From interlocutor. I recommend you read the full post.
Further afterthought: someone commented on this blog earlier that giving the Tories $5 is no big deal, since you can subversively give 5-10 times that much to the Liberals or NDs. I hereby challenge everyone who gave $5 to the Tories on that basis to make that contribution to an opposition party which best matches their values so as to undo the damage done by giving money and validation to the one-party-state given.
I heard a rumour today that Mark Norris has replaced Peter Elzinga as Executive Director of the Alberta PC party. I wonder if there any truth to this…
Also, what do people think will happen in Calgary Elbow if Ralph Klein’s resigns as MLA? By-Election…
Here are the 1997, 2001, and 2004 results from Calgary Elbow:
2004 (margin 2,020 votes)
x-Ralph Klein, PC – 6,958 (51.5%)
Stephen Brown, Liberal – 4,938 (36.5%)
Allison Roth, Greens – 668 (4.9%)
Diana-Lynn Brooks, Alliance – 488 (3.6%)
Becky Kelley, NDP – 345 (2.6%)
Trevor Grover, SC – 69 (0.5%)
Lloyd Blimke, Ind 51 (0.4%)
2001 (margin 5,680 votes)
x-Ralph Klein, PC – 10,213 (66.8%)
Harold Swanson, Liberal – 4,533 (29.7%)
Mathew Zachariah, NDP – 369 (2.4%)
Monier Rahall, Ind – 166 (1.1%)
1997 (margin 3,042 votes)
x-Ralph Klein, PC – 8,237 (57.90%)
Harold Swanson, Liberal – 5,195 (36.50%)
Lera Shirley, SC – 421 (3.00%)
Shawn Christie, NDP – 307 (2.10%)
Frank Haika, NLP – 75 (0.50%)
To millions of Canadians (and maybe a million Albertans), Ed Stelmach is not a familiar name. When the 13 year political veteran was selected as the Leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta last weekend, this quiet little known political entity was thown into the political spotlight.
For those of you not totally familiar with Premier-designate Ed Stelmach’s background, here’s a bit of it…
A farmer from south of the Village of Andrew, Stelmach served as Reeve of Lamont County until being elected MLA for the newly created Vegreville-Viking riding in 1993. The election saw Stelmach defeat two-term NDP MLA Derek Fox (MLA for Vegreville 1986-1993). Stelmach was re-elected in Vegreville-Viking in 1997 and 2001. In 2004, Stelmach ran in and was elected MLA for the newly created Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville riding.
After entering Ralph Klein’s Cabinet, Stelmach served as Minister of Agriculture from 1997 to 1999, Minister of Infrastructure from 1999 to 2004, and Minister of Intergovernment and International Affairs from 2004 to 2006. Years of Cabinet experience aside, I seriously cannot name anything that Stelmach did while he was a Cabinet Minister. Can someone help me on this one?
One of the challenges that Stelmach faces as Premier is articulating a vision for which direction he would like to lead Alberta. Stelmach’s campaign, which was largely vague on policy, was as far as I can tell based on “Honest Ed” or “Steady Eddie” being a moderate conservative comprimise candidate between social conservative Ted Morton and Corporate Calgary Dauphin Jim Dinning. This said, I have nearly no idea where Stelmach stands on most issues.
It should be interesting to see just how different Stelmach is from Klein as Premier and if Stelmach is able to heal the body-wounds his party delivered to itself during this race in preparation for the next General Election.
Speaking of the next General Election, since 1993 the Alberta PC’s have centered their image around a single man – Ralph Klein. Since 1993, many Albertans voted for “Ralph’s Team” or “Ralph” himself not knowing who their actual PC candidate was (it’s like an intense form of leader-based elections). Also, the PC Party generally polled lower support than Ralph Klein. With Klein out of the picture, can the Alberta PC’s survive once his card is removed from the deck? Can Stelmach sucessfully replace Ralph Klein as the central figure of the PC Party? Will Stelmach be able to appeal to the broad cross-section of Albertans that Klein was able to?
