I am heading to Australia until May.
Enjoy the rest of the federal election and remember to vote on May 2 (find out where to vote).
Try not to build any expensive downtown arenas while I am gone.
Cheers,
Dave
PS. I feel lucky that daveberta.ca has been nominated as one of Edmonton’s best blogs in SEE Magazine‘s annual Best of Edmonton 2011 survey. Pop over to their website and cast a vote if you feel inclined. Thanks!
Over the past two weeks, I have had the pleasure of joining those energetic morning people, Bridget Ryan and Ryan Jespersen on Edmonton’s Breakfast Television to talk about social media and the federal election (you can watch this week’s segment here).
Levels of Twitter-ability among some local election candidates varies. While some candidates, like Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont Conservative candidate Mike Lake, Edmonton-Strathcona Conservative Ryan Hastman, and Edmonton-Centre Liberal Mary MacDonald, have or are beginning to demonstrate an more nuanced understanding of Twitter, the social media literacy of most candidates appears to be lacking. It makes me wonder if some candidates just checked off “social media” on their campaign do-list, but are not sure why they are actually doing it.
Most candidates have begun their Tweets and Facebook Pages to blast out one-way messages about 1) how great their campaign is going, 2) how awesome their party leaders are, 3) how amazing their party’s policies are, or 4) how terrible the other parties/leaders and their policies are for Canada. For example, only three of the last 50 tweets posted by Edmonton-Centre Conservative MP Laurie Hawn have been responses to other twitter users. The remaining 47 tweets fit into the previously mentioned four categories.
Yelling loudly in a room packed with people
Operating in a one-way social media bubble obviously lessens the chance of making embarrassing mistakes, but makes for a boring Twitter feed. A friend described recently, sending one way Tweets is kind of like standing in a crowded room and yelling. Believe me, election candidates, you probably do not want to be “that guy.”
Media tweets
At least in the first two weeks of the Federal Election campaign, I have found many members of the national media to be the most engaging and interesting people to follow on Twitter. Follow @Kady @ScottFeschuk and @DavidAkin to see what I mean.
Follow the election on Twitter
To follow the election tweets on Twitter, #yegfed for Edmonton federal election news, #elxn41 or #cdnpoli for Canada-wide election news.
Creative online ads
On a more cheeky and creative side of the online campaign, both the Liberals and NDP have created two ads that have caught the attention of some online users:
Hey Stephen Harper, stop creeping me on Facebook!
NDP Hamster Wheel Ad
Remember, social media is a tool.
As I have written before, it is important to remember that social media is a tool. Social media is an important additional tool to complement traditional campaigning, but it does not replace actually connecting citizens in-person.
Why is health care political? How literate are Canadians about the system? What strategies are in use to influence public opinion? Are there solutions to be found elsewhere? These were the topics focused on by University of Calgary Professor Doreen Barrie at that University’s recent Health Care Forum.
Dr. Barrie used her presentation to deconstructed many of the myths, half-truths, and political tactics being used by groups like the Frontier Centre and the Wildrose Alliance, which promote vaguely-described “European-models” of health care as their solution to the challenges facing Canada’s public health system.
There are some photos that say a million words. There are some photos that make you say “huh?”
This photo from Edmonton-Centre Conservative candidate Laurie Hawn‘s Facebook Page is certainly one of the latter.
Caption contest?
The Liberal Party released its full campaign platform today. The announcement was live-streamed online, and contrasting the closed-and-controlled Conservative Party campaign, the Liberals gave online viewers the opportunity to ask questions about their platform.
Andrew Leach, an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta School of Business, asked some key questions about what the platform includes for climate change and Alberta in his recent Globe & Mail column:
The Liberal Party’s key climate change policy announcement, and by far the most important environmental position taken thus far in the campaign, was buried on page 46 of its policy platform.
You are forgiven if you missed it since Michael Ignatieff did not mention it once. In fact, when asked a direct question on the Liberal Party’s policies on climate change, he listed removal of oil sands tax credits and a re-vamped green tax credit program.
He did not mention that the Liberals have committed to an aggressive cap-and-trade program which would, “set a ceiling on the total amount of permissible greenhouse gas emissions by large industrial facilities.” By not discussing this policy at all, the Liberals have left many key questions unanswered. Read more…
During his campaign kick-off in Edmonton on March 26, NDP leader Jack Layton only briefly mentioned the oil sands, an issue that he elaborated on further in a visit to Montreal during the following week later.
The 2010 Financial Disclosure forms from Alberta’s political parties have been released and posted on the Elections Alberta website.
Progressive Conservative (disclosure): The rumors of their death have been greatly exaggerated. A year of low numbers in the polls numbers did not stop the PC Party from fundraising $248,960 more than in 2009. With $2,857,374 in assets, the PC Party proves that it is still the most well-funded political machine in the province.
