Royal Dutch Shell is a 60% owner of the Athabasca Oil Sands project. Shell also has significant operations in Saudi Arabia and is well-known for its unethical actions in Nigeria.

According to repots from The Guardian newspaper:

Court documents now reveal that in the 1990s Shell routinely worked with Nigeria’s military and mobile police to suppress resistance to its oil activities, often from activists in Ogoniland, in the delta region.

The company has been sued many times over its conduct in Nigeria. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) say oil companies working in the delta, of which Shell is the largest, have overseen a “human rights tragedy”. Most of the alleged human rights abuses, they say, follow the companies’ refusal to abide by acceptable environmental standards.

On November 9, 2011, Amnesty International called on Shell to make an initial $1 billion payment to clean up oil pollution in the Niger Delta.

Even Suncor, a company with deep roots in Alberta’s oilsands, only recently withdrew its foreign workers from energy operations in Syria. Despite decades of human rights abuses, Suncor only slowed down its Syrian operations (formerly run by Petro-Canada) when the European Union and the United Nations imposed sanctions on the country.

As the Ethical Oil website denounces and promotes boycotts of companies that question the environmental record of Alberta’s oilsands, the website does nothing to promote a boycott of unethical oil producers, like Shell, that make billions of dollars exploiting their definition of ‘conflict oil.’

The arguments put forward by Ethical Oil are misleading and disingenuous. They compare bananas to oranges and drive the debate away from the real issue – our unsustainable dependence on fossil fuels and the incredible environmental toll that multinational oil companies are enacting both overseas and in Alberta’s oilsands.

Tags Alykhan Velshi, Danielle Smith, Ezra Levant, Hamish Marshall, Jason Kenney, Kathryn Marshall, Stephen Harper

Alberta Politics

rajey.

Following up on my previous post with the NDP video from the Press Gallery Christmas Party, here is the Liberal Party video shown at the annual party:

(thanks to Earl J. Woods for posting it online)

Tags Earl J. Woods, Raj Sherman

Alberta Politics

conzilla and the opposition robots.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 16, 2011
9 Comments on conzilla and the opposition robots.

Each year, the political parties represented in Alberta’s Legislative Assembly produce short videos for the Press Gallery Christmas Party. Typically funny, though not always very good, the videos are always best when they are self-depricating (everyone likes politicians that can make fun of themselves). At this year’s party, the tiny two MLA NDP caucus of Brian Mason and Rachel Notley produced a tribute to the Godzilla films titled Conzilla and the Opposition Robots.

Tags Alberta Legislature Press Gallery Christmas Party Video, Alberta NDP, Brian Mason, Rachel Notley

Alberta Politics

pre-election games: progressive conservatives and wildrose spar with new ads.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 15, 2011
3 Comments on pre-election games: progressive conservatives and wildrose spar with new ads.

As the Spring 2012 provincial election approaches, the Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose Party have rolled out a series of television ads (on YouTube) delivering their political pitches to Albertans.

The Wildrose ads, as David Climenhaga and Graham Thomson have already written, are cast with two faces of leader Danielle Smith.

To quote Mr. Climenhaga, ‘Bad Danielle is going to slap you around a bit now for even thinking about voting for Alberta Premier Alison Redford… while she’s gone, Good Danielle may offer you a cup of coffee, apologize for her partner’s behaviour and try to sweet-talk you out of your troubles…”.

The first Wildrose ad, ‘Flip Flop’, takes a negative angle and could be confused with the Conservative Party ads from the last federal election. Accentuating the negative, these types of ads were deadly for federal Liberal leaders Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff.

The second Wildrose ad features leader Ms. Smith speaking about education, which I believe may be the best of the ads released by any party so far. Ms. Smith is clear, confident, and shockingly warm for a conservative politician (though I still would not trust the former Calgary School Trustee to run our education system).

The first of the two Progressive Conservative ads introduces Premier Redford and the second ad features the Premier talking about the promise of education. They are rather plain and fuzzy feeling, which is surprising considering Premier Redford’s interesting background (including her surprisingly extensive international experience).

