Tag: Calgary-Mountain View

Tunde Obasan defeats Mike Nickel to win UCP nomination in Edmonton-South, Mark Hlady disqualified in Calgary-Mountain View

Photo: Jason Kenney and Tunde Obasan (source: Facebook)

Government audit manager Tunde Obasan defeated three-term City Councillor Mike Nickel and chiropractor William Farrell to secure the United Conservative Party nomination in the new Edmonton-South district. Three other candidates, Atul Ranade, Inderdeep Sandhu, and Payman Paresan, withdrew from the contest before the vote.

Mike Nickel Alberta UCP Edmonton South — Mike Nickel

Obasan is an audit manager with the provincial Department of Alberta Treasury Board and Finance and is the Head of Finance for the Redeemed Christian Church of God Rhema Chapel. He was endorsed by Conservative Member of Parliament Garnett Genuis and is also connected to the right-wing Parents for Choice in Education group, who he hosted an event for in April 2018.

He initially announced his intentions to seek the UCP candidacy in Edmonton-Whitemud but withdrew from that race in January 2018 to contest the nomination in Edmonton-South.

Current Edmonton-South West MLA Thomas Dang is seeking the New Democratic Party candidacy in this new district at a December 13, 2018 nomination meeting.

Nickel, who said in June 2018 that “I’ve done as much as I can do from a council seat,” will now presumably remain on city council until the 2021 municipal election.

Former MLA disqualified in Calgary UCP contest

Former Progressive Conservative MLA Mark Hlady has been disqualified from the UCP nomination contest in Calgary-Mountain View.

Mark Hlady UCP Calgary Mountain View Election Alberta — Mark Hlady

The former MLA wrote in a message to supporters that he was disqualified over a dispute over the date of purchased of his UCP membership. Hlady claims that the UCP made an exception in a similar situation with another candidate, who he does not name but is almost certainly a reference to nomination candidate Caylan Ford.

Members of the UCP Board of Directors in the district, including Hlady’s CFO, Dean Brawn, filed a complaint last month with the party over Ford’s membership status.

Hlady also claimed in his email that while the UCP disqualified him from the race, the party asked Elections Alberta to list him as having withdrawn on their website.

He has now endorsed Becca Polak and Jeremy Wong for the UCP nomination in this district.

He represented Calgary-Mountain View in the Alberta Legislature from 1993 to 2004 and was the PC candidate in the 2015 election.

Schreiner seeking re-election in Red Deer

NDP MLA Kim Schreiner is seeking her party’s nomination for re-election in Red Deer-North. Schreiner was elected in 2015 in a 4-way race with 29.4 percent of the vote (Wildrose candidate Buck Buchanan earned 24.6 percent and PC Christine Moore earned 22.7 percent and Liberal Michael Dawe earned 19.3 percent).

And in Calgary-Falconridge, Parmeet Singh Boparai is challenging Paramjit Singh Mann for the NDP nomination. Boparai is the former president of the Dashmesh Culture Centre.

Here are the upcoming nomination meetings being held this week:

November 21, 2018 – Jim Black is expected to be nominated as the Alberta Party candidate in Brooks-Medicine Hat. Black was the Alberta Party candidate in Medicine Hat in the 2015 provincial election, where he earned 5.7 percent of the vote.

November 21, 2018 – MLA Richard Feehan is expected to be nominated as the NDP candidate in Edmonton-Rutherford. Feehan was first elected in 2015, earning 63.9 percent of the vote. He now serves as Minister of Indigenous Relations and Deputy Government House Leader.

November 22, 2018 – Four candidates are seeking the UCP nomination in St. Albert. Past mayoral and Wildrose Party candidate Shelley Biermanski, lawyer Brian Horak, denturist Rodney Laliberte, and police officer Jeff Wedman. Wedman sought the Progressive Conservative Party nomination ahead of the 2012 election but was defeated by Stephen Khan.

November 23, 2018 – MLA David Eggen is expected to be nominated as the NDP candidate in the new district of Edmonton-North West. Eggen has represented the Edmonton-Calder district from 2004 to 2008 and 2012 to the now. He currently serves as Minister of Education.

November 21 & 24, 2018 – There is a Wildrose Stomp in Camrose with four of the five candidates seeking the UCP nomination having run under the Wildrose Party banner in a past election. Former Edmonton-Ellerslie Wildrose candidate Jackie Lovely, former Strathcona-Sherwood Park Wildrose candidate Rob Johnson, former Calgary-South East Wildrose candidate Brandon Lunty, and former Wetaskiwin-Camrose Wildrose candidate Trevor Miller will face casino manager Dawn Anderson.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Tags Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Atul Ranade, Becca Polak, Brandon Lunty, Brian Horak, Brooks-Medicine Hat, Buck Buchanan, Calgary-Falconridge, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-South East, Camrose, Caylan Ford, Christine Moore, David Eggen, Dean Brawn, Edmonton-Calder, Edmonton-Ellerslie, Edmonton-North West, Edmonton-Rutherford, Edmonton-South, Edmonton-South West, Edmonton-Whitemud, Garnett Genuis, Inderdeep Sandhu, Jackie Lovely, Jeff Wedman, Jeremy Wong, Jim Black, Kim Schreiner, Mark Hlady, Michael Dawe, Mike Nickel, Paramjit Singh Mann, Parents for Choice in Education, Parmeet Singh Boporai, Payman Paresan, Red Deer-North, Redeemed Christian Church of God Rhema Chapel, Richard Feehan, Rob Johnson, Rodney Laliberte, Shelley Biermanski, St. Albert, Stephen Khan, Strathcona-Sherwood Park, Thomas Dang, Trevor Miller, Tunde Obasan, United Conservative Party, Wetaskiwin-Camrose, Wildrose Party, Wildrose Stomp, William Farrell

Alberta Politics

UCP leads nominations with candidates selected in 58 of 87 districts

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date November 4, 2018
1 Comment on UCP leads nominations with candidates selected in 58 of 87 districts

Photo: United Conservative Party candidates Rajan Sawhney, Mickey Amery, Jasraj Singh Hallan, and Elisabeth Hughes.

Good evening, here is the latest update of nomination races and candidates preparing to run in Alberta’s next provincial election. As of this evening, the United Conservative Party has nominated candidates in 58 of 87 districts, the Alberta Party has nominated 42 candidates, the New Democratic Party has nominated 24 candidates, the Liberal Party has nominated 5 candidates, and the Green Party has nominated 3 candidates.

The UCP held five candidate selection meetings over the past week.

Mickey Amery defeated Roshan Chumber, Sherrisa Celis and Emile Gabriel to secure the UCP nomination in Calgary-Cross. Amery is the son of former Progressive Conservative MLA Moe Amery, who represented Calgary-East from 1993 to 2015 and ran in east Calgary in every provincial election between 1986 and 2015.

Peter Singh defeated Matthew Dirk, Issa Mosa, past PC Party candidate Jamie Lall, former city councillor Andre Chabot, and Manjit Jaswal to win the UCP nomination in Calgary-East. Singh is the past president of the Fiji Canada Association of Calgary and he ran for the PC nomination in Calgary-Fort ahead of the 2015 election.

Jasraj Singh Hallan defeated Amarjit Banwait, Usman Mahmood, and Jangbahadur Sidhu to win the UCP nomination in Calgary-McCall. McCall is currently represented by New Democratic Party MLA and cabinet minister Irfan Sabir and was represented by Liberal MLA Darshan Kang from 2008 to 2015.

Rajan Sawhney defeated Anand Chetty and Mandeep Shergill to secure the UCP nomination in Calgary-North East. Sawhney is Vice President of Business Development for Fracture Modeling Inc. Pakistan Canada Association Calgary general secretary Tariq Khan’s nomination was not accepted by party. Shergill works as Chief of Staff to Calgary-Greenway Independent MLA Prab Gill, who left the UCP caucus in July 2018 following allegations of ballot-stuffing at a constituency association annual general meeting.

Elisabeth Hughes defeated Ian Crawford, Payman Parseyan, and Nawaz Panhwer to secure the UCP nomination in Edmonton-Whitemud. She currently works as a constituency assistant in the office of Edmonton-Riverbend Member of Parliament Matt Jeneroux.

Nomination Meetings this Week

There are three scheduled nomination meetings being held this week:

November 5, 2018 – 2015 Wildrose Party candidate Terry Devries, Amoriza Gunnink, Nicholas Milliken, past federal Conservative nomination candidate Dan Morrison, and Bettina Pierre-Gilles are seeking the UCP nomination in Calgary-Currie. Anthony Parker’s candidacy was not accepted by the UCP. Gunnink has been endorsed by Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt and Pierre-Gilles has been endorsed by Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre MLA Jason Nixon.

November 6 & 7, 2018 – Former Morinville town councillor and 2015 Wildrose Party candidate Joe Gosselin, Legal town councillor Trina Jones, Dale Nally, and former Sturgeon County mayor and 2015 Wildrose nomination candidate Don Rigney are seeking the UCP nomination in Morinville-St. Albert.Gibbons town councillor Amber Harris withdrew her candidacy for the nomination on November 2, 2018. Rigney’s endorsements page on his website appears to have been reused from his 2013 mayoral re-election campaign, including a testimonial from now deceased former Social Credit MLA Keith Everitt.

November 8, 2018 – NDP MLA Barb Miller is expected to be acclaimed for her party’s nomination in Red Deer-South. Miller was elected in 2015 with 35.9 percent of the vote in a three-way race.

Here are some of the latest updates to this list of candidates running for nominations ahead of Alberta’s 2019 provincial election:

Angela Kokott Alberta Party Calgary Mountain View — Angela Kokott

Calgary-Falconridge – Raman Gill is seeking the UCP nomination. Happy Mann’s candidacy appears to have been rejected by the UCP. Mann was alleged to have been involved in a incident where a local reporter was assaulted. Mann was the Wildrose Party candidate in Calgary-McCall in the 2015 election and Calgary-Cross in the 2012 election.

Calgary-Mountain View – Long-time radio journalist Angela Kokott has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate. Many Calgarians will know Kokott as the host of Calgary Today on NewsTalk 770. She is the third 770 host to jump into provincial politics in recent history, following Dave Taylor, who served as the MLA for Calgary-Currie from 2004 to 2008 (as a Liberal, then an Independent and Alberta Party MLA), and Mike Blanchard, who ran for the Wildrose Party in Calgary-Buffalo in 2012.

Calgary-North – Melanie Wen has withdrawn her candidacy for the Alberta Party in this district. She had been nominated on October 4, 2018.

Edmonton-Manning – Keli Tamaklo is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.

Edmonton-North West– Emerson Mayers is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Mayers was recently a candidate for City Council in Ward 4. He ran for the Progressive Conservative Party in Edmonton-Strathcona in the 2012 election and previously sought the Liberal Party nomination in Edmonton-Manning in 1997, the PC nomination in Edmonton-Manning in 2008, the PC nomination in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood in 2012, and the PC nomination in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview in 2015.

