As a columnist, Smith was a harsh critic of “unreliable” renewable energy
The United Conservative Party government’s decision to impose an immediate 7-month moratorium on all new major wind and solar energy projects in Alberta came as a surprise to many political watchers.
The drastic decision was sudden and it wasn’t featured in any of the UCP’s campaign promises in the election held only 75 days ago. But anyone who has paid close attention to now-Premier Danielle Smith’s newspaper and radio commentary knows she has not hidden her deeply critical and skeptical views of wind and solar power.
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- Tags Alberta NDP, Alberta NDP Leadership Race, Blake Desjarlais, Brian Jean, Calgary Herald, Calgary-Mountain View, Canadian Energy Centre, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Edmonton-Glenora, Edmonton-Griesbach, Edmonton-Strathcona, Edmonton-Whitemud, Greg Abbott, Heather McPherson, Jagmeet Singh, Justin Trudeau, Kathleen Ganley, Kerry Diotte, Lethbridge-West, Mickey Amery, Nagwan Al-Guneid, Rachel Notley, Rakhi Pancholi, Rebecca Schulz, Rob Anderson, Sarah Hoffman, Shannon Phillips, Texas Power Crisis, United Conservative Party, Wind and Solar Power Moratorium
Ask Me Anything about Alberta politics episode
- Post author By Dave Cournoyer
- Post date July 19, 2023
- No Comments on Ask Me Anything about Alberta politics episode
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You shared your Alberta politics questions and we answered them in our annual Ask Me Anything episode of the Daveberta Podcast.
New and recent episodes of the Daveberta Podcast are available to paid subscribers of the Daveberta Substack. In case you missed them, you can catch up on recent Daveberta Podcast episodes with Edmonton Public School Board chairperson Trisha Estabrooks, thewrit.ca publisher Éric Grenier, and strategist Chris Henderson.
The Daveberta Podcast is hosted by Dave Cournoyer and produced by Adam Rozenhart. This episode was recorded on July 12, 2023.
- Tags Alberta Election 2023, Alberta NDP, Alberta Podcast, Alberta Politics Podcast, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Podcast, Daveberta Substack, David Shepherd, Irfan Sabir, Jason Nixon, Joe Ceci, Kathleen Ganley, Kyle Kasawski, Nagwan Al-Guneid, Rachel Notley, Rakhi Pancholi, Ric McIver, Samir Kayande, Sarah Hoffman, Shannon Phillips, United Conservative Party
Saddle up. Calgary Stampede politics are back.
- Post author By Dave Cournoyer
- Post date July 7, 2023
- 1 Comment on Saddle up. Calgary Stampede politics are back.
Dust off your cowboy boots and hat. It’s that time of year again. It’s the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. It’s the Calgary Stampede.
The Stampede is a must attend event for politicians of all stripes. Aside from the actual rodeo (the Chuckwagon races are a must see), the free pancake breakfast and BBQ circuit is unparalleled and a huge opportunity for local, provincial and federal politicians to connect with Calgarians. Proper attire is key, as is the ability to wear it properly.
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- Tags Alberta Election 2023, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Anita Anand, Blaine Higgs, Calgary Stampede, Calgary-Bhullar-McCall, Calgary-Buffalo, Calgary-Hays, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-West, Court Ellingson, Danielle Paradis, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Doug Ford, Irfan Sabir, Jamie Battiste, Jason Kenney, Jason Luan, Joe Ceci, Jonathan Wilkinson, Justin Huseby, Justin Trudeau, Kathleen Ganley, Matt Jones, Mike Ellis, Pierre Poilievre, Preston Manning, Rachel Notley, Rebecca Schulz, Ric McIver, Scott Moe, United Conservative Party
The Alberta NDP Caucus released the list of critic roles that its roster of 38 Official Opposition MLAs have been tasked to fill.
Every NDP MLA has been assigned a role as a critic or in the caucus leadership, which is not unusual for provincial oppositions in Alberta. But, because of the unusually large size of the opposition caucus, there are more critics than cabinet ministers to shadow.
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It has been almost two weeks since Alberta Premier Danielle Smith named her new 24-member cabinet and a lot of ink has been spilled dissecting what the appointments could mean for the start of the United Conservative Party’s second term as government and the next four years.
There are big challenges facing the new cabinet, especially for ministers appointed to high-profile positions. But what caught my attention among the appointments was the return of two former cabinet ministers who were pushed into the backbenches when Smith entered the Premier’s Office last October.
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- Tags Adriana LaGrange, Alberta Election 2023, Alberta NDP, Brian Jean, Calgary-Heritage by-election, Calgary-Klein, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Elliot Weinstein, Ezra Levant, Jamie Mozeson, Jason Kenney, Jason Nixon, Jeremy Nixon, Jonah Mozeson, Kevin Taft, Lizette Tejada, Nate Horner, Paris Marx, Pat Nixon, Pierre Poilievre, Rebecca Schulz, Ric McIver, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, Shuvaloy Majumdar, United Conservative Party
The election aftermath for Alberta’s NDP
- Post author By Dave Cournoyer
- Post date June 8, 2023
- 1 Comment on The election aftermath for Alberta’s NDP
Victory was within sight but out of reach for Notley’s party
It was a historic election result for the Alberta NDP.
Rachel Notley’s NDP won 38 seats in last week’s election and will form the largest Official Opposition in the province’s history. The NDP got more votes in this election than it ever has before, including a historic high of 49% in Calgary. The party ran the most sophisticated, well-organized and best-funded campaign in its history.