The theme of the PC ads appears to be ‘look how good your quality of life is,’ which appears to be a reaction to the negative tone of Wildrose ads. Although they cry for excitement, these dull and numbing ads should not hurt the PCs so long as they do not linger too far into the Harry Strom-like “don’t even think about doing anything drastic like voting for another party’ because ‘we’ve renewed… really… we have… a new leader… look at our exciting new leader!’ territory.

Tags Alison Redford, Danielle Smith, David Climenhaga, Graham Thomson, Harry Strom, Michael Ignatieff, Stephane Dion

Alberta Politics

alberta election candidate update – december 2011 (part 2)

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 15, 2011
5 Comments on alberta election candidate update – december 2011 (part 2)

The list of candidates nominated to stand in the next provincial general election continues to grow.

Nominated Alberta election candidates by region. December 15, 2011

Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock: Westlock Town Councillor David Truckey is the first candidate to enter the Progressive Conservative nomination contest in the constituency being vacated by long-time MLA Ken Kowalski. The PCs have held this constituency since 1967.

Calgary-Currie: Lawyer Norm Kelly has announced his intention to seek the Alberta Party nomination in this south central Calgary constituency. Currie is currently represented by Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor, who will be retiring when the next election is called.

Calgary-Fish Creek – Wendelin Fraser, former Dean of the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University, has declared her intention to seek the PC nomination. This constituency is currently represented by PC-turned-Wildrose MLA Heather Forsyth.

Calgary-Hawkwood Farouk Aditia and Chris Roberts have entered the PC nomination contest in this new constituency. Mr. Adatia was the Chief Financial Officer in Premier Alison Redford‘s recent leadership campaign.

Calgary-McCall: Muhammad Rasheed is seeking the PC nomination. The constituency is currently represented by Liberal MLA Darshan Kang.

Calgary-West: Calgary Police Sergeant Mike Ellis is seeking the PC nomination. Incumbent MLA and current Finance Minister Ron Liepert recently announced that he would be retiring when the next election was called.
Chestermere-Rockyview: Nathan Salmon is seeking the yet to be scheduled NDP nomination.

Edmonton-Meadowlark: Former MLA Bob Maskell is seeking the PC nomination in this west Edmonton constituency. Mr. Maskell represented this constituency from 2001 to 2004. Also seeking the nomination is Richard Guyon, who was the Wildrose candidate in this constituency in the 2008 election. Meadowlark is currently represented by PC MLA turned Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman.

Edmonton-Mill Woods: Sohail Qadri is one of two people challenging incumbent MLA Carl Benito for the PC nomination.

Edmonton-Whitemud: Jim Graves defeated Muriel Stanley Venne to win the NDP nomination.

Leduc-Beaumont: Locomotive engineer and saskatoon berry farmer William Munsey is seeking the Alberta Party nomination in this constituency south of Edmonton. Mr. Munsey was the Green Party candidate in the Vegreville-Wainwright riding in the 2011 federal election.

Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre: School Principal Jimmy Clark is challenging incumbent MLA Ty Lund for the PC nomination. The 73-year old Mr. Lund has represented the constituency since 1989.

Sherwood Park: Former Strathcona County Mayor Cathy Oleson and County Councillor Brian Botterill are seeking the PC nomination.

Senate
First reported on this blog last week, Mike Shaikh has confirmed his entrance into the PC Senate candidate nomination contest. Also entering the PC Senate nomination contest is former NAIT President Sam Shaw, who announced his candidacy at the 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron Christmas Dinner last weekend.

Alberta Politics

brian topp comes to edmonton.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 13, 2011
6 Comments on brian topp comes to edmonton.

Brian Topp NDP leadership candidate — NDP leadership candidate Brian Topp

Brian Topp was in Edmonton last night campaigning for the leadership of the New Democratic Party of Canada. At an event hosted by the Edmonton-Strathcona NDP association, more than 130 people packed into the City Arts Centre to listen to Mr. Topp deliver a pitch for their votes in the leadership contest.