Richard Feehan NDP Edmonton Rutherford MLA — Richard Feehan

Edmonton-Rutherford – Richard Feehan is seeking the NDP nomination for re-election in 2019. Feehan was first elected in 2015, earning 63.9 percent of the vote. He now serves as Minister of Indigenous Relations and Deputy Government House Leader.

Edmonton-Strathcona – It was never in doubt, but Premier Rachel Notley has officially announced her plans to seek re-election in the district she has represented since 2008. Notley was re-elected with 82.4 percent of the vote in 2015. With the exception of one-term from 1993 to 1997, this district has been represented by the NDP since 1986.

Grande Prairie – Grant Berg is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Berg is the owner of Grant Berg Gallery and the former general manager of Big Country FM and 2Day Fm.

Lesser Slave Lake – Juliette Noskey is seeking the UCP nomination. Noskey is executive director of the Loon River First Nation.

Red Deer-South – Haley Wile has withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest after it was revealed she accepted an illegal campaign contribution from the Red Deer Motors car dealership. Corporate donations to political candidates were prohibited in 2015.

Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright – Chris Carnell has withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest. Carnell has served as a trustee with the Lloydminster Catholic School Division since 2012. He previously served as a councillor in the Village of Frontier, Saskatchewan, and was nominated as the Green Party candidate in Cypress Hills-Grasslands ahead of the 2011 federal election but did contest the election.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Tags Airdire-East, Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Amarjit Banwait, Amber Harris, Amoriza Gunnink, Anand Chetty, Andre Chabot, Angela Kokott, Angela Pitt, Anthony Parker, Barb Miller, Bettina Pierre-Gilles, Calgary-Buffalo, Calgary-Cross, Calgary-Currie, Calgary-East, Calgary-Falconridge, Calgary-Fort, Calgary-Greenway, Calgary-McCall, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-North, Calgary-North East, Chris Carnell, Dale Nally, Dan Morrison, Darshan Kang, Dave Taylor, Don Rigney, Edmonton-Manning, Edmonton-North West, Edmonton-Rutherford, Edmonton-Strathcona, Edmonton-Whitemud, Elisabeth Hughes, Emerson Mayers, Emile Gabriel, Grande Prairie, Grant Berg, Haley Wile, Happy Mann, Ian Crawford, Irfan Sabir, Issa Mosa, Jamie Lall, Jangbahadur Sidhu, Jason Nixon, Jasraj Singh Hallan, Joe Gosselin, Juliette Noskey, Keith Everitt, Keli Tamaklo, Lesser Slave Lake, Mandeep Shergill, Manjit Jaswal, Matthew Dirk, Melanie Wen, Mickey Amery, Mike Blanchard, Moe Amery, Morinville-St. Albert, Nawaz Panhwer, Nicholas Milliken, Payman Parseyan, Peter Singh, Prab Gill, Rachel Notley, Rajan Sawhney, Raman Gill, Red Deer-South, Richard Feehan, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, Roshan Chumber, Sherrisa Celis, Tariq Khan, Terry Devries, Trina Jones, United Conservative Party, Usman Mahmood, Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright, Wildrose Party

Alberta Politics

Fightin’ Joe Anglin joins the Freedom Conservative Party, Brian Pincott to run for NDP in Calgary-Acadia, and the UCP-Soldiers of Odin Saga continues in Edmonton-West Henday

Joe Anglin Freedom Conservative Party — Joe Anglin (source: David Climenhaga)

Photo: Joe Anglin, speaking on the steps of the Alberta Legislature in his heyday as the Wildrose Party MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre (Photo credit: David Climenhaga)

Former Wildrose Party MLA Joe Anglin announced plans to seek the Freedom Conservative Party nomination to run in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre in the next provincial election. Anglin represented the district from 2012 to 2015, first as a Wildrose Party MLA and then as an Independent MLA.

Derek Fildebrandt Alberta Wildrose MLA — Derek Fildebrandt

Known for his taste for a political fight, Anglin is one of the more fascinating and colourful characters to have entered Alberta politics over the past decade.

He burst on to the political stage in the mid-2000s by leading a landowners revolt against the construction of giant electrical transmission lines through rural central Alberta and soon after took over the leadership of the Alberta Greens. He earned the best result ever for a provincial Green Party candidate in Alberta in 2008, when he garnered 22 percent of the vote in Lacombe-Ponoka. He left the Greens soon after the election and the party dissolved. He was known to float in numerous political circles over the next few years before joining the Wildrose Party and being elected MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre in 2012.

Anglin lost the Wildrose Party nomination in 2014 and left the Wildrose Caucus shortly afterward. He attempted to mount a campaign for the Progressive Conservative Party nomination in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre in early 2015 but was denied entry into the race. He then ran as an Independent and earned 11.3 percent of the vote in the 2015 election.

Rick Strankman Alberta United Conservative Drumheller Stettler MLA — Rick Strankman

Since 2015, Anglin has been on a legal crusade as he pursues a civil lawsuit against Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer and others, alleging abuse of process. As reported on David Climenhaga’s AlbertaPolitics.ca, Anglin’s statement of claim alleges Elections Alberta “carried out unfounded investigations of Mr. Anglin’s activities in the election and prosecuted him improperly for violations of election laws, in the process damaging his reputation and destroying his chances of election, causing loss of future employment.”

A separate case that Anglin pursued against Elections Alberta over a $250 penalty imposed by the chief electoral officer related to the small font on his campaign signs during the 2015 election was dismissed by the Alberta Court of Appeal in September 2018.

When nominated, Anglin will face United Conservative Party MLA Jason Nixon, who defeated Anglin for the Wildrose Party nomination in 2014 and then again in the 2015 general election.

Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt, who also is a former Wildrose MLA, is expected to be acclaimed as leader of the Freedom Conservative Party at a leadership vote event on October 20, 2018 at the Watchman’s Pub in Calgary. Fildebrandt became the FCP’s first MLA in July 2018 after he was not allowed to rejoin the UCP following a string of embarrassing scandals.

Meanwhile, speculation continues about whether Drumheller-Stettler MLA Rick Strankman, who recently lost the UCP nomination to Nate Horner, will also join the Freedom Conservative Party.

Pincott jumps into provincial politics

Brian Pincott NDP Calgary Acadia — Brian Pincott

Former City Councillor Brian Pincott announced last week that he is seeking the New Democratic Party nomination in Calgary-Acadia, which overlaps part of the Ward 11 he represented on City Council from 2007 to 2017.

Pincott had previously expressed interest in running for the NDP in Calgary-Mountain View, which is now represented by retiring Liberal Party MLA David Swann. but with the retirement of MLA Brandy Payne, Calgary-Acadia opened up.

Before entering municipal politics, Pincott ran as the NDP candidate in Calgary-Southeast in the 2004 federal election and the NDP candidate in Calgary-Centre in 2006 federal election.

A nomination meeting will be held on October 25, 2018.

Dach nominated in McClung: NDP MLA Lorne Dach has been nominated as his party’s candidate in the southwest district of Edmonton-McClung. Dach was elected in 2015 in his fourth time as the NDP candidate in this affluent southwest Edmonton district. He will face Alberta Party leader Stephen Mandel and UCP candidate Laurie Mozeson in the next election.

Barb Miller MLA Red Deer South — Barb Miller

Miller goes for re-election in Red Deer: NDP MLA Barb Miller plans to seek her party’s nomination for re-election in Red Deer-South. Miller was elected in 2015 by earning 35.9 percent of the vote in a three-way split with PC Party candidate Darcy Mykytyshyn and Wildrose Party candidate Norman Wiebe. A nomination meeting has been scheduled for November 8, 2018.

Here are some of the latest updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of the 2019 Alberta provincial general election:

Calgary-Cross – Jesse Minhas has withdrawn from the UCP contest. Minas ran for the Progressive Conservative nomination in this district ahead of the 2015 election and was the Wildrose Party candidate in Calgary-East in the 2012 election.

Calgary-Currie – Lindsay Luhnau is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Luhnau currently work as a business strategist with the City of Calgary and previously worked as a constituent assistant in the office of Ward 9 City Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra.

Calgary-North – Melanie Wen has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate. Wen is a member of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Board.

Calgary-North West – Andrew Bradley has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.

Edmonton-City Centre – Lily Le was acclaimed as the UCP candidate in Edmonton-City Centre after three other candidates withdrew from the contest. Le is the Co-Chair of the Vietnam Pavilion for Edmonton Heritage Festival and President of the Edmonton Viets Association.

Edmonton-Glenora – Glen Tickner has been selected as the Alberta Party candidate.

Edmonton-Riverview – Karamarie Barker is seeking the UCP nomination. Barker is a Crown Prosecutor with the Department of Justice and Solicitor General.

Lacombe-Ponoka – Myles Chykerda is seeking the Alberta Party nomination in this central Alberta district. Chykerda is a resident of the City of Lacombe and is completing his the final stages of a PhD in Classical Archaeology from the University of California in Los Angeles.

Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland – Following Dale Johnson’s removal as a candidate the UCP announced a second nomination vote would be held. Shane Getson is the first candidate to enter the contest. He is a manager of a pipeline construction and maintenance company.

Lesser Slave Lake – Pat Rehn is seeking the UCP nomination. Rehn is the owner of AAA Precision Industries and Precision Crane and Rentals. Meanwhile, Darryl Boisson has withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest in this district. Boisson was the Wildrose Party candidate in Lesser Slave Lake in the 2012 and 2015 elections.

Red Deer-North – Reg Warkentin has withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest. Warkentin is the policy and advocacy manager with the Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list. Thank you!

UCP-Soldiers of Odin saga continues

Lance Coulter Edmonton West Henday United Conservative Party UCP — Lance Coulter

Edmonton-West Henday UCP nomination candidate Lance Coulter told Postmedia he thought he would give the Soldiers of Odin “the benefit of the doubt and have a conversation with them” before he took a photo with a member of the anti-immigration, white nationalist organization at a UCP event on October 5, 2018.

Nomination candidates Nicole Williams and Leila Houle, as well as the party leader have denounced the vigilante organization and its members.

Despite being vetted by the UCP’s supposedly “rigorous screening process,” Press Progress reported yesterday that Coulter has a history interacting with white nationalist and alt-right content on social media, including support for a Muslim ban in public schools. Press Progress reported that this activity took place while Coulter was employed as an assistant to Edmonton-Griesbach Member of Parliament Kerry Diotte.

When asked by The Star Edmonton about these allegations, Coulter replied that “I wish I knew I was a white-nationalist, otherwise I would have worn the 1930s Hugo Boss, but it’s utterly ridiculous. I mean, calling somebody a racist, a white-nationalist without any kind of substantial evidence in any way shape or form, it’s defamation of character.”

UCP members in Edmonton-West Henday vote to select their candidate on October 22, 2018. It is not clear whether UCP leader Jason Kenney will allow Coulter’s name to remain on the ballot.

UPDATE: Lance Coulter has been disqualifed as a UCP nomination candidate in Edmonton-West Henday. Here is the letter from UCP executive director Janice Harrington informing Coulter of his disqualification.