But it fell short of its ultimate goal of forming government.
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- Tags Alberta Election 2023, Alberta NDP, Alberta NDP Leadership Race, Banff-Kananaskis, Calgary-Acadia, Calgary-Glenmore, Calgary-Heritage, Calgary-Heritage by-election, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Diana Batten, Kathleen Ganley, Kyle Kasawski, Nagwan Al-Guneid, Naheed Nenshi, Rachel Notley, Rakhi Pancholi, Ravenmoon Crocker, Sarah Elmeligi, Sarah Hoffman, Shannon Phillips, Sherwood Park, Shuvaloy Majumdar, United Conservative Party
How to build an Alberta cabinet without Edmonton
- Post author By Dave Cournoyer
- Post date June 5, 2023
- No Comments on How to build an Alberta cabinet without Edmonton
It’s easy. Edmontonians didn’t want a seat at Smith’s cabinet table.
It has been one week since Alberta’s election and Premier Danielle Smith is expected to appoint a new roster of cabinet ministers soon.
At least six current United Conservative Party cabinet ministers and three former cabinet ministers were defeated in the election. Along with four former cabinet ministers who declined to run for re-election, it means there could be some new and inexperienced MLAs with jobs as cabinet ministers.
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Top 12 closest races of Alberta’s 2023 election
- Post author By Dave Cournoyer
- Post date June 2, 2023
- No Comments on Top 12 closest races of Alberta’s 2023 election
It’s been a few days since Election Day in Alberta and as the dust begins to settle I’ve been able to take a closer look at the results in ridings across the province.
The Alberta election results tell a big story.
1. Alberta is politically divided, but not equally divided everywhere.
2. Alberta is politically competitive, but only in some places.
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Never bet against the Conservatives in Alberta
- Post author By Dave Cournoyer
- Post date May 30, 2023
- 1 Comment on Never bet against the Conservatives in Alberta
Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party will form a majority government in Alberta and Rachel Notley’s NDP will form the Official Opposition.
As of 2:00am, the UCP has 49 seats and the NDP has 38, which I believe is the closest election result in Alberta’s history. There are still some remaining polls that haven’t reported in a few Calgary ridings with tight races, so those numbers could shift slightly.
This election has been a wild ride and the electoral map shows a deeply divided province.
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It’s Election Day in Alberta! If you didn’t vote in the advance polls, voting stations are open today from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm.
Whether you are planning to settle in for a quiet evening of results watching or heading to your local candidate’s campaign office for a victory party, I am happy to share some fun Alberta election trivia you can wow your friends and family with tonight.
Enjoy!
Dave
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Over the course of the election I’ve been doing my best to keep track of which ridings United Conservative Party leader Danielle Smith and Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley visited for events and announcements on the campaign trail between May 1 and May 27, 2023.
The leader’s tour can give some insight into where the parties are on the defensive and where they hope to make gains in an election. And, if competitive ridings are the big measurement, then there were only a few surprises on this map.
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There are two days left until Election Day in Alberta.
I was planning on taking a short break from writing any election commentary this morning, but I decided I had a few thoughts I wanted to share about some recent high-profile election endorsements.
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There are three days left until Election Day in Alberta!
The parties and their leaders are spending the final days making their last pitches to voters and rallying their supporters.
Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley spoke to a crowd of about 350 supporters at a campaign rally in Medicine Hat yesterday before heading back to Calgary to speak at a backyard gathering in support of Calgary-Fish Creek candidate Rebecca Bounsall.
Neither of these places are where an NDP leader would traditionally spend any time during the final days of the campaign in past elections but all of the old assumptions have been tossed out the window in 2023.
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With Election Day only a few days away, Chris Henderson joins the Daveberta Podcast for a deep discussion about Alberta’s election campaign, how we got here and the spicy scenarios that might become reality after the votes are counted on May 29. We also discuss what the possible election outcomes mean for United Conservative Party leader Danielle Smith and Alberta NDP Rachel Notley.
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There are four days left until Election Day in Alberta.
Readers of the Daveberta will know I’ve been watching this Alberta election pretty closely and, while I’ve actually been watching all 87 ridings throughout the campaign, there are a few handfuls I’ve been keeping a close eye on.
Some of them will be close races and some will be won with landslides.
Here’s my list of 19 ridings I’ll be watching closely on Election Day.
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- Tags Alberta Election 2023, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Angela Wood, Banff-Kananaskis, Bill Tonita, Calgary-Bow, Calgary-Elbow, Calgary-Klein, Calgary-North West, Chris Davis, Dale Nally, Danielle Larivee, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Demetrios Nicolaides, Devin Dreeshen, Druh Farrell, Edmonton-Castle Downs, Edmonton-South West, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo, Fort Sasktachewan-Vegreville, Funky Banjoko, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, Jason Heistad, Jason Nixon, Jeremy Nixon, Jon Dziadyk, Jordan Walker, Karen Shaw, Kaycee Madu, Kerry Cundal, Kyle Kasawski, Lesser Slave Lake, Lizette Tejada, Marie Renaud, Michael Lisboa-Smith, Michelle Baer, Miranda Rosin, Morinville-St. Albert, Nate Glubish, Nathan Ip, Nicole Geohring, Rachel Notley, Rajan Sawhney, Red Deer-South, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, Samir Kayande, Sarah Elmeligi, Scott Sinclair, Sherwood Park, St. Albert, Strathcona-Sherwood Park, Taneen Rudyk, Tany Yao, Tim Hoven, United Conservative Party, Zulkifl Mujahid