A long-time political operative in the federal NDP and Saskatchewan NDP, Mr. Topp has never actually served in elected office. Facing a friendly crowd, he was well-spoken and displayed a healthy level of pragmatism when answering questions about delivering an effective opposition and building the NDP towards forming government. Hitting on issues friendly to the social democrat crowd, Mr. Topp spoke about raising corporate taxes, returning to a progressive tax system, abolishing the Senate, and implementing stricter environmental regulations.

I have not paid much attention to or written much about to the NDP leadership contest until this point, so I have turned to Pundits’ Guide’s excellent resource on the contest to get myself informed.

The local NDP association will be holding a leadership candidate event with Parkdale-High Park Member of Parliament Peggy Nash on Friday, December 16, 2011.

In the 2011 federal election, the NDP received 107,067 votes in Edmonton (25% of the vote). The poll results in the map below show the NDP vote is concentrated in Edmonton-Centre, Edmonton-East, and Edmonton-Strathcona.

Edmonton Election 2011 Federal Poll by Poll — Poll results in Edmonton from the May 2011 federal election.

Tags Brian Topp, Peggy Nash

Alberta Politics

a december sunset in edmonton.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 12, 2011
4 Comments on a december sunset in edmonton.

Alberta Legislature Building - Sunset on December 12, 2011 — Sunset at Alberta's Legislative Assembly Building on December 12, 2011.

Alberta Politics

the one dollar election campaign.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 12, 2011
10 Comments on the one dollar election campaign.

NDP Barry Madsen West Yellowhead — Barry Madsen, the NDP's man in West Yellowhead.

In his second attempt as the NDP candidate in West Yellowhead, Barry Madsen is taking a different, and unconventional, approach to fundraising. In a speech made at his recent nomination meeting, Mr. Madsen pledged to only accept $1 donations to his election campaign.

Talking about creating “an alternative that sets us apart from what promises to be a crowded field of candidates,” Mr. Madsen used his speech to talk about the need to remove the influence of money in elections.

It is unclear whether the self-imposed $1 donation limit will prevent his campaign from fulfilling basic legal requirements, such as paying a required monetary deposit with Elections Alberta.

When asked some key questions about his $1 pledge on the daveberta.ca Facebook page, Mr. Madsen provided some quick responses.

On the required candidate deposit with Elections Alberta:

I will discuss this with the central party office. Because it is conditionally refundable I will probably have it paid out of our normal constituency rebate on contributions. Otherwise I have asked the constituency to return the constituency rebates to the central campaign.

On his personal on financial contribution to his campaign:

I will donate no more than $1500 personally and that will likely be in the form of deferred expenses. There are no secret trap doors here allowing money in the back door. I think credibility is our most important asset and I normally donate that amount anyways. The challenge is that there is no roadmap for this approach.

It is unclear whether Mr. Madsen fully understands how this could handicap his campaign. Trying to remove the influence of money in politics is a noble venture, but it ignores the reality that money is needed to purchase essential items like campaign signs, handbills, and in large rural constituencies like West Yellowhead, fuel for a candidate’s vehicle.

Records from the 2004 election show that Mr. Madsen’s campaign spent $17,940 in West Yellowhead, accumulating a $1,024 deficit. Mr. Madsen earned 1,771 votes.

Also running in the West Yellowhead constituency are Progressive Conservative MLA Robin Campbell, Alberta Party leader Glenn Taylor, and Wildrose candidate Stuart Taylor.

Tags Barry Madsen, Glenn Taylor, Robin Campbell, Stuart Taylor

Alberta Politics

ken kowalski chooses retirement over death in office.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 10, 2011
12 Comments on ken kowalski chooses retirement over death in office.