Liberal Party (disclosure): Last year was a tough year for the Liberals and it is reflected in their fundraising numbers. The Liberals raised $247,849 less in 2010 than they did in 2009. The good news for the Liberals is that their legacy of internal debt was nearly slayed in 2010, giving the party an opportunity to grow in 2011.
Wildrose Alliance (disclosure): Last year was an impressive fundraising year for this party, as they raised $1,791,093, proving that the party has been cultivating a strong base of financial donors (especially individual donors).
Alberta NDP (disclosure): The NDP raised a healthy $728,460 in 2010, an increase in total donations and an increase in contributions over $375. The NDP are still battling their significant campaign debt, which has accumulated over the past few elections.
Alberta Party (disclosure): Small but significant financial growth for the Alberta Party in 2010. The large majority of the $91,626 donations would have likely been raised in the final months of 2010, following that party’s Annual General Meeting and Policy Conference.
Alberta’s Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs Jonathan Denis has penned this letter to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff asking him to clarify his position on federal government funding of professional sports arenas. On March 14, 2011, Mr. Ignatieff told reporters in Quebec City that a federal Liberal government would support funding a new hockey arena in Quebec City.
Edmonton City Council will receive a new package of reports today from City Administration on the proposed downtown arena project focusing on governance framework options, public engagement options, impacts of an arena in downtown, and the Community Revitalization Levy and boundary. The reports will be discussed by City Council on April 6, 2011.
Dear Katz Group,
I watched the promotional video that your wholey-owned subsidiary (Revitalize Edmonton) created in response to a public campaign by critics of your downtown arena proposal. My first thought after watching it was that whoever you are paying to make your videos, you are probably paying them too much.
To add some context to that comment, here is a video response that I made on my Macbook in 25 minutes.
Enjoy.
For some reason, some people cannot see the embedded video. Here is a link to the YouTube page.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi is on the right track:
Mayor Naheed Nenshi says he wants public transit to become an issue in the federal election campaign after Calgary’s system received only a middling score on a new international ranking.
Public transit in Calgary was ranked 13th out of 24 in the world by the Toronto Board of Trade’s Scorecard on Prosperity.
Although Edmonton was not ranked in the Scorecard, the city faces similar challenges as Calgary in terms of public transit, commuter time, and urban sprawl. These issues may not fall directly under the jurisdiction of the federal government, but as community leaders our MPs can play a positive role in encouraging the development of smart public transit in our cities.
Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper made a brief visit to the Edmonton area on Monday, March 28, to deliver a campaign speech to a friendly crowd in the Town of Beaumont.
Calling on his supporters to “paint Alberta blue” on May 2nd, Mr. Harper singled out Edmonton-Strathcona candidate Ryan Hastman, who is running in the election against NDP MP Linda Duncan. Mr. Harper’s campaign speech weighed heavily in predictable partisan rhetoric about low-taxes and how the “coalition” of opposition parties in the House of Commons forced this election.
NDP leader Jack Layton was in Edmonton on Saturday, March 26, delivering the message that only his party can defeat Conservative MPs in the city.
The NDP are focusing their resources in the region on the campaigns of Edmonton-Strathcona MP Linda Duncan, Edmonton-Centre candidate Lewis Cardinal, and Edmonton-East candidate Ray Martin.
In the land where federal election results are typically much ado about nothing, the election scheduled for May 2, 2011 is not much of an exception. As the Liberals and NDP fill ballots across the province with last minute paper candidates, with few exceptions Alberta remains safe electoral territory for the Conservative Party of Canada.
If any riding in Alberta changes hands in this federal election, it will be Edmonton-Strathcona. It is the only riding represented by an opposition Member of Parliament and Conservatives have made it their goal to unseat NDP MP Linda Duncan, who defeated Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer by a slim 463 votes in 2008. After campaigning for two years, the Conservatives hope that candidate Ryan Hastman is the one who can do the job.
As the NDP’s Environment Critic in Ottawa, Ms. Duncan has gone against the grain of other Alberta MP colleagues by criticizing the oil sands and its impact on the environment. In a campaign stop in Edmonton this weekend, NDP leader Jack Layton only briefly mentioned the environment, suggesting that he may have been avoiding the issue while in Alberta (he also did not take media questions while in the province).
The Green Party has nominated Environmental Economics and Policy student Andrew Fehr, who faces the challenge of convincing Green-leaning voters that actually voting for a Green Party is a better choice than a strategic vote for Ms. Duncan. The Liberals have not yet nominated a candidate and appear to be a non-factor in this contest.
The highly polarized geopolitics of this riding have the Conservatives drawing strong support from polls in the east and NDP drawing strong support from polls in the west. Both candidates will lean heavy on financial and organizational support from their national parties, making this riding too close to call.