Also, it should be interesting to see what Stelmach’s new cabinet looks like. Which MLA’s are rewarded and which are put to pasture. As well as what the configuration of the Cabinet Ministries look like as there is a good chance that some Ministries may be merged to create a smaller Cabinet (which I believe currently has 23 Ministers).
Should be interesting…
Saturday December 2, 2006 was a very bad day for political frontrunners.
We saw Stephane Dion ride from fourth place on the first ballot to defeat frontrunners Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae at the Federal Liberal leadership convention in Montreal.
We also saw Ed Stelmach ride from third place on the first ballot of the Alberta PC leadership race to overwhelm both frontrunners Jim Dinning and Ted Morton on the third ballot.
I did make it out to the Alberta PC leadership party at the aviation centre and I can say it was quite an entertaining peice of political theatre. As with the Federal Liberal race, I did enjoy seeing the frontrunners go down in a blaze of glory. (and I’ll give a shout out to Duncan, Allie, and Blake who were all there).
So, what does an Ed Stelmach led-PC Party mean for Alberta’s political scene?
– Ed Stelmach is the first Alberta Premier from rural Alberta since Social Credit Premier Harry Strom from 1968-1971. Will Ed Stelmach take the Tories the root of Social Credit…
– This race very much manifested itself into a Northern Alberta/Edmonton (Stelmach) v. Calgary (Dinning) & Southern Alberta (Morton).What affect does this have on Tory support in urban Alberta? In southern Alberta? Calgary?
– Can Ed Stelmach appeal to Edmonton and Calgary voters? Does Stelmach’s victory bode well for Kevin Taft’s Alberta Liberals?
– What happens to Ted Morton? It was Ted Morton’s supporters who pushed Ed Stelmach over the top on the third ballot (to the effect of 28000 for Ed Stelmach to 4000 for Jim Dinning).
– What happens to Jim Dinning and the Calgary crew? Jim Dinning was Calgary’s candidate…
– What does Ed Stelmach stand for? This isn’t a personal attack, just a legitimate question. Ed Stelmach’s policy positions on this campaign were not exactly the most well developed. We shall wait and see…
I will have more thoughts on “What now?” later this afternoon…
Here are the main and selected riding results from yesterday’s Alberta PC leadership selection…
First Ballot
Jim Dinning – 29,470
Ted Morton – 25,614
Ed Stelmach – 14,967
Lyle Oberg- 11,638
Dave Hancock – 7595
Mark Norris – 6789
Victor Doerksen – 873
Gary McPherson – 744
Second Ballot
Ed Stelmach – 51,764
Jim Dinning – 51,282
Ted Morton – 41, 243
Third Ballot
Ed Stelmach – 77, 577
Jim Dinning – 55,509
(Morton to Stelmach – 25,813)
(Morton to Dinning – 4,227)
Here are some interesting selected riding results…
Calgary Elbow (Ralph Klein’s riding)
First Ballot
Jim Dinning – 1,890
Ted Morton – 656
Ed Stelmach – 360
Second Ballot
Jim Dinning – 2,004
Ed Stelmach – 747
Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville (Stelmach’s riding)
First Ballot
Ed Stelmach – 4,156
Ted Morton – 316
Jim Dinning – 170
Second Ballot
Ed Stelmach – 4,382
Jim Dinning – 193
Little Bow
First Ballot
Ted Morton – 1,784
Jim Dinning – 382
Ed Stelmach – 351
Second Ballot
Ed Stelmach – 1,518
Jim Dinning – 515
Say hello to Premier Ed Stelmach on the third ballot…
Most recent second ballot results of the Alberta PC race…
Jim Dinning – 44.000
Ed Stelmach – 36,000
Ted Morton – 32,000
Wow…
First, Stephane Dion… now maybe Ed Stelmach… it’s a good night for third place finishers…
I may or may not be heading off to the PC party at the Aviation Centre…
Being presumptive nominee that is. Random.
Stephane Dion has been selected as Federal Liberal leader over Michael Ignatieff.
Disaster averted?