Ken Kowalski Speaker Alberta MLA — Retiring Speaker Ken Kowalski

He once told Albertans that he would “die in office” rather than retire and collect his gold plated severance package, but this week Speaker Ken Kowalski opted for retirement instead of the afterlife. The long-time MLA announced yesterday in a letter to the Progressive Conservative Party that he would not be seeking re-election in the Spring 2012 provincial election. He was in August 2011.

Speaker Kowalski is the longest serving MLA in the Assembly and was first elected in a 1979 by-election in the Barrhead constituency. His absence will undoubtably lead to a hotly contested PC nomination in Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock. Hoping to capture the seat from the Tories is Wildrose candidate and former Alberta Report publisher Link Byfield, who has been on the hustings for more than a year.

Upon his retirement, Speaker Kowalski is expected to collect $1,271,600 in transition allowance, and it is suspected that he may also collect $54,000 per year from the now-defunct MLA pension that was dissolved in 1992. His retirement announcement takes place before a review of MLA salaries and benefits, led by retired Justice John Major, can take place.

This MLA pay review initiated by Premier Alison Redford may succeed in forcing generational change in the PC caucus by prompting the retirement of a number of stodgy former Tory cabinet ministers, including Sherwood Park MLA Iris Evans, Grande Prairie-Smoky MLA Mel Knight, Vermilion-Lloydminster MLA Lloyd Snelgrove, Banff-Cochrance MLA Janis Tarchuk, and current Finance Minister and Calgary-West MLA Ron Liepert.

Tags Alison Redford, Iris Evans, Janis Tarchuk, John Major, Ken Kowalski, Link Byfield, Lloyd Snelgrove, Mel Knight, Ron Liepert

Alberta Politics

alberta election candidate update – december 2011.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 8, 2011
9 Comments on alberta election candidate update – december 2011.

The list of candidates nominated across the province continues to grow as we get closer to an expected Spring 2012 election.

: Nominated Alberta election candidates by region. December 8, 2011

The sudden burst of retirement announcements by Stelmach-era cabinet ministers has prompted a flurry of nomination activity in constituencies that could be considered Tory strongholds (where winning the PC nomination is typically the toughest fight):

Banff-Cochrane: Mayor Truper McBride is expected to enter the PC nomination contest in this mountain/foothills constituency today. Current PC MLA and former cabinet minister Janis Tarchuk announced this week that she will seek re-election, though some political watchers expect the former cabinet minister to retire when the next election is called.

Calgary-West: The Calgary Herald reported last night that Finance Minister Ron Liepert will not be running in the next election. Minister Liepert was first elected in 2004.

Grande Prairie-Smoky: Grande Prairie County Reeve Everett McDonald is seeking the PC nomination. The constituency is currently represented by MLA and former cabinet minister Mel Knight, who is not seeking re-election.

Iris Evans Sherwood Park MLA Progressive Conservative 2010 — Retiring! Iris Evans

Sherwood Park: Long-time PC MLA and former cabinet minister Iris Evans will retire when the next election is called. Ms. Evans was first elected as MLA in 1997, defeating Liberal MLA Bruce Collingwood by over 300 votes. Matthew Bissett has announced his intentions to seek the PC nomination.

Vermilion-Lloydminster: Dr. Richard Starke is seeking the PC nomination, which is being left vacant by retiring MLA and former cabinet minister Lloyd Snelgrove.

Aside from the constituencies represented by retiring former cabinet ministers, here are other updates to the list of declared and nominated election candidates:

Calgary-Buffalo: The NDP are expected to acclaim Rebecca Eras as their candidate on December 13

Calgary-Cross: The NDP are expected to acclaim Reinaldo Conterras on December 13. Mr. Conterras replaces previously nominated candidate Preet Sihota, who withdrew his candidacy for personal reasons.

Running?: Former MLA Jon Lord — Running? Former MLA Jon Lord

Calgary-Currie: Five prospective nomination candidates were testing the waters at a recent Meet and Greet event organized by the Calgary-Currie PC association. Potential nominees noted to have attended the event include former MLA and Alderman Jon Lord, Stefan Spargo, Chair of the Calgary International Children’s Festival Charity Callahan, former Calgary-McCall constituency president Dale Galbraith, school principalChristine Cusanelli, and past-President of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association Brian Holtby.