Tags Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Andrew Bradley, Barb Miller, Brandy Payne, Brian Pincott, Calgary-Acadia, Calgary-Cross, Calgary-Currie, Calgary-East, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-North, Calgary-North West, Dale Johnson, Darcy Mykytyshyn, Darryl Boisson, David Climenhaga, David Swann, Derek Fildebrandt, Drumheller-Stettler, Edmonton-City Centre, Edmonton-Glenora, Edmonton-Griesbach, Edmonton-McClung, Edmonton-Riverview, Edmonton-West Henday, Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta, Gian-Carlo Carra, Glen Tickner, Green Party of Alberta, Jason Kenney, Jason Nixon, Jesse Minas, Joe Anglin, Kara Barker, Kerry Diotte, Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland, Lacombe-Ponoka, Lance Coulter, Laurie Mozeson, Leila Houle, Lesser Slave Lake, Lily Le, Lindsay Luhnau, Lorne Dach, Melanie We, Myles Chykerda, Nate Horner, Nicole Williams, Norman Wiebe, Pat Rehn, Red Deer-North, Red Deer-South, Reg Warkentin, Rick Strankman, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, Shane Getson, Soldiers of Odin, Stephen Mandel, Strathmore-Brooks, United Conservative Party, Wildrose Party

Alberta Politics

Soldiers of Odin photos most notable moment in Edmonton-West Henday UCP nomination race

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date October 9, 2018
4 Comments on Soldiers of Odin photos most notable moment in Edmonton-West Henday UCP nomination race

Soliders of Odin Nicole Williams UCP Edmonton West Henday — Nicole Williams and the Soldiers of Odin

Photo: UCP nomination candidate Nicole Williams (second from the left) with members of the Soliders of Odin at a UCP event on October 5, 2018 (source: Facebook).

United Conservative Party candidates in the new district of Edmonton-West Henday say they had no idea they were posing for photos with members of the anti-immigration group Soldiers of Odin at a party event on October 5, 2018. Members of the vigilante group, who have been described as white nationalists, attended the UCP event in their club uniforms and posed for photos with nomination candidates Nicole Williams, Leila House and Lance Coulter.

Soliders of Odin Leila Houle UCP Edmonton West Henday — Leila Houle (left) and the Soldiers of Odin

The party and two of the nomination candidates quickly denounced the photos, which were shared on social media first by the Soldiers of Odin and then by Progress Alberta. The candidates claimed they had no idea who the black clad group of vigilantes were, despite recent local news coverage and the fact that they appear to have been wearing their branded uniforms with big logos.

“Those running for public office are regularly photographed with members of the public. It is part of the job. We were unfortunately not aware of what the abbreviation ‘S.O.O’ stood for when these individuals entered the public venue in which the Constituency Association was holding an event, nor were we aware of this group’s disgusting views,” wrote Houle and Williams in a joint statement posted on Facebook.

Soliders of Odin Lance Coulter UCP Edmonton West Henday — Lance Coulter (right) and a Soldier of Odin.

It would be unfair to claim these nomination candidates share sympathies with the Soldiers of Odin, but a string of recent examples of UCP nomination candidates voicing anti-Muslim views online might be one reason why the group felt comfortable attending the event in their full regalia.

The dramatic rise of right-wing extreme groups across Canada is something to be alarmed about and this incident is not something UCP members should just casually dismiss. As David Climenhaga wrote at AlbertaPolitics.ca, “Alberta voters are within their rights to wonder why the UCP keeps attracting far-right fringe groups, some of them quite unsavoury.“

UCP members in Edmonton-West Henday vote to choose their candidate on October 22, 2018.

UPDATE: Via Press Progress:

Lance Coulter, one of three United Conservative Party nomination candidates recently photographed partying with a white supremacist hate group, has a history interacting with white nationalist and alt-right content on social media.

Trouble brewing in Calgary-Mountain View

Caylan Ford UCP Calgary Mountain View — Caylan Ford

Nine members of the UCP board of directors in Calgary-Mountain View have filed a formal complaint with party executive director Janice Harrington requesting an investigation into the eligibility of Caylan Ford to seek the party’s nomination in the district.

A copy of the complaint shared with daveberta.ca showed the group of directors are requesting the party to investigate whether Ford meets the Alberta residency requirement to seek the nomination.

The complaint claims that Ford was until recently a resident of Ontario and that the party nomination rules require UCP candidates “to have physically lived on Albertan soil for one year before becoming a UCP candidate.”

One of the signatories to the complain and request for investigation is recently withdrawn nomination candidate Dean Brawn, who is the Chief Financial Officer for nomination candidate and former Progressive Conservative MLA Mark Hlady.

Reached by email, Ford responded to the complaint: “The board members who signed this letter were misinformed. They also appear to have misunderstood the UCP’s residency requirements. A good faith mistake, I am sure.”

Ford is an international affairs specialist with a background in China and human rights. She has worked as a senior policy advisor with Global Affairs Canada. Ford was a panelist at a 2018 Manning Centre conference discussion about conservative culture in Canada.

Ford, Hlady, Becca Polak and Jeremy Wong are seeking the UCP nomination in this district. A date for the nomination vote has not yet been announced.

Alberta Politics

Green Party of Alberta chooses Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes as new leader

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date September 23, 2018
1 Comment on Green Party of Alberta chooses Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes as new leader

New Green Party leader Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes (photo source: @KingEddyYYC on Twitter)

Photo: New Green Party leader Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes at Canada Day celebrations in 2018 (photo source: @KingEddyYYC on Twitter)

Members of the Green Party of Alberta chose Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes as their new leader at a leadership selection meeting yesterday.

Chagnon-Greyeyes is an Indigenous social justice activist who currently works at the Native Centre at the University of Calgary. She is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6 in Saskatchewan and is the first Indigenous woman to lead a political party in Alberta.

She defeated past leadership candidate Brian Deheer, a resident of Lac La Biche and chairperson of the Athabasca Watershed Council, and past election candidate Matt Levicki, a resident of Lamont with a background in media and broadcasting.

Former leader Romy Tittel resigned in early 2018.

During the leadership selection process, the three candidates were asked a series of questions and their answers were posted on the Green Party website. Here are some of Chagnon-Greyeyes’ answers:

Question: What is the most effective approach Greens can take to convey to voters the necessity of electing some Greens to the Legislature?

Chagnon-Greyeyes: The GPA can change the current discussion in this province and reframe the current focus on pipelines, profit and power. We can shift the focus to people, what they need to live a good life: clean water, a home, an education, enough to live on. Let’s get people out to vote, especially those who don’t vote. Why don’t they vote? They feel powerless: “What difference can one vote make?” We can empower those people and plant seeds of possibility in the minds of 25-50% of eligible voters who don’t go to the polls. This is an untapped resource, a possible groundswell of support! Let’s empower the people to unite to make this province a better place to live, with ‘enough’ for all Albertans: enough food, water, housing, health care, mental health support, government services and real help. Heck, we might even sway some NDs and UCPs!

Question: How can Greens do a better job of bringing these conservation and bio-diversity issues to the public debate over the future of Alberta?”

Chagnon-Greyeyes: When we play or work outside – our well being is linked to biodiversity. Alberta’s biodiversity includes provincial parks, developed recreation areas, pristine wilderness, natural landscapes, conservation areas and biological diversity, including heritage appreciation and tourism.

But what if we can’t go outside – too smoky. How do we ensure environmental health and integrity, and protect Albertans’ health and safety, from natural phenomena, climate-related conditions and events? We adapt, responding quickly to natural disasters, to be ready for them, because their impact is so widespread and devastating.

Can we mitigate these risks? The Green Party of Alberta wants to introduce an Environmental Bill of Rights, and advocates for ethical resource development, creating new jobs without sacrificing our air, land, water, animals, birds, fish – biodiversity. Ethical resource development integrated with economic, environmental, social and cultural considerations, and the inclusiveness and recognition of Indigenous interests.

Question: Do you think these policies [current Green Party policies on oil sands development] are appropriate? If not, how would you like to see GPA policy in these areas changed?

Chagnon-Greyeyes: The moratorium aims to slow down resource extraction, and thoughtfully envision a better future for Alberta based on sustainability, accountability, and responsibility for our environment. Decision-making in this province focuses on one steadfast belief: “We need pipelines to get our product to market”. This assumes that pipelines are the ONLY viable, affordable option to transport oil. Let’s challenge that myth!

Dr. Ian Gates is patenting a pipeline-free solution to getting Alberta’s oil reserves to market in a cheap, sustainable manner while reducing the environmental risk of oil transportation. Self-sealing bitumen pellets, with a liquid core and super-viscous skin, can float on water if spilled; the pellets can be safely collected and removed. They can be produced right at the wellhead, same energy used as to dilute bitumen for traditional shipping. “Pipelines are finite and go to finite spots. Railcars go to virtually every port on every coast.”

The Green Party ran candidates in 24 constituencies in the 2015 election and earned a total 7,321 votes across the province. According to a CBC report, party president Marco Reid has said the Greens hope to recruit 50 candidates to run in next year’s provincial election. The party has nominated two candidates as of today – Allie Tulick in Calgary-Glenmore and Thana Boonlert in Calgary-Mountain View.

Tags Alberta Election 2019, Alberta NDP, Alberta Oil Sands, Allie Tulick, Athabasca Watershed Council, Brian Deheer, Calgary-Glenmore, Calgary-Mountain View, Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes, Environmental Bill of Rights, Green Party of Alberta, Green Party of Alberta Leadership Race 2018, Marco Reid, Matt Levicki, Oil Pipelines, Romy Tittel, Thana Boonlert, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Calgary-Fish Creek bozo-eruption raises questions about “rigorous” UCP candidate screening process

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date September 11, 2018
1 Comment on Calgary-Fish Creek bozo-eruption raises questions about “rigorous” UCP candidate screening process

Photo: UCP leader Jason Kenney and Calgary-Fish Creek MLA Richard Gotfried (source: Twitter)

MLA Richard Gotfried fended off a nomination challenge on September 7, 2018 against opponent Cindy Ross, becoming the United Conservative Party candidate in Calgary-Fish Creek. It was a contentious nomination race, with accusations of negative campaigning being tossed between the two camps and a third candidate dropping out before the vote was held.

But a series of screenshots of anti-Islamic and conspiracy theory promoting social media posts allegedly made by Ross released the day before the vote raises some serious questions about the vetting process used by the UCP to approve candidates seeking nominations.

Back in June 2017, party leader Jason Kenney promised “a rigorous screening process for prospective candidates to red light those who have advocated truly hateful views or who have serious reputational problems.”

A series of bozo-eruptions, ranging from anti-Islamic comments, opposition to same-sex marriage, denial of climate change, and questioning the science of vaccinations, raises some serious questions about just how “rigorous” the UCP screening process actually is.

Rutherford secures UCP nomination in Leduc-Beaumont

Brad Rutherford defeated former Wildrose Party candidate Sharon Smith and Scott Wickland to secure the UCP nomination in Leduc-Beaumont. Rutherford previously ran for a federal Conservative nomination in Edmonton-West ahead of the 2015 election and was the president of the local UCP association. He previously served with the Edmonton Police Service.

Here are some of the latest updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of the 2019 Alberta provincial general election:

Banff-Kananaskis – Michael Zubkow is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-Acadia – Lana Bentley is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.