The irony is that the NDP could increase their vote total across Edmonton at the same time they could lose the only riding they currently hold.
In Edmonton-Centre the real contest to watch is not to defeat door-knocking/hand-shaking/baby-kissing election-machine Conservative MP Laurie Hawn. The real contest is for second place. The Liberals hope their candidate Mary MacDonald can regain the support they lost in the last election and maintain their position as the de facto alternative to the Conservatives in this riding. The NDP are hoping that their candidate Lewis Cardinal can help build the kind of support needed to cut the Liberals down to third place. This is similar to the multi-election strategy that helped the NDP make gains in Strathcona.
The Liberals held this riding from 1993 until 2006 when Mr. Hawn defeated Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan. Mr Hawn’s vote share decreased in 2008 while his margin widened substantially as the Liberal vote collapsed. The Greens have nominated 2008 candidate David Parker and also running is Mikkel Paulson, leader of the Pirate Party of Canada.
Edmonton-East MP Peter Golding is what I would refer to as a wall-paper backbencher. Since he was first elected in 1997, Mr. Goldring seems to only pop into the media spotlight when taking up odd causes like exposing the “truth about Louis Riel” or joining the bizarre drive to get the obscure Caribbean Islands of Turks and Caicos to join Canada.
The NDP have steadily increased their support in this riding since the 2004 election and former MLA Ray Martin is hoping that this trend continues. Mr Martin is an NDP institution in northeast Edmonton, having been elected as an MLA from 1982 to 1993, a public school board trustee from 2001 to 2004, and once again as an MLA from 2004 to 2008. This is the fourth time Mr Martin has sought a seat in Parliament since 1997. The Liberals have nominated IT management consultant Shafik Ruda.
Edmonton-Sherwood Park was the second closest race in 2008, when Independent Conservative James Ford nearly defeated Conservative candidate Tim Uppal. It was a city mouse versus county mouse game as many voters in Strathcona County and Fort Saskatchewan were upset with the Conservative nomination process that led to County Councillor Jacquie Fenske defeat and allowed Edmontonian Mr. Uppal to win the nomination.
Mr. Ford is running again and the Liberals and NDP, represented by Rick Szostak and Mike Scott, are expected to play minor supporting roles in this contest. The big question is whether voters in the county still feel that Mr. Uppal’s candidacy is the great injustice they believed it to be in 2008.
Over 200 people braved the cold this afternoon to rally in support of a public inquiry to investigate the intimidation of health care professionals.
See more photos on Flickr.
Federal Election
Alberta looks like safe Conservative Party territory with the exception of the eclectic Edmonton-Strathcona, where NDP MP Linda Duncan will fend off a strong challenge from Conservative Ryan Hastman. NDP leader Jack Layton will make his first campaign stop in Edmonton at a downtown rally tomorrow. A recent Postmedia poll showed the Conservatives leading support in Alberta with 54%, followed by the Liberals at 23%, the NDP at 17%, and the Greens with 5%. These are unusually high levels of support for the opposition parties and I would expect future polls to show lower support.
HQCA advisory committee
The appointment of former Liberal Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan and retired Judge Allan Wachowich to an advisory panel to the Health Quality Council of Alberta may weaken opposition calls for a full Public Inquiry into the intimidation of health care professionals. The Liberals have made it their key issue in the spring session and the Friends of Medicare are preparing to rally for it tomorrow, but the presence of the province’s highest profile Liberal will make it difficult for Liberal leader David Swann to criticize the HCQA investigation.
Stelmach comes out
The Edmonton Journal’s Graham Thomson has written an interesting article about the new energy Premier Ed Stelmach has found since announcing his resignation in February 2010.
Wildrose fundraising
The Wildrose Alliance released their 2010 fundraising numbers showing that party took in almost $1.8 million in revenue, with $1.4 million in donations from over 5,100 donors. As mandated by the Elections Finances Act all parties are required to submit their annual financial contribution statements by March 31 of each calendar year.
Koch lobbyist in Alberta
The Alberta Federation of Labour has asked Premier Stelmach to reaffirm his government’s commitment to Collective Bargaining after discovering that Koch Companies of Wichita, Kansas has hired a lobbyist in Alberta. Koch Companies is owned by the billionaire Koch brothers, who have donated copious amounts of money to Tea Party Republicans, including Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Governor Walker’s government recently stripped workers in that state of their rights to collective bargaining.
Alberta Party goes Obama
The Alberta Party is bringing in Jeff Blodgett to help train their constituency association volunteers on April 1 in Calgary. Mr. Blodgett is the Founding Director of Wellstone Action! and was the Minnesota State Director for President Barack Obama‘s election campaign in 2008.