Calgary-Glenmore: The PC nomination has been scheduled for January 28, 2012. Linda Johnson has declared her candidacy for the nomination.

Calgary-Hays: Former Alderman and recent Mayoral candidate Ric McIver defeated incumbent MLA Art Johnston to nab the PC nomination. This is the second time that Mr. Johnston, the parliamentary assistant to Premier Alison Redford, has lost a nomination contest this year. In May 2011, he was defeated by Rick Fraser in the Calgary-South East PC nomination.

Cecilia Low Progressive Conservative Calgary-Mountain View 2011 — Running: Cecilia Low

Calgary-Mountain View: Lawyer Cecilia Low has announced her intention to seek the PC nomination, which has yet to be officially scheduled.

Calgary-North West: The NDP are expected to acclaim Brian Malkinson as their candidate on December 13.

Edmonton-Gold Bar: Liberal Party members nominated Josipa Petrunic as their candidate earlier this week (read more about Ms. Petrunic here). The PC nomination date has been scheduled for January 25, 2012. Past candidate David Dorward is the only candidate to have declared his candidacy.

Edmonton-Whitemud: The NDP are expected to acclaim Muriel Stanley Venne as their candidate on December 13.

Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo: After circulating a rumour about a secret nomination meeting, Wildrose MLA Guy Boutilier has decided that he will seek his party’s nomination in the new Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo constituency.

Leduc-Beaumont: Perennial political candidate Hana Razga is seeking the NDP nomination. Ms. Razga recently ran for Edmonton City Council in Ward 8.

Lethbridge-West: Kevin Kinahan is the nominated Wildrose Party candidate. Mr. Kirnahan was his party’s 2008 candidate in Little Bow and failed to once again secure his party’s nomination in that constituency last year. Most of the local Wildrose constituency association board resigned in protest following claims of irregularities in the nomination process.

Little Bow: Farmer John Kolk has announced his intentions to seek the PC nomination.

Livingstone-Macleod: PC MLA Evan Berger was acclaimed for his party’s nomination. Mr. Berger was first elected in 2008.

St. Albert: First-term MLA PC Ken Allred announced yesterday that he will not be seeking re-election. Kent La Rose was the fourth candidate to join the crowded PC nomination contest in this constituency last week.

Senate: City of Leduc Mayor Greg Krischke will seek the PC nomination for Senate. City of St. Albert Alderman and former Liberal MLA Len Bracko told the Edmonton Journal that he will be running in the Senate election as an Independent candidate. Mr. Bracko was the MLA for St. Albert from 1993 to 1997. He returned to St. Albert City Council in 2001.

Sources tell me that Calgary Police Commission chairman Mike Shaikh will enter the contest for the PC nomination for Senate later this week.

Alberta Politics

the alberta party: what now?

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 7, 2011
29 Comments on the alberta party: what now?

There was an interesting bit of online chatter earlier this week after an article written by provincial affairs reporter Keith Gerein was published in the Edmonton Journal (“Alberta Party drifts out of limelight“).

It is really unfair to say that the Alberta Party ever occupied the limelight. It would probably be more accurate to describe it as having visited the limelight for a few short months.

As a card carrying member of the Alberta Party, I have had mixed feelings about the path the organization has taken over the past year. I joined that party late last year largely because the outstanding group of people it had attracted and the positive energy they beamed with. In November 2010, I delivered the closing remarks to that party’s Policy Meeting and I walked away from the meeting feeling positive about the people involved and the direction that the party was going. Being involved in the Alberta Party did not make me feel bad about politics in our province, which was nice for a change.

I believe that there was real momentum in the Alberta Party a year ago, and that a few factors have helped slow down that momentum.