Calgary-East –Gar Gar is the nominated Alberta Party candidate. Gar is the past president of the SAIT Students’ Association and ran for Calgary City Council in Ward 10 in the 2017 municipal elections.

Jamie Lall is seeking the UCP nomination in this east Calgary district. Lall’s name will be familiar to attentive readers of this website. In 2012, he unsuccessfully sought the Progressive Conservative nomination in Calgary-McCall and was later appointed as the PC candidate in Calgary-Buffalo, where he finished second to Liberal MLA Kent Hehr. He re-emerged in 2015 as a nomination candidate in Chestermere-Rockyview before he was disqualified by text-message in one of the more bizarre PC Party nomination scandals of that election cycle. He instead resigned from his position as president of the Calgary-McCall PC association and ran as an Independent candidate in that Chestermere-Rockyview, earning 5.3 percent of the vote. He then sought the PC Party nomination to run in the 2016 Calgary-Greenway by-election, but was unsuccessful in that bid. Lall was then banned from running for office for a 5-year period after failing to file his 2015 campaign financial statements on time with Elections Alberta, but a judge overturned that ban in 2017.

Calgary-Mountian View – Mark Hlady is seeking the UCP nomination. Hlady was the Progressive Conservative MLA for this district from 1993 to 2004, when he was defeated by Liberal David Swann. Hlady surprised many political watchers when he defeated Jim Prentice’s former Chief of Staff Jean-Sebastien Rioux to secure the PC Party nomination in 2015, setting up a rematch against Swann. But Hlady placed third with 23 percent of the vote behind Swann and New Democrat Marc Chikinda.

Edmonton-Mill Woods – Baljit Singh is seeking the UCP nomination.

Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo: UCP MLA Tany Yao has been acclaimed as his party’s candidate in this district. Yao was first elected in 2015 and currently serves as the Official Opposition Health Critic.

Strathcona-Sherwood Park – Dave Quest has been acclaimed as the Alberta Party candidate in this district east of Edmonton. Quest served as the Progressive Conservative MLA for this district from 2008 to 2015, when he was unseated by New Democrat Estefania Cortes-Vargas.

Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright – Eileen Taylor and Darrel Howell are the latest candidates to enter the UCP nomination contest in this new rural district in east central Alberta. Eileen Taylor is a former teacher and he wife of retiring Battle River-Wainwright UCP MLA Wes Taylor (Mr. Taylor announced in May 2018 that he would not seek re-election because he is focusing on recovering from having undergone open heart surgery). The Taylor’s ran a real estate company before Mr. Taylor was elected in 2015. Howell is an engineer and was appointed as Chair of the Board of Governors of Lakelake College in 2014. He is a former president and chairman of Tartan Canada Corporation.

West Yellowhead – Kirstie Gomuwka is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Gomuwka is a director of the Edson Friendship Centre and was a candidate for trustee with the Grande Yellowhead Public School District in October 2017. She is married to Town of Edson Mayor Kevin Zahara, who also served as press secretary to former West Yellowhead PC MLA Robin Campbell until his defeat to New Democrat Eric Rosendahl in the 2015 election.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list. Thank you!

NDP Convention moved to October

The New Democratic Party will now hold their convention on October 26, 27 and 28 at the Westin Hotel in downtown Edmonton. As noted in a previous article, the NDP had initially scheduled their convention for September 28, 29 and 30, 2018 in Red Deer. The NDP convention will now take place the weekend immediately before the Legislative Assembly is expected to reconvene for the fall sitting, on October 29, 2018.

Tags Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta Party, Alberta PC Party, Baljit Singh, Banff-Kananaskis, Battle River-Wainwright, Bozo-Eruptions, Brad Rutherford, Calgary-Buffalo, Calgary-East, Calgary-Fish Creek, Calgary-McCall, Calgary-Mountain View, Chestermere-Rockyview, Cindy Ross, Darrel Howell, Dave Quest, David Swann, Edmonton-Mill Woods, Eileen Taylor, Eric Rosendahl, Estefania Cortes-Vargas, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo, Gar Gar, Grande Yellowhead Public School District, Islamophobia, Jamie Lall, Jean-Sebastien Rioux, Kevin Zahara, Kirstie Gomuwka, Lakelake College, Lana Bentley, Leduc-Beaumont, Marc Chikinda, Mark Hlady, Michael Zubkow, Richard Gotfried, Robin Campbell, Scott Wickland, Sharon Smith, Strathcona-Sherwood Park, Tany Yao, United Conservative Party, Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright, Wes Taylor, West Yellowhead

Alberta Politics

Rod Loyola secures NDP nomination in Edmonton-Ellerslie, Mark Smith beats challenger Boitchenko for UCP nomination in Drayton Valley-Devon

Photo: Rod Loyola nominated as the NDP candidate in Edmonton-Ellerslie. (Source: @JanisIrwin on twitter)

New Democratic Party MLA Rod Loyola secured his party’s nomination in Edmonton-Ellerslie on August 28, 2018. Loyola was first elected in 2015, earned 61.5 percent of the vote in this suburban southeast Edmonton district. Loyola currently serves as the chair of the Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship. Before to his election in 2015, Loyola was the president of the University of Alberta Non-Academic Staff Association.

In Drayton Valley-Devon, MLA Mark Smith defeated challenger Andrew Boitchenko in a vote held for the United Conservative Party nomination on August 29, 2018. Smith was first elected in 2015, earning 37 percent of the vote and unseating Progressive Conservative cabinet minister and former Drayton Valley mayor Diana McQueen, who earned 30 percent of the vote.

Nasty UPC nomination race allegedly gets physical

Long-time Calgary Conservative Member of Parliament Deepak Obhrai inserted himself into a contentious UCP nomination race this week. Obhrai held a press conference in his Calgary-Forest Lawn constituency office with local radio and TV host Kumar Sharma, who alleges he was threatened and then physically assaulted by a gang of men after publishing a Facebook post that referenced UCP nomination candidate Happy Mann.

Mann is a two-time Wildrose Party candidate who is now seeking the UCP nomination in the new Calgary-Falconridge district in northeast Calgary. In a statement sent to various media companies, Mann denied any connection to the alleged incident and maintained that the accusations were politically motivated.

Also seeking the UCP nomination in Calgary-Falconridge are realtor Pete de Jong, former Chesteremere city councillor Christopher Steeves, and past Wildrose Party candidate Devinder Toor. Deepak Sharma has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate in this district.

Here are some more of the latest updates to the growing list of Alberta election nomination candidates:

Calgary-Foothills – Jennifer Wyness has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate in this northwest Calgary district. Wyness placed second in the Ward 2 contest in Calgary’s 2017 municipal election, finishing with 36 percent to incumbent councillor Joe Magliocca‘s 49 percent.

Calgary-Lougheed – Mount Royal University policy studies student Rachel Timmermans is seeking the Alberta Party nomination in this southeast Calgary district. If nominatied, Timmermans will face UCP leader Jason Kenney in the 2019 election.

Calgary-Mountain View – Becca Polak is seeking the UCP nomination in this district. Polak is the former Vice-President of Communications for the Wildrose Party and served as a member of the UCP interim board from 2017 to 2018.

Calgary-North – Manpreet Sidhu is the sixth candidate to join the UCP nomination in this new north Calgary district.

Edmonton-Gold Bar – NDP MLA Marlin Schmidt is expected to be confirmed as his party’s candidate at a nomination meeting on September 20, 2018. Schmidt currently serves as Minister of Advanced Education. Schmidt was elected in 2015 with 68.9 percent of the vote and his crushing 11,205 vote margin of victory, the largest in any district in that election, earned him the nickname “Hurricane Marlin.”

Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood – Brian Gratrix seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Also running for the Alberta Party nomination in this district is past city council candidate Tish Prouse.

Edmonton-Manning – Harinder Grewal is the latest candidate to join the UCP nomination contest in this district.

Livingstone-Macleod – Dylin Hauser has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate, Tim Meech has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate, and Thomas Schneider has joined the UCP nomination contest. Schnieder is a former Area Sales Representative with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Tags Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Andrew Boitchenko, Becca Polak, Brian Gratrix, Calgary Forest Lawn, Calgary-Falconridge, Calgary-Foothills, Calgary-Lougheed, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-North, Christopher Steeves, Deepak Obhrai, Deepak Sharma, Devinder Toor, Diana McQueen, Drayton Valley-Devon, Dylin Hauser, Edmonton-Ellerslie, Edmonton-Gold Bar, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, Edmonton-Manning, Happy Mann, Harinder Grewal, Jason Kenney, Jennifer Wyness, Joe Magliocca, Kumar Sharma, Livingstone-Macleod, Manpreet Sidhu, Mark Smith, Marlin Schmidt, Pete de Jong, Rachel Timmermans, Rod Loyola, Thomas Schneider, Tim Meech, Tish Prouse, United Conservative Party, University of Alberta Non-Academic Staff Association

Alberta Politics

Janis Irwin running for NDP nomination in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, Daniel Williams wins UCP contest in Peace River

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date August 2, 2018
3 Comments on Janis Irwin running for NDP nomination in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, Daniel Williams wins UCP contest in Peace River

More than 200 people packed into the Bellevue Community Hall tonight to support Janis Irwin’s bid for the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood.

Photo: More than 200 people packed into the Bellevue Community Hall tonight to support Janis Irwin’s bid for the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood.

Janis Irwin launched her campaign for the New Democratic Party nomination in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood this evening at the Bellevue Community Hall. Irwin is a community advocate and educator, and she was the federal NDP candidate in Edmonton-Griesbach in the 2015 election, where she placed a strong-second behind Conservative candidate Kerry Diotte.

Janis Irwin NDP Edmonton Highlands Norwood — Janis Irwin (source: Facebook)

Her campaign launched was attended by more than 200 supporters, including Edmonton-Ellerslie MLA Rod Loyola, and public school trustees Bridget Stirling and Michael Janz.

Irwin currently works as a Director of Stakeholder Relations in the Office of the Premier.

The area has been represented by outgoing NDP MLA Brian Mason since 2000 and and is considered to be one of the strongest NDP-voting districts in Alberta. Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood makes up the Orange Core of the federal Edmonton-Griesbach district. (Note: I live in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, so I have a particularly keen interest in this nomination contest).

A nomination meeting has been scheduled for October 23, 2018 at the Alberta Avenue Community Hall.

Former Kenney staffer nominated in Peace River

Daniel Williams UCP Peace River — Daniel Williams

Daniel Williams defeated Mackenzie County deputy reeve Lisa Wardley to secure the UCP nomination in this sprawling northern Alberta district. Williams worked as a political staffer for Jason Kenney in Ottawa before returning to Alberta to seek the UCP nomination in Peace River.

Three candidates dropped out of what had been a 5-candidate race in June and July, and Wardley raised concerns that the locations and hours of nomination votes in this large rural district would make it difficult for UCP members not living in the main urban centres to participate in the vote.