Canada Liberals choose Stephane Dion as leader
MONTREAL, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Canada’s official opposition Liberals on Saturday unexpectedly chose former Environment Minister Stephane Dion as their new leader despite political shortcomings that could hinder his chances in an election expected next year.
Dion, in fourth place after the first round of voting, beat former Harvard academic Michael Ignatieff on the fourth and final ballot at a Montreal leadership convention. Dion won by 2,521 votes to 2,084.
Will we see another presumtive nominee defeated tonight?
Just as the Federal Liberals are holding their leadership selection today, the Alberta PC’s are out voting for their second and third ballot choices for their new leader.
I have no clue who is going to win this one. Last weekend’s results on their first ballot resulted in a Jim Dinning-Ted Morton-Ed Stelmach playing feild.
Today’s second-third ballot results will depend on a lot of things.
– How many memberships were the camps able to sell this week.
– How effective are the defeated candidates in getting their networks out to support endorsed candidates (Dave Hancock, Mark Norris, and Lyle Oberg’s endorsement of Ed Stelmach).
– How effective will the camps be in getting out their vote today.
I guess we’ll see. Premier Jim Dinning? Premier Ed Stelmach? Or Premier Ted Morton?
So, I’m sitting around watching CPAC‘s coverage of the Federal Liberal leadership convention.
Jean LaPierre is being interviewed. I wondered what happened to him.
They are getting ready for the third ballot. Stephane Dion, Michael Ignatieff, and Bob Rae are on the ballot. I was disappointed that Gerard Kennedy was knocked off the second ballot, but it’s not overly surprising because he was fairly close to Dion for the third-fouth place position.
Here are the live third ballot resutls….
Michael Ignatieff – 1660
Bob Rae – 1375
Stephane Dion – 1782
Total – 4817
Needed to win – 2410
Stephane Dion pulls ahead on the fourth ballot. It’s a Dion-Ignatieff showdown…
Very interesting turn of events…
The Federal Liberals are chosing their leader this weekend. Though I was mysteriously left off the Edmonton Strathcona ballot during the delegate selection meetings, I had decided months ago that I would sit out this Liberal leadership convention.
Though I support Gerard Kennedy for the Federal Liberal leadership, finances and interest level had a lot to do with my lack of Montreal presence this December weekend. I think Kennedy would do well as leader. When I met Kennedy this summer I wasn’t overly impressed by the speech he delivered, but when I was able to talk with him one-on-one I was very impressed at the types of ideas we talked about. He is a fresh face for the Federal Liberals with actual elected political experience in government and in opposition. Something that will benefit the Liberals greatly in the next election.
Of the other candidates, I don’t mind Stephane Dion.
Michael Ignatieff is interesting, but hasn’t impressed me during this campaign (or when I met him), and continues to rub me the wrong way.
I find the Bob Rae phenomenon to be the most interesting though. He has a train car worth of political luggage, but continued to surprise me with high level quality supporters such as Ralph Goodale. So, I’m puzzled. He’s intellegent and articulate, but what would happen if he won? Would the Liberals implode and lose all their seats in Ontario? Probably not. The unpopularity of Mike Harris‘ Government is fresher in the mind of Ontarians and former Harris-era Ministers Jim Flaherty and John Baird cruised to Federal victory in January 2006. Could Rae do the same?
This said, I think there is potential for it to be a while before I again become actively involved with the Federal Liberals.
Hopefully whoever is chosen as Leader will do their best to bring the Liberal Party of Canada back to Canadians. Hopefully they can pose a compeditive challenge to the Conservative minority in what will most likely be a Spring 2007 election.
As I do have many friends at this convention, I will direct you to their blogs for their on-site commentary: Gauntlet, CalgaryGrit, and Nic.
The three last remaining Alberta PC leadership candidates standing – Ed Stelmach, Ted Morton, and Jim Dinning – had it out tonight in a televised debate. Now, one might say,:
“Daveberta, you’re a keen observer of the albertus politicnus. What did you think of the debate?”
Well, my answer to that question is that I didn’t watch the debate.
I spent my evening having a blast at West Edmonton Mall’s Glow-in-the-Dark Mini-put! If you haven’t been, I do recommend. It’s quite fun.