The election of Naheed Nenshi as Mayor of Calgary was a great move forward for our province’s largest city, but I also suspect that it created an unexpected energy drain on the Alberta Party. Chima Nkemdirim, a driving force behind in Alberta Party, was heavily involved in Mr. Nenshi’s election campaign and soon became the Mayor’s Chief of Staff.

A young, dynamic, well-spoken, and thoughtful individual, Mr. Nkemdirim embodies the future of politics in Alberta. The Alberta Party would have benefited greatly if he had run for the leadership and won, as I suspect he would have. I do not begrudge him for not running. As Mayor Nenshi’s Chief of Staff, he is helping move Calgary forward in a way that he would not be able to as a the leader of a party with only one MLA in the Assembly.

Unfortunately, I believe Mr. Nkemdirim’s choice not to run, and the decision by other leading Alberta Party organizers to sit out the contest, contributed to a vacuum of talent in the leadership contest held in early 2011. All four of the candidates for leader had their own strengths and weaknesses, but none were going to be the next Premier of Alberta. The eventual winner, Town of Hinton Mayor Glenn Taylor, entered the role with a hint of opportunity as a well-spoken municipal leader. Since then, he has not been as publicly visible as his party has needed him to be.

Reflecting on another missed opportunity of sorts, I am reminded of a phone conversation I had with Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman in February 2011. A frustrated Ms. Blakeman called me looking for information about how she could join the Alberta Party. I will not disclose any of the details of our conversation that are not already in the public domain (no super secret cabals were involved), but she sounded both fed up with her own party and frustrated with the reception she had recieved when she contacted Alberta Party officials. A few days later she decided to stick with the Liberals, but it was clear that the night she called me she was looking for a political life-boat.

Where does the Alberta Party go from here?

The next provincial election will be a tough slog for the Alberta Party. Expected to run no more than 40 candidates in the next election, it is likely that Mr. Taylor may face a tough fight to convince the television networks to let him join the leaders debate. Whether we like to admit it or not, many Albertans will base their vote on how they perceive the party leaders. Not having a leader in the debates poses an incredible challenge.

I have been told that the party’s board of directors passed a motion last month endorsing a strategy to focus resources on six target constituencies in the next election. I would suggest focusing on 1 to 3 constituencies would be a more reasonable target, but I am not going to argue over this point with a group of optimists.

Michael Walters, Alberta Party candidate Edmonton-Rutherford — Michael Walters, Alberta Party candidate in Edmonton-Rutherford

The Alberta Party does not have ground game province-wide, but areas where they do have ground game is where the party’s candidates have an opportunity to excel. Two ridings that immediately come to mind are Edmonton-Glenora where former school trustee Sue Huff is running, and Edmonton-Rutherford where community organizer Michael Walters has been running for months. Both Ms. Huff and Mr. Walters would be exceptional MLAs and both have the ability to mount strong local campaigns in their constituencies.

Mr. Walters already appears to have a strong ground game in Edmonton-Rutherford after helping community members in the Greenfield neighbourhood organize against the construction of a cell phone tower in a local park. Keeping his community profile in mind, it is not surprising that he attracted more than 100 people to his recent fundraiser.

In the end, the Alberta Party’s biggest advantage may be that expectations for its success are so low that even electing one MLA in next year’s provincial election would be a seen as a major win for the party. With polls suggesting the Tories could be steamrolling towards another huge majority government, lowering expectations might not be a bad strategy for all of Alberta’s opposition parties.

Tags Chima Nkemdirim, Glenn Taylor, Laurie Blakeman, Michael Walters, Naheed Nenshi, Sue Huff

Alberta Politics

could hugh macdonald save albertans from another snoozer senate election?

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 5, 2011
12 Comments on could hugh macdonald save albertans from another snoozer senate election?

Alberta will be holding its fourth ever Senate election in 2012.

Last Friday, the Progressive Conservatives released the rules to guide the nomination of their candidates in next year’s Senate election (or more accurately, ‘Senator-in-Waiting‘ election). The PCs will open nominations on December 9, 2011.