Eleventh MLA announces retirement in 2019

NDP MLA Jamie Kleinsteuber announced on social media that he will not seeking re-election in 2019. Kleinsteuber was first elected in 2015 in Calgary-Northern Hills and in 2019 the district is being redistribtued between the Calgary-Beddington, Calgary-North and Calgary-North East districts.

https://www.facebook.com/andpcalgarynorthernhills/posts/2095165190804060

Kleinsteuber becomes the eleventh MLA to announce plans not to seek re-election in 2019. The list of retiring MLAs now include five UCP MLAs, four NDP MLAs, one Liberal MLA and one Independent MLA.

Bozo-Eruptions continue to haunt UCP

The UCP has been striken with a series of embarrassing bozo-eruptions over the past few weeks. Most recently are Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin nomination candidate Sandra Kim‘s Facebook comments about same-sex marriage and Calgary-Glenmore nomination candidate Maureen Zelmer’s Facebook comments about Muslims. Kim is endorsed by UCP MLAs Leela Aheer and Rick Strankman.

Here are some of the latest updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of the 2019 Alberta provincial general election:

Calgary-Mountain View – Liberal Party leader David Khan has been nominated as his party’s candidate in this north central Calgary district. This area has been represented by Liberal MLA David Swann since 2004. Swann is not seeking re-election.

Calgary-North East – Mandeep Shergill is seeking the UCP nomination. Shergill works as a Constituency Assistant to Calgary-Greenway MLA Prab Gill, who was seeking the UCP nomination in this district before he resigned from the UCP caucus following allegations of ballot-stuffing at the local UCP association’s annual general meeting.

Calgary-Peigan – Three candidates are seeking the UCP nomination in a vote scheduled for August 2, 2018: Former Ontario MP Jeff Watson (who moved to Alberta in November 2016 and works as an assistant to Calgary-Hays UCP MLA Ric McIver), Tanya Fir (who is supported by Craig Chandler), and Jeevan Mangat (who ran for the Wildrose Party in Calgary-Fort in the 2012 and 2015 elections).

Edmonton-Castle Downs – Ed Ammar defeated Arthur Hagen and Gennadi Boitchenko to win the UCP nomination. Ammar is a real estate agent and served as the first chairman of the UCP interim board following the formation of the party in 2017. Ammar was the Liberal Party candidate in Edmonton-Decore in the 2012 election and president of the Wildrose Party association in Edmonton-Castle Downs in 2016.

Edmonton-City Centre – Lily Le is the third candidate seeking the UCP nomination in this downtown Edmonton district.

Edmonton-Mill Woods – Abdi Bakal is seeking the Liberal Party nomination in this southeast Edmonton district. This area was represented by Liberal MLAs Don Massey from 1993 to 2004 and Weslyn Mather from 2004 to 2008. Tariq Chaudhry is seeking the UCP nomination. Chaudhry is the owner of the Maharaja Banquet Hall.

Edmonton-South – Pramod Kumar defeated Enayat Aminzadah to win the Alberta Party nomination. William Farrell becomes the fifth candidate to join the UCP nomination contest.

Edmonton-South West – Former PC MLA Sohail Quadri is seeking the UCP nomination. Quadri previously represented Edmonton-Mill Woods from 2012 to 2015. From 2014 to 2015, he served as Legislative Secretary to Premier Jim Prentice. He was unseated in 2015 by NDP candidate Christina Gray.

Grande Prairie – Tracy Allard was acclaimed as the UCP canddiate. School trustee John Lehners withdrew from the contest after serious car accident. According to the Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune, Lehners’s brush with death made politics seem less important. “When I was hanging upside down I wasn’t thinking about running for MLA. I’m thinking about my dog, I’m thinking about my family, I’m thinking about my friends and what I’m going to do next and ‘Thank God I’m alive,’” Lehners told the Daily Herald Tribune.

Lacombe-Ponoka -Lacombe City Councillor Thalia Hibbs is seeking the UCP nomination in this central Alberta district. The district is currently represented by UCP MLA Ron Orr, who was elected as a Wildrose MLA in 2015.

Lesser Slave Lake– Darryl Boisson is seeking the UCP nomination in this sprawling northern Alberta district. This will be Boisson’s third attempt at provincial office in this district. He was the Wildrose Party candidate in Lesser Slave Lake in the 2012 and 2015 elections.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Tags Abdi Bakal, Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Arthur Hagen, Bellevue, Bozo-Eruption, Brian Mason, Bridget Stirling, Calgary-Beddington, Calgary-Glenmore, Calgary-Greenway, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-North, Calgary-North East, Calgary-Northern Hills, Calgary-Peigan, Christina Gray, Craig Chandler, Daniel Williams, Darryl Boisson, David Khan, David Swann, Don Massey, Ed Ammar, Edmonton-Castle Downs, Edmonton-City Centre, Edmonton-Griesbach, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, Edmonton-Mill Woods, Edmonton-South, Edmonton-South West, Enayat Aminzadah, Gennadi Boitchenko, Grande Prairie, Jamie Kleinsteuber, Janis Irwin, Jason Kenney, Jeevan Mangat, Jeff Watson, Jim Prentice, John Lehners, Kerry Diotte, Lacombe-Ponoka, Leela Aheer, Lesser Slave Lake, Lily Le, Lisa Wardley, Mandeep Shergill, Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin, Maureen Zelmer, Michael Janz, Peace River, Prab Gill, Pramod Kumar, Ric McIver, Rick Strankman, Rod Loyola, Ron Orr, Sandra Kim, Sohail Quadri, Tanya Fir, Tariq Chaudhry, Thalia Hibbs, Tracy Allard, United Conservative Party, Weslyn Mather, William Farrell

Alberta Politics

Tom Olsen beats Megan McCaffrey in Calgary-Buffalo UCP nomination, Liberal David Khan to run in Mountain View

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date July 24, 2018
5 Comments on Tom Olsen beats Megan McCaffrey in Calgary-Buffalo UCP nomination, Liberal David Khan to run in Mountain View

Photo: Tom Olsen and Ric McIver (source: Facebook)

Lobbyist Tom Olsen surprised many political watchers last weekend when he defeated Megan McCaffery in the United Conservative Party nomination contest in Calgary-Buffalo. McCaffery, who has strong ties with the Manning Centre and had the endorsement of 9 UCP MLAs, was believed to be the favourite to win the contest in Calgary’s downtown district.

Attentive readers of this blog will remember Olsen as the former spokesperson for Premier Ed Stelmach and later as Vice-President of Communications for the Progressive Conservative Party during Jim Prentice‘s brief reign. Olsen currently works as a lobbyist and his clients include the Calgary Residential Rental Association and Greyhound. Until recently, his client list included the Canadian Consumer Finance Association, the national group representing Pay Day Loan companies.

Tom Olsen, crossing the picket-line during the strike that lasted from November 1999 to July 2000. — Tom Olsen crossing the picket-line during the strike by unionized staff, including reporters, at the Calgary Herald. The strike lasted from November 1999 to July 2000.

Before taking a job in the Premier’s Office, Olsen worked as a reporter and politics columnist for the Calgary Herald. He crossed the picket-line and continued to work at the Herald while many of his colleagues and co-workers went on strike from November 1999 to July 2000.

Olsen will face New Democratic Party candidate and provincial Finance Minister Joe Ceci in the next election. This district has not been fertile ground for conservative parties in the past, as it elected NDP or Liberal candidates in 8 of the past 10 elections.

Khan to run in Mountain View

David Khan Alberta Liberal Party Leader — David Khan

Liberal Party leader David Khan will run in the Calgary-Mountain View district in the next election. Khan will run to succeed his party’s only current MLA, David Swann, who is planning to retire from politics after serving four-terms in the Legislature.

Khan will face NDP Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley, who currently represents Calgary-Buffalo but is seeking re-election in Mountain View, and Green candidate Thana Boonlert. Caylan Ford and Jeremy Wong are seeking the UCP nomination.

This will be Khan’s fourth attempt to win a seat in the Legislative Assembly. He previously ran in the 2014 by-election in Calgary-West, the 2015 general election in Calgary-Buffalo, and the 2017 by-election in Calgary-Lougheed.

Here are some of the other recent updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of the 2019 Alberta provincial general election:

Calgary-Currie – Dan Morrison is the sixth candidate to join the UCP nomination contest in this district. Morrison was previously a candidate for the federal Conservative nomination in Calgary-Signal HIll, where he cried foul after being disqualified by the party.

Calgary-Varsity – Jason Copping is seeking the UCP nomination. Copping is co-chair of the UCP policy committee. He is a labour relations consultant, teaches at the University of Calgary, and is a member of the Alberta Labour Relations Board.

Camrose – Jackie Lovely is seeking the UCP nomination. Lovely now lives in Camrose, but she previously was the Wildrose Party candidate in Edmonton-Ellerslie in the 2012 and 2015 elections. She is a former Wildrose Caucus staffer and past president of the Summerside Community League.

Edmonton-Castle Downs – UCP members in this north Edmonton district will select their candidate on July 26, 2018. The three candidates contesting this nomination are Ed Ammar, Gennadi Boitchenko, and Arthur Hagen. Ammar is a former Liberal candidate who played a large role in the formation of the UCP as the chair of the new party’s interim board. He is being endorsed by such conservative luminaries as Craig Chandler.

Edmonton-Glenora – David Salopek is seeking the UCP nomination.

Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood – George Lam is seeking the UCP nomination. Many Edmontonians may remember Lam as a frequent municipal election candidate who played a role as spokesperson for the mysterious Henry Mak during the 2017 mayoral election. Lam earned 760 votes in his 2017 bid for Edmonton Public School Board trustee in Ward A.

Edmonton-Riverview – NDP MLA Lori Sigurdson will seek her party’s candidacy for re-election at a nomination meeting scheduled for August 14, 2018. Sigurdson is Minister of Seniors and Housing.

Lethbridge-West – Real Estate Agent Karri Flatla is seeking the UCP nomination.

Livingstone-Macleod – Dylin Hauser is seeking the Liberal Party nomination. A nomination meeting has been scheduled for August 23, 2018.

Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright – Chris Carnell is seeking the UCP nomination. Carnell is a trustee with the Lloydminster Catholic School Division and was first elected in 2012. He previously served as a councillor in the Village of Frontier, Saskatchewan, and was nominated as the Green Party candidate in Cypress Hills-Grasslands ahead of the 2011 federal election but did contest the election.