From what I can tell about the debate, it wasn’t exactly exciting (I may be wrong?).
Jim Dinning went on the attack against Ted Morton. This isn’t overly surprising as Dinning has been in desperate-attack mode against Morton since only receiving 30% support on last Saturday’s PC leadership vote. All you have to do is watch and listen to Dinning to feel the sense that he’s extremely desperate to save his political future and pull off a win. Check out this video of Dinning’s rally speech to supporters earlier this week to see what I mean.
Though I’m really at a loss as to predict what the results of Saturday’s vote will be, it should be interesting to see how much support Ed Stelmach has been able to gain over the past week. He seems like the only of the three to have some sort of momentum…
As for the other candidates, I will have my final pre-second/third ballot up tomorrow.
Larry Johnsrude posted a bizarre transcript of an Alberta Energy Utilities Board hearing starring Alberta’s Environment Minister Guy Boutilier who was not answering questions as a Minister, but only as an MLA…
Here’s a portion of the transcript, I encourage you to read the rest, bizarre, monty pythonesq…
Judge for yourself. The following is an excerpt from an exchange between Boutilier and Don Mallon, lawyer for the Mikisew Cree First Nation:
Q (Mallon). I’m going to talk about the paragraph where you look forward to fishing with your grandson, and today you said granddaughter, but I gather from what you said today and what it says in the following paragraph that you don’t have a
grandchild yet, or am I mistaken?A (Boutilier). Actually my wife and I don’t have a son or daughter yet, but we’re in the process of privately adopting, so as a follow-up to our adoption, we expect to have grandsons and granddaughters.
Q. All right. So I’m going to assume that your grandson is precocious. And has become a river ecologist, a river biologist. And your son advises you as the Minister of Environment that the Athabasca River system’s ecosystem is in danger of imminent collapse and that you and he are not going to be able to fish in that river anymore. And the reason for it is that the flows are too low and that we’re removing too much water. Now, the responsibility that you have, which is an absolute responsibility, then, is to protect the river, right?
A. It’s important to recognize that I’m here as MLA, I’m quite prepared to answer any question, but not as Minister of Environment.
Q. Well, I’m sorry, sir, you don’t get to pick and chose who you are one minute and who you are not the next. You are the Minister of the Environment.
A. Right.
Q. And I’m asking you, sir, that as the Minister of Environment, is it not appropriate, if that ecosystem is in danger, to reduce or completely stop the withdrawal of those flows for the period of time that it takes in order to allow that system to get back to square one?A. Mr. Chairman, I am here today as the MLA representing the region and citizens.
Q. And we know that Alberta Environment is the protector of the environment in this province.
A. Yes, I’m here today, though not as Alberta Environment but as the MLA.
A couple of thoughts…
– I can’t wait until the Alberta PC leadership race is over with and I can start blogging on something else (I *could* completely ignore the race, but it only started to get interesting 3 days ago…)
– Former Lyle Oberg supporter and MLA for Calgary Montrose Hung Pham has endorsed Ted Morton… Lethbridge West Tory MLA Clint Dunford has endorsed Jim Dinning.
– It will be very interesting to see what type of internal termoil manifests itself if Ted Morton wins the race. With one supporter (who’s first choice was Lyle Oberg) from his caucus collegues, it’s going to be a fairly awkward first caucus meeting after next Saturday if Morton pulls it off. I get the feeling it’s going to be a little awkward anyway considering the amount of support Morton’s team pulled on the first ballot.
– Lyle Oberg. What happened to the 10,000 Tory memberships the Alberta Building Trades Council whole-sale purchased from his campaign? Will they show up to support Ed Stelmach?
– On a non-Tory leadership note! One of this blog’s favorite MLA’s – Edmonton Centre Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman – had a great quote in Tuesday’s Gateway on the topic of women in politics:
“There’s an idea out there that somehow women are delicate flowers—people are snickering already—that somehow we can’t hack it and that we are broken by this, and frankly, that’s just bullshit,”
Way to tell ’em, Laurie!