Candidates must submit a non-refundable fee of $4000 and collects the signatures of 50 current PC Party members from Alberta’s five regions. Once they have gone through this process, they will be required to enter a special vote in February 2012, giving an indication about when then next provincial election may be called. Those participating in the vote will include constituency association presidents, nominated PC candidates, voting members of the party executive committee, and four elected delegates from each of the 87 constituency associations.

Calgary lawyer Doug Black and Calgary-area businessman Scott Tannas have already declared their interest in the PC Senate nomination. Mr. Black served as finance chairman for Jim Dinning during that party’s 2006 leadership contest.

Vitor Marciano Wildrose Senate Candidate Alberta — Vitor Marciano

Federal Conservative Party operative Vitor Marciano has already announced his intentions to run in the Senate election under the Wildrose Party banner. It is likely that all three of these candidates would sit with the federal Conservative caucus if elected to the Senate.

Alberta’s last Senate election, held in 2004, was boycotted by the Liberals and NDP. The lack of serious opposition candidates left Albertans to choose from a cast of right-wing characters ranging from the PC candidates to the Social Credit and Alberta Alliance. When the votes were counted, three PCs and one Independent candidate were elected, but many Albertans were disenfranchised by the lack of non-conservative candidates.

According to Elections Alberta, during the 2004 Senate elections 85,937 voters declined to cast a ballot in the election (equating to 4.2% of eligible voters, or 9.7% of the voters who received ballots) and 84,643 ballots were rejected (that equates to 9.5% of the total ballots cast).

Even though four of Alberta’s six Senate seats are currently held by appointed federal Liberal Party members (including former Liberal Party leader Grant Mitchell), sources say the party is unlikely to participate in next year’s Senate election. The Liberals have only participated in one Senate election in Alberta, which feels to me like a missed opportunity for much needed publicity.

Hugh MacDonald Alberta Liberal MLA — Senator-in-waiting Hugh MacDonald?

One long-time party insider suggested to me this weekend that choosing retiring Edmonton-Gold Bar MLA Hugh MacDonald to carry the Liberal Party banner in next year’s Senate election could be a fitting tribute to the long-time party stalwart. Known for his hard work and (sometimes over the top) passionate criticisms of the PC government, the opposition MLA would almost surely spark more interest in the Senate race than the generic conservative party candidates will on their own.

It would be a long-shot, but if the federal Liberal Party is interested in building a base of support Western Canada, running an even half-serious campaign in a Senate election would be a good place as any to start. Even if it is a long-shot, and it is, I am sure that I am not the only person who would enjoy the irony of watching Prime Minister Stephen Harper being forced to appoint a fiercely partisan Liberal like Hugh MacDonald to the Senate of Canada.

Tags Doug Black, Grant Mitchell, Hugh MacDonald, Jim Dinning, Scott Tannas, Stephen Harper, Vitor Marciano

Alberta Politics

the cast of alberta politics: the motion picture.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 2, 2011
38 Comments on the cast of alberta politics: the motion picture.

Politics in Alberta is not always easy for outsiders to understand. Forty years of uninterrupted Progressive Conservative majority governments have given the province a reputation of being a politically homogenous monolith.

The myth of Alberta as a western frontier where tarsands-rich oilmen and rugged cowboys rule the plains, perpetrated by an endless stream of CBC television dramas, could not be further from the truth. Alberta is a dynamic province, where urban rules and politics is less conservative and more moderate than most outsiders might assume.

It occurred to me that rather than spending millions of dollars to replicate lame advertising campaigns promoting our Spirit to Create and Freedom to Achieve (wait… or is it our Freedom to Create and Spirit to Achieve, or Freedom to Spirit…??), the true story of Alberta (and its politics) might be told through a blockbuster motion picture. A blockbuster political drama cast with big name Hollywood stars could not only explain Alberta’s story, but it might win some Academy Awards (and get a good score on Rotten Tomatoes).

I just started writing the Aaron Sorkin-inspired screenplay and that has not stopped me from sending out a casting call to actors who I believe would be perfect playing in these roles.