West Yellowhead – Ray Hilts is seeking the UCP nomination. Hilts has served on Whitecourt Town Council since October 2017. He is a director with the Alberta Forest Alliance.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Tags Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta NDP, Arthur Hagen, Calgary Herald Strike, Calgary Signal Hill, Calgary-Currie, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-Varsity, Camrose, Caylan Ford, Chris Carnell, Craig Chandler, Cypress Hills-Grasslands, Dan Morrison, David Khan, David Salopek, David Swann, Dylin Hauser, Ed Ammar, Ed Stelmach, Edmonton-Castle Downs, Edmonton-Ellerslie, Edmonton-Glenora, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, Edmonton-Riverview, Gennadi Boitchenko, George Lam, Green Party of Alberta, Henry Mak, Jackie Lovely, Jason Copping, Jeremy Wong, Jim Prentice, Joe Ceci, Kathleen Ganley, Lethbridge-West, Livingstone-Macleod, Lori Sigurdson, Megan McCaffrey, Ray Hilts, Thana Boonlert, Tom Olsen, United Conservative Party, Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright, West Yellowhead, Wildrose Party

Alberta Politics

UCP quashes Giant Bozo-Eruption in the making by dropping anti-Muslim nomination candidate

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date July 16, 2018
6 Comments on UCP quashes Giant Bozo-Eruption in the making by dropping anti-Muslim nomination candidate

The United Conservative Party quashed a giant bozo-eruption in the making this week when the party asked S. Todd Beasley to withdraw his candidacy for the nomination in the new Brooks-Medicine Hat district. Beasley, who was an organizer for the anti-NDP Alberta Wide Rallies held in 2016 and is the organizer behind the pro-coal ‘Stop the Shock‘ group, was dropped from the nomination race after anti-Muslim comments were discovered on Facebook.

Beasley defended his comments, in which he called Muslims “fools who are really worshipping Satan” and “those who think a rational God would anoint a dark-age pedophile warlord as his prophet.”

Beasley defended his comments today when speaking with radio host Danielle Smith (who dealt with her share of bozo-eruptions in the past). “I absolutely reject Islam, and all it stands for, and for any religion and their holy man that stand up and call for the murder of innocents,” Beasley said.

A UCP spokesperson said his Facebook comments were the reason for Beasley’s disqualification, but these were not the first political controversial statements he has made in public. He openly questioned the existence of climate change when testifying to the House of Commons Environment and Sustainable Development Committee in June 2016.

Asking, or telling, Beasley to withdraw was the right choice. But it remains pretty darn concerning that a candidate with these kind of views was running for a UCP nomination in the first place and only asked to leave the race on the day before the nomination vote began.

I am told by one well-placed UCP supporter in Medicine Hat that Beasley had enough support among the party membership in Brooks-Medicine Hat to win the nomination had he not been disqualified at the 11th hour.

Voting in the nomination contest in Brooks-Medicine Hat began today in Brooks and will conclude tomorrow in Medicine Hat. Michaela Glasgo and Dinah Hiebert are the two remaining candidates in the race.

Anderson to be nominated in Leduc-Beaumont

Shaye Anderson NDP MLA Leduc Beaumont — Shaye Anderson

MLA Shaye Anderson is expected to be nominated as the New Democratic Party candidate in Leduc-Beaumont at a meeting on July 18, 2018. Anderson was first elected in 2015 and currently serves as Minister of Municipal Affairs.

NDP call on UCP to “Release the report.”

The NDP distributed a three-word media release today calling on the UCP to “Release the report” written by former PC Party president Ted Carruthers into allegations of ballot-stuffing that led to Calgary-Greenway MLA Prab Gill leaving the UCP caucus. The UCP is unlikely to release the report.

The NDP also revealed that Gill had submitted $7,245 in expenses to the Legislative Assembly to cover the cost of a banquet for UCP supporters that featured leader Jason Kenney as the speaker. MLAs are prohibited from using those funds for partisan purposes.

Here are some of the other latest updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of the 2019 Alberta provincial general election:

Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock – MLA Glenn van Dijken fended off a challenge from Monty Bauer to win the UCP nomination contest in this new district. van Dijken was elected as the MLA for Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock in 2015.

Calgary-Foothills – Former Progressive Conservative MLA Jason Luan defeated political staffer Connor Staus to secure the UCP nomination in a newly redrawn Calgary-Foothills district. Luan was MLA for Calgary-Hawkwood from 2012 to 2015.

Calgary-McCall – Usman Hahmood is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-Mountain View – Caylan Ford is seeking the UCP nomination. Ford is an international affairs specialist with a background in China and human rights. She has worked as a senior policy advisor with Global Affairs Canada. Ford was a panelist at a 2018 Manning Centre conference discussion about conservative culture in Canada.

Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview – Atul Ranade has withdrawn from the UCP nomination in this district. Ranade had previously announced his candidacy and later withdrew from the UCP nomination contest in Edmonton-South.

Edmonton-City Centre – Martina Crory is seeking the UCP nomination. She is a political science student at MacEwan University and her website biography describes her as having “done major research projects highlighting the fragility of leftist academia in the context of Canadian issues such as state-led Indigenous resurgence policies, child welfare and identity politics.” She was previously seeking the federal Conservative nomination in Edmonton-Centre but withdrew from that race after past candidate James Cumming announced his candidacy.

Edmonton-Glenora – Former PC MLA Steve Young is seeking the UCP nomination. Young represented the Edmonton-Riverview district from 2012 to 2015, before he was defeated by New Democrat Lori Sigurdson. Glenora is the neighbouring district to Riverview.

Edmonton-Manning – MLA Heather Sweet was nominated as the NDP candidate in this northeast Edmonton district. Sweet was first elected in 2015 with 71 percent of the vote.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list. Thank you!

I had fun talking about Alberta politics, Prab Gill’s departure from the UCP and other election candidate nomination news with Ryan Jespersen and Tom Vernon this morning on 630 CHED.

Tags Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta NDP, Anti-Muslim Facebook comments, Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock, Atul Ranade, Bozo-Eruption, Brooks-Medicine Hat, Calgary-Foothills, Calgary-Greenway, Calgary-Hawkwood, Calgary-McCall, Calgary-Mountain View, Caylan Ford, Climate Change Deniers, Connor Staus, Danielle Smith, Dinah Hiebert, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview, Edmonton-City Centre, Edmonton-Glenora, Edmonton-Manning, Edmonton-Riverview, Edmonton-South, Glenn van Dijken, Heather Sweet, James Cumming, Jason Kenney, Jason Luan, Leduc-Beaumont, Lori Sigurdson, Manning Centre, Michaela Glasgo, Prab Gill, S. Todd Beasley, Shaye Anderson, Steve Young, Stop the Shock, Ted Carruthers, United Conservative Party, Usman Hahmood

Alberta Politics

Alberta Candidate Nomination Update: A Big One.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 25, 2018
No Comments on Alberta Candidate Nomination Update: A Big One.

Alberta Election Candidates 2019 Prasad Panda Abagail Douglass David Eggen Kate Potter Graham Sucha — Prasad Panda, Abagail Douglass, David Eggen, Kate Potter, and Graham Sucha.

Photo: Prasad Panda, Abigail Douglass, David Eggen, Kate Potter, and Graham Sucha

We are now about one year away from Alberta’s next provincial general election and the list of candidates running for party nominations is growing.

The Alberta Party has announced that Abigail Douglass will be their candidate in the upcoming Innisfail-Sylvan Lake by-election. A party press release states that Douglass grew up on her family’s farm near Penhold and attended Gateway Christian School in Red Deer. She attended King’s University in Edmonton and served two-terms as president of the students’ association. She earned a Bachelor of Commerce Degree at King’s.

The New Democratic Party is expected to nominate Nicole Mooney as their candidate at a nomination meeting on May 25, 2018. Mooney lives in Sylvan Lake and teaches English at St. Joseph’s High School in Red Deer. She is the Communications and Political Engagement Officer with Alberta Teachers’ Association Local 80.

NDP MLA David Eggen seeking the NDP nomination in Edmonton-North West. Eggen is currently serving his third-term as an MLA for Edmonton-Calder. Once again, the Poland of Alberta’s electoral map, Edmonton-Calder will be renamed Edmonton-North West as large swaths of the former district will become part of Edmonton-City Centre, Edmonton-Glenora and Edmonton-West Henday.

United Conservative Party MLA Prasad Panda is seeking his party’s nomination for re-election in the new Calgary- Edgemont district. Panda was first elected in a 2015 by-election in Calgary-Foothills. He was the 2012 and 2015 Wildrose Party candidate in the neighbouring Calgary-Northern Hills district.

NDP MLA Graham Sucha is seeking his party’s nomination in Calgary-Shaw. Sucha was elected as the MLA for this district in 2015, earning 31.3 percent of the vote ahead of PC MLA Jeff Wilson with 30.7 percent and Widlroser Brad Leishman with 30.4 percent.

UCP MLA Wayne Anderson has announced he is seeking his party’s nomination in the Highwood district. Anderson was first elected as a Wildrose Party MLA in the district in 2015 with 41 percent of the vote. Changes to the electoral boundaries have moved the Town of High River into the neighbouring Livingstone-Macleod district. This district was previously represented by former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith from 2012 to 2015.

Alberta Party leader Stephen Mandel has been nominated as his party’s candidate in this southwest Edmonton district. Mandel represented this area of Edmonton as a City Councillor from 2001 to 2004. He served as the Progressive Conservative MLA for the neighbouring Edmonton-Whitemud from 2014 to 2015.

Former Alberta Party leader Greg Clark has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate Calgary-Elbow. Clark became the Alberta Party’s first elected MLA in 2015 when he was elected with 42 percent of the vote.

Here are some of the other updates to the growing list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of Alberta’s expected 2019 provincial general election:

Banff-Kananaskis – According to Elections Alberta, restauranteur Scott Winograd has withdrawn from the UCP nomination in this district.

Calgary-Buffalo – Omar Masood has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate in the newly redrawn Calgary-Buffalo district. Masood was the first candidate nominated to run in the 2019 election when he was nominated to run under the currently existing boundaries in November 2016.

Calgary-Cross – Roshan Chumber is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-Currie – Bettina Pierre-Gilles is seeking the UCP nomination. She is the President and CEO of Luxeum Renewables Group Inc. and is a member of the UCP Policy Committee.

Calgary-East – Robert O’Leary is seeking the UCP nomination

Calgary-Glenmore – Michael LaBerge is the fifth candidate to enter the UCP nomination contest in this southwest Calgary district. LaBerge is president of Channel Energy Inc.

Calgary-Mountain View – Jeremy Wong is seeking the UCP nomination. Wong is a pastor with the Calgary Chinese Alliance Church and recently completed a Master of Public Administration at the University of Calgary.

Calgary-North East – Anand Chetty is seeking the UCP nomination. Chetty is the owner of Calgary Rocky Tours.

Calgary-North West – Cam Khan is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-Varsity – Lesley Doell has withdrawn her candidacy for the UCP nomination in Calgary-North West and is now running for the UCP nomination in the neighbouring Calgary-Varsity district.

Chestermere-Strathmore – David Campbell will challenge Chestermere-Rockyview MLA Leela Aheer for the UCP nomination in this new district.

Drayton Valley-Devon – Kieran Quirke is seeking the NDP nomination. He is the Chair of the Leduc-Nisku Economic Development Board and co-chair of the Alberta NDP Rural Caucus. The NDP have scheduled a nomination meeting to take place on June 23, 2018. Also, Andrew Boitchenko challenging incumbent MLA Mark Smith for the UCP nomination.

Drumheller-Stettler – Todd Pawsey is seeking the UCP nomination. Pawsey is a Development Officer with the County of Paintearth. Also seeking the nomination is Nate Horner, a rancher and grandson of former Member of Parliament Jack Horner.

Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview – Roger Fodjo is seeking the UCP nomination

Edmonton-Castle Downs – Mohamad Rahall is seeking the Alberta Party nomination

Edmonton-Ellerslie – Sanjay Patel is seeking the UCP nomination.

Edmonton-Gold Bar – Former PC MLA David Dorward is seeking the UCP nomination. Dorward served as MLA for this district from 2012 until 2015 when he was unseated by New Democrat candidate Marlin Schmidt. Diana Ly is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.

Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood – Tish Prouse is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Prouse was a candidate for Edmonton City Council in Ward 7 in 2013 and Ward 6 in 2017. Michael Kalyn is seeking the UCP nomination.

Edmonton-Mill Woods – Anju Sharma is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.

Edmonton-Rutherford – Laine Larson is seeking the UCP nomination. Larson is an Independent Contractor with Malley’s Gourmet and the step-son of former Reform Party Member of Parliament Deborah Grey.

Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville – Darryl Kropielnicki is seeking the UCP nomination.

Grande Prairie – Tracy Allard is seeking the UCP nomination. Allard is the owner of several Tim Hortons franchaises.

Grande Prairie-Wapiti – Kate Potter is seeking the UCP nomination. She was first elected to the Town of Sexsmith Council in October 2017.

Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland – Everett Normandeau and Barbara Costache are seeking the UCP nomination. Normandeau is the owner of Summit Land and Environmental Inc. Costache is a Governor on the Board of Directors of the Lifesaving Society Alberta and Northwest Territories Branch.

Lacombe-Ponoka – Rita Reich is challenging MLA Ron Orr for the UCP nomination in this central Alberta district.

Leduc-Beaumont – Jan Becker is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. He is the executive director of the Leduc #1 Energy Discovery Centre in Leduc County.

Livingstone-Macleod – Roger Reid is seeking the UCP nomination. Reid is the owner of Tim Hortons franchises in Nanton and Clareshold and is chair of the Claresholm and District Health Foundation.

Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin – Donna Andres and Richard Wilson are seeking the UCP nomination. Andres served on Wetaskiwin City Council from 2001 to 2007.

Red Deer-South – Haley Wile is seeking the UCP nomination. She ~~is a spokesperson for~~ a supporter of the “non-partisan” pro-pipeline Rally 4 Resources group. Matt Chapin has withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest in this district and is instead seeking the UCP nomination in the neighbouring Red Deer-North,

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Tags Abigail Douglass, Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Anand Chetty, Anju Sharma, Banff-Kananaskis, Brad Leishman, Calgary-Buffalo, Calgary-Cross, Calgary-East, Calgary-Elbow, Calgary-Glenmore, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-North East, Calgary-North West, Calgary-Northern Hills, Calgary-Shaw, Calgary-Varsity, Cam Khan, Candidate nominations, Chestermere-Strathmore, Danielle Smith, Darryl Kropielnicki, David Campbell, David Dorward, David Eggen, Deborah Grey, Diana Ly, Donna Andres, Drayton Valley-Devon, Drumheller-Stettler, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview, Edmonton-Castle Downs, Edmonton-Ellerslie, Edmonton-Gold Bar, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, Edmonton-McClung, Edmonton-Mill Woods, Edmonton-North West, Edmonton-Rutherford, Everett Normandeau, Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville, Graham Sucha, Grande Prairie, Grande Prairie-Wapiti, Greg Clark, Haley Wile, Highwood, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake by-election, Jack Horner, Jan Becker, Jeff Wilson, Jeremy Wong, Kate Potter, Kieran Quirke, Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland, Laine Larson, Leduc-Beaumont, Leela Aheer, Lesley Doell, Livingstone-Macleod, Marlin Schmidt, Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin, Matt Chapin, Michael Kalyn, Michael LaBerge, Mohamad Rahall, Nate Horner, Nicole Mooney, Omar Masood, Red Deer-North, Red Deer-South, Robert O’Leary, Roger Fodjo, Roger Reid, Roshan Chumber, Sanjay Patel, Scott Winograd, Stephen Mandel, Tim Hortons, Tish Prouse, Todd Pawsey, Tracy Allard, United Conservative Party, Wayne Anderson, Wildrose Party

Alberta Politics

Alberta Candidate Nomination Updates: 2 NDP cabinet ministers announce re-election and 3 more UCP MLAs plan to retire.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date April 27, 2018
2 Comments on Alberta Candidate Nomination Updates: 2 NDP cabinet ministers announce re-election and 3 more UCP MLAs plan to retire.

Photo: Oneil Carlier, Shannon Phillips, Sonya Savage, and Tyler Shandro.

Nominations are picking up speed.

Three more United Conservative Party MLAs have announced their plans to retire when the next election is called. Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA Wayne Drysdale, Livingstone-Macleod MLA Pat Stier and Little Bow MLA David Schneider will not seek re-election in 2019.

Schneider changed his minds after previously announcing plans to seek re-election in the new Cardston-Siksika district. His entry into that contest forced Cardston-Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter to seek the UCP nomination in the neighbouring Taber-Warner district, even though he lives in Cardston. It is not yet known whether Hunter will now run for the UCP nomination in what will soon be his home district of Cardston-Siksika.

Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips has filed her intentions with Elections Alberta to run for the New Democratic Party nomination in Lethbridge-West. Phillips was first elected as MLA in 2015 with 59 percent of the vote.

Also running for re-election is Agriculture and Forestry Minister Oneil Carlier, who told XM105FM that he will seek the NDP nomination in the newly redrawn Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland district. Carlier currently represents the Whitecourt-Ste. Anne district, which will no longer exist when the next election is called.

Independent MLA Derek Fildebrandt is agitating in Chestermere-Strathmore. After being banned from rejoining the UCP caucus in February 2, 2018 after a string of embarrassing scandals, Fildebrandt has essentially accused his former party of being afraid of an open nomination contest in the new district. The theatrical former finance critic accused the UCP of “Trudeau-style affirmative action” for not allowing him to run against popular Chestermere-Rockyview UCP MLA Leela Aheer.

As first reported on this blog on April 7, 2018, Wood Buffalo municipal councillor Jane Stroud will seek the NDP nomination in the upcoming Fort McMurray-Conklin by-election. The UCP have set May 1, 2018 as the date for their candidate nomination vote.

In Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, candidate Joel Loh was not allowed to join the UCP nomination contest and has since endorsed Red Deer County councillor Christine Moore. UCP members in that district will select a candidate in a vote at the end of the month.

Here are some of the other nomination updates from around the province:

Calgary-Acadia – Lawyer Tyler Shandro is seeking the UCP nomination. Astute followers of Alberta politics might recall Shandro’s role in the EdStelmach.ca incident. Good luck and govern yourself accordingly, Tyler.

Calgary-Currie – Amoriza Gunnink is seeking the UCP nomination. Gunnink is the founder of the Kinderhouse Preschool. Tony Norman is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Norman was his party’s candidate in this district in the 2015 election.

Calgary-East – Pradeep Singh is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-Falconridge – Happy Mann is seeking the UCP nomination. Mann was the Wildrose Party candidate in Calgary-McCall in the 2015 election and the 2012 Wildrose Party candidate in Calgary-Cross.

Calgary-Glenmore – Maureen Zelmer is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-Mountain View – Dean Brawn is seeking the UCP nomination. Brawn was a candidate for Calgary City Council in Ward 7 in the 2017 municipal election.

Calgary-North West – Sonya Savage is seeking the UCP nomination. She is the Senior Director of Policy & Regulatory Affairs at Canadian Energy Pipeline Association. In 2011, she served as co-chair of Rick Orman’s campaign for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Drumheller-Stettler – MLA Rick Strankman is seeking the UCP nomination. Strankman was first elected in 2012 as a Wildrose Party candidate.

Edmonton-Ellerslie – Yash Sharma is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Sharma is the Publisher of the Asia Tribune and producer of Harmony TV and in 2016 he was one of 32 candidates to run in the Ward 12 by-election.

Edmonton-South West – Kevin Greco is seeking the UCP nomination.

Lethbridge-East – Brian Litchfield is seeking the UCP nomination.

Morinville-St. Albert – Dale Nally and Trina Jones have entered the UCP nomination contest. Jones is currently serving as Deputy Mayor of the Town of Legal

Sherwood Park – Jordan Walker is seeking the UCP nomination. Walker and Strathcona-Sherwood Park nomination candidate Nate Glubish are being endorsed by Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan Member of Parliament Garnett Genuis, who is hosting a meet and greet for the two candidates on April 27, 2018. Genius was the 2012 Wildrose Party candidate in Sherwood Park.

Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright – Two-time Wildrose Party candidate Danny Hozack is seeking the UCP nomination. Hozack earned 37 percent of the vote in 2012 and 33 percent of the vote in 2015. He is seeking the nomination against Garth Rowswell, his campaign manager from the 2015 election.

West Yellowhead – MLA Eric Rosendahl is seeking the NDP nomination. He was first elected in 2015 with 39 percent of the vote.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list.

Tags Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Brian Litchfield, Calgary-Acadia, Calgary-Currie, Calgary-East, Calgary-Falconridge, Calgary-Glenmore, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-North West, Cardston-Siksika, Chestermere-Strathmore, Dale Nally, Danny Hozack, David Schneider, Dean Brawn, Derek Fildebrandt, Drumheller-Stettler, Edmonton-Ellerslie, Edmonton-South West, Eric Rosendahl, Fort McMurray-Conklin, Fort McMurray-Conklin by-election, Garnett Genuis, Garth Rowswell, Grande Prairie-Wapiti, Grant Hunter, Happy Mann, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake by-election, Jane Stroud, Joel Loh, Jordan Walker, Kevin Greco, Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland, Leela Aheer, Lethbridge-East, Lethbridge-West, Livingstone-Macleod, Maureen Zelmer, Morinville-St. Albert, Nate Glubish, Oneil Carlier, Pat Stier, Pradeep Singh, Rick Strankman, Shannon Phillips, Sherwood Park, Sonya Savage, Strathcona-Sherwood Park, Taber-Warner, Tony Norman, Trina Jones, Tyler Shandro, United Conservative Party, Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright, Wayne Drysdale, West Yellowhead, Yash Sharma

Alberta Politics

Sunday Night Candidate Nomination Update

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date April 15, 2018
No Comments on Sunday Night Candidate Nomination Update

Shelly Shannon Kathleen Ganley Christina Gray Beth Barberree Alberta Election Nomination candiates

Photo: Shelly Shannon, Kathleen Ganley, Christina Gray, and Beth Barberree

The New Democratic Party has scheduled its nomination meeting in Fort McMurray-Conklin for May 10, 2018. A by-election is needed in this district following the resignation of United Conservative Party MLA Brian Jean. Wood Buffalo municipal councillor Jane Stroud is expected to seek the NDP nomination.

Willie Hoflin is the fourth candidate to join the UCP nomination contest in Fort McMurray-Conklin. Hoflin’s website describes him as a 40-year Syncrude employee and past campaign manager for former Fort McMurray MLAs Guy Boutilier and Adam Germain. Hoflin left the PC Party in June 2010 to join the Wildrose Party.

Here are some other recent updates to the list of candidates running for nominations ahead of Alberta’s expected 2019 provincial election:

Calgary-Acadia – Amina Beecroft is seeking the UCP nomination. Beecroft is an accounting and finance instructor at Mount Royal University. She is the former president of the Calgary-Acadia Progressive Conservative Association and the current president of the UCP in that district.

Calgary-Bow – Harry Fleming is seeking the UCP nomination in Calgary-Bow. Fleming is an assistant with Harper & Associates, the company founded by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper after the Conservative Party of Canada’s defeat in the 2015 election. He also served as Calgary vice-president of the Progressive Conservative Youth of Alberta from 2016 to 2017 and president of the University of Ottawa Conservative Club from 2014 to 2015.

Calgary-Currie – Nicholas Milliken is seeking the UCP nomination. Milliken is a lawyer and CEO of Brolly Legal Recruitment. He is the great grandson of Alberta MLA William Howson, who represented Edmonton in the Alberta Legislature from 1930 to 1936 and led the Alberta Liberal Party from 1932 to 1936.

Calgary-Edgemont – Beth Barberree is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Barberree is a practicing massage therapist and the owner of Massage at the Club. She was the Alberta Party candidate in Calgary-Hawkwood in the 2015 election, earning 4.5 percent of the vote.

Calgary-Mountain View – On April 14, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Kathleen Ganley became the first NDP candidate officially nominated to run in the next election. Ganley was first elected as the MLA for Calgary-Buffalo in 2015, but recently announced she would seek re-election in the neighbouring Calgary-Mountain View district. The district is currently represented by four-term Liberal MLA David Swann, who has announced he plans to retire from politics when the next election is called.

Camrose – Rob Johnson is seeking the UCP nomination. Johnson ran for the Wildrose Party nomination in Battle River-Wainwright in 2011 and was the Wildrose candidate in Strathcona-Sherwood Park in the 2015 election, earning 23 percent of the vote.

Edmonton-City Centre – Robert Philp is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Philip is a former judge and in June 2014 was appointed Chief of the Commission and Tribunals, Alberta Human Rights Commission.

Edmonton-Mill Woods – The NDP have scheduled a nomination meeting to take place on May 6, 2018. Incumbent MLA and Minister of Labour Christina Gray is expected to be nominated. Gray was first elected in 2015, earning 64 percent of the vote.

Lacombe-Ponoka – MLA Ron Orr is seeking the UCP nomination. Orr was first elected as a Wildrose Party MLA in 2015, earning 35 percent of the vote. In November 2017, the former Baptist pastor suggested that the legalization of marijuana in Canada could lead to a communist revolution.

Lethbridge-East – The NDP have scheduled a nomination meeting for May 6, 2018. Incumbent MLA Maria Fitzpatrick is expected to be nominated. Fitzpatrick was first elected in 2015, earning 47 percent of the vote. Unlike most southern Alberta districts, Lethbridge-East has a long history of bucking the province-wide conservative trend. From 1993 to 2011, this district was represented by Liberal MLAs Ken Nicol and Bridget Pastoor. Pastoor crossed the floor to the PCs in 2011 and was re-elected in 2012.

Peace River – Shelly Shannon is the fifth candidate to enter the UCP nomination contest in this district. Shannon is the advertising manager of the Postmedia owned Peace River Record Gazette and is the past president of the Peace River and District Chamber of Commerce. She previously served as a regional director for the now-defunct PC Party.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list.

Alberta Politics

Candidate Nomination Update: Calgary-Buffalo, Calgary-Mountain View and Bonnyville-St. Paul-Cold Lake

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date March 26, 2018
No Comments on Candidate Nomination Update: Calgary-Buffalo, Calgary-Mountain View and Bonnyville-St. Paul-Cold Lake

Photo: Central Calgary, with Calgary-Buffalo located south of the Bow River and Calgary-Mountain View located to the north.

It has been a while since I have posted a nomination update, so here are a few of the big nomination related stories that have caught my attention over the past few weeks:

Liberal Swann not seeking re-election

David Swann Liberal MLA Calgary-Mountain View — David Swann

Alberta’s lone Liberal MLA has announced that he will not seek re-election in the 2019 provincial election. David Swann was first elected as MLA for Calgary-Mountain View in his party’s 2004 breakthrough in that city and he later served as party leader from 2008 to 2011 and 2015 to 2017. His departure in the next election will mark the first time since 1986 that the Liberal Party will not have an incumbent MLA running for re-election in a general election.

Ganley running in Mountain View

On the same day as Swann’s announcement, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Kathleen Ganley announced she would seek re-election in Calgary-Mountain View, across the river from the Calgary-Buffalo district she currently represents. Ganley will become the New Democratic Party‘s first nominated candidate of the 2019 election on April 14 when she is expected to be acclaimed at a nomination meeting in Calgary-Mountain View.

Ceci running in Buffalo

Kathleen Ganley Alberta MLA — Kathleen Ganley

Ganley’s move across the river to Mountain View allows for Finance Minister Joe Ceci to run for re-election in Calgary-Buffalo. Redistribution of the electoral boundaries has added areas from Ceci’s Calgary-Fort district into Calgary-Buffalo, including the neighbourhood he lives in.

The move allows the NDP to avoid two senior cabinet ministers challenging each other for the same district nomination ahead of the next election. It also moves Ceci into what could be expected to be more friendlier territory than the new Calgary-Peigan district, which encompasses much of the rest of the Calgary-Fort district.

Calgary-Buffalo is the historically least conservative district in Calgary, with voters in that district having elected Liberal or NDP MLAs in 8 of the past 10 elections.

Cyr vs. Hanson in Bonnyville-St. Paul-Cold Lake

While the NDP have been able to avoid incumbent MLAs challenging each other for nominations, the United Conservative Party has not. In northeast Alberta, two UCP MLAs are running against each other for the past nomination in the new Bonnyville-St. Paul-Cold Lake district. Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr and Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills MLA David Hanson have seen their districts significantly redrawn, with one less district in that region of the province to reflect population changes.

Had UCP MLA Brian Jean not resigned as MLA for Fort McMurray-Conklin, Hanson might have run for his party’s nomination in the new Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche district. But Jean’s resignation means a by-election to choose a new MLA will need to take place in Fort McMurray-Conklin before the next election. If a UCP candidate is elected in that by-election, they will presumably run for re-election in the new Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche district.

Political parties in Alberta have generally avoided the type of scenarios that would pit two incumbent MLAs from the same party against each other.

I can only recall one example of two incumbent MLAs from the same party challenging each other for a nomination in the same district. Ahead of the 1993 election, Edmonton-Kingsway MLA Alex McEachern and Edmonton-Jasper Place MLA John McInnis both sought the NDP nomination in the newly redrawn Edmonton-Mayfield district. McEachern won the nomination contest and McInnis ended up running in another district across the city.

More updates on the way…

I am planning to post additional updates about the growing list of nomination candidates in the next few days. But in the meantime, if you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list.

Green Party leader resigns

“Effective immediately I have tendered my resignation from the role of leader of the Green Party of Alberta,” was the one-line statement posted on the Green Party website by leader Romy Tittel on March 24. Tittel was chosen as party leader in November 2017 and ran under her party’s banner in the Calgary-Lougheed by-eleciton.

Green Party president Marco Reid posted online that the party’s executive council would be calling a meeting to discuss this affair further. The party is scheduled to hold its policy conference in Calgary on May 5, 2018.

Alberta Politics

Candidate Nomination Update: Innisfail-Sylvan Lake by-election and more

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date February 28, 2018
No Comments on Candidate Nomination Update: Innisfail-Sylvan Lake by-election and more

Photo: Tom Olsen, Michaela Glasgo, Thana Boonlert, and Nathan Cooper

With just over one year left until the next provincial election is expected to be called, I am continuing to track potential candidates as they step up to run for party nominations. While some New Democratic Party MLAs have announced their intentions to seek re-election, most activity on the nomination front has come from prospective United Conservative Party nominees.

In Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, where a by-election will be held in the next six months to replace former UCP MLA Don MacIntyre, four candidates have stepped up to run for the UCP nomination. MacIntyre resigned in February after being charged with sexual assault and sexual interference.

The two newest candidates to join the UCP nomination in Innisfail-Sylvan Lake are lawyer Gayle Langford and former Sylvan Lake town councillor Joan Barnes.

More candidates have stepped up to run for party nominations in other districts across the province:

Brooks-Medicine Hat – Michaela Glasgo is seeking the UCP nomination in this newly redrawn southeastern Alberta district. Glasgo is a Constituency Assistant for Cypress-Medicine Hat UCP MLA Drew Barnes and is a contributor to the Story of a Tory blog.

Calgary-Bow – Demetrios Nicolaides is seeking the UCP nomination. Nicolaides is an Associate with the Humphrey Group and is the former vice president of communications for the Progressive Conservative Party and the former president of the PC association in this district. According to his online bio, he holds a PhD in Political Science and Conflict Resolution from the University of Cyprus.

Calgary-Buffalo – Lobbyist Tom Olsen is seeking the UCP nomination in this downtown Calgary district. Olsen is a former Calgary Herald reporter and columnist, and a former Press Secretary for premier Ed Stelmach. He is also the lead singer of Tom Olsen and the Wreckage, who headlined the 2014 PC leadership vote results party.

Calgary-Foothills – Connor Staus is seeking this UCP nomination in this northwest Calgary district. Staus works as a Constituency Assistant for Calgary-Shepard Conservative Member of Parliament Tom Kmiec. This district is currently represented by UCP MLA Prasad Panda, who was elected as a Wildrose Party MLA in a 2015 by-election.

Calgary-Glenmore – Christopher Grabill is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-Mountain View – Thana Boonlert has been nominated as the Green Party candidate in this district. Boonlert was his party’s candidate in the 2016 Calgary-Greenway by-election.

Edmonton-Riverview – Shawn McLeod is seeking the UCP nomination in this district which includes the University of Alberta.

Morinville-St. Albert – Former Sturgeon County mayor Don Rigney is seeking the UCP nomination. Rigney served as mayor from 2007 to 2013. He mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the Wildrose nomination in the Athabasca-Redwater district ahead of the 2012 election and was reported as being an applicant in a legal challenge launched in 2015 to prevent then-premier Jim Prentice from calling an early election.

Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills – Nathan Cooper is seeking the UCP nomination. Cooper has served as the MLA for this district since 2015 and was previously elected to Carstairs town council. He served as the interim leader of the UCP in 2017.

Red Deer-South – Matt Chapin is seeking the UCP nomination. He ran for the PC nomination in Red Deer-North in 2015 and has run for Red Deer City Council numerous times over the past decade.

Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre – Jason Nixon is seeking the UCP nomination. He has served as the MLA for his district since 2015 and served as the UCP leader in the Legislature in late 2017.

Sherwood Park – Wildrose and UCP caucus researcher Maureen Gough is seeking the UCP nomination in this suburban district east of Edmonton.

Spruce Grove-Stony Plain – Spruce Grove City Councillor Searle Turton is the third candidate to join the UCP nomination race in this district west of Edmonton.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list.