Tag: Greg Clark

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Alberta Politics

Sarah Hoffman secures NDP nomination in Edmonton-Glenora, MLA Dave Hanson fends off two challengers in Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul

Sarah Hoffman Edmonton Glenora MLA Alberta Election 2019

Minster of Health and Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman has been nominated as the New Democratic Party candidate in Edmonton-Glenora for the next election. Hoffman was first elected as MLA for this district in 2015 with 68 percent of the vote, unseating two-term Progressive Conservative MLA Heather Klimchuk. She previously served two terms on Edmonton’s Public School Board including as chair from 2012 to 2015.

Hoffman has managed to navigate her role as Health Minister, a large and challenging department, and continue to serve as Premier Rachel Notley’s chief political lieutenant. As I have written before, she is a contender for strongest member of cabinet, and is on my list of cabinet ministers who I believe are future Premier material.

Dave Hanson MLA UCP Bonnyville Cold Lake St Paul
Dave Hanson

MLA Dave Hanson fended off two challengers to secure the United Conservative Party nomination in the new Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul district today. City of Cold Lake mayor Craig Copeland, who also ran for the PC Party in Bonnyville-Cold Lake in the 2015 election, and private school administrator Glenn Spiess, were unable to unseat Hanson in this contest.

Hanson was endorsed by former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean, who served as the MLA for Fort McMurray-Conklin until resigning earlier this year. Copeland had the endorsement of Fort McMurray-Cold Lake Conservative Member of Parliament David Yurdiga.

At a candidate forum held before the vote, all three candidates, including Hanson, expressed their support for the further privatization of health care in Alberta.

The nomination contest in this district initially looked as if it would be a contest between Hanson and Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr, but Cyr dropped out of the contest in April 2018.

Hanson was first elected in 2015 as the Wildrose MLA for Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills. He currently serves as UCP Indigenous Relations critic.

Upcoming Nomination Meetings

On September 13, 2018, UCP members in Calgary-Elbow will choose either past city council candidate Chris Davis or former party leadership candidate Doug Schweitzer as their candidate in the next election. Schweitzer is a lawyer who briefly considered running for the PC Party leadership in 2017 before dropping out and later running for the UCP leadership, where he placed third with 7.3 percent of the vote. He served as CEO of the Manitoba PC Party from 2008 to 2009 and was manager of Jim Prentice’s campaign for the leadership of the PC Party in 2014.

Doug Schweitzer Calgary Alberta Conservative
Doug Schweitzer

Schweitzer is endorsed by Chestermere-Rockyview UCP MLA Leela Aheer, former PC MLA and cabinet minister Jim Dinning, and former Calgary mayoral candidate Bill Smith. And Davis is endorsed by retired oil company executive Allan Markin and Kudatah leader George Clark.

Whoever wins this nomination will face Alberta Party MLA Greg Clark, who was first elected as MLA for Calgary-Elbow in 2015.

UCP members in Grande Prairie-Wapiti will choose their next candidate on September 14, 2018. With incumbent UCP MLA Wayne Drysdale not seeking re-election in 2019, party members will choose between Sexsmith town councillor, family literacy coordinator and former bible school registrar Kate Potter and former president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association Travis Toews.

Toews is being endorsed by Walter Paszkowski (MLA for Smoky River from 1989 to 1993, and MLA for Grande Prairie-Smoky from 1993 to 2001),Everett McDonald (MLA for Grande Prairie-Smoky from 2012 to 2015), and County of Grande Prairie councillor Peter Harris.

Former Liberal Party MLA Mo Elsalhy is expected to be nominated as the Alberta Party candidate in Edmonton-South West on September 15, 2018. Elsalhy was the MLA for Edmonton-McClung from 2004 and 2008 and ran for the party leadership in 2008. He attempted a comeback in 2012 but was unable unseat PC MLA David Xiao. During his time as MLA he served in various critic roles, including as Official Opposition critic for Justice and Public Safety, and Innovation and Science.

Danielle Larivee
Danielle Larivee

UCP members in Edmonton-Rutherford will select their next candidate on September 15, 2018.  Four candidates are seeking the nomination: MacEwan University assistant professor Rafat Alam, Shaun Collicott, Laine Larson, and Hannah Presakarchuk.

CBC reported in May 2018 that Larson has questioned vaccination science and has suggested parents may be harming their children by vaccinating them against disease. Larson is an independent contractor and the step-son of former Reform Party Member of Parliament Deborah Grey.

NDP MLA Danielle Larivee is expected to be nominated as her party’s candidate in Lesser Slave Lake on September 16, 2018. Larivee was first elected in 2015, unseating seven-term PC MLA Pearl Calahasen. Larivee currently serves as Minister of Children’s Services and Minister for the Status of Women.

Marvin Olsen expected to be chosen as the Alberta Party candidate in Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville on September 16, 2018. Olsen is the owner of Grim’s Contracting Ltd. Previously declared nomination candidate Campbell Pomeroy withdrew his name from the contest.

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-Klein – Julie Huston has withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest.

Calgary-Lougheed – Rachel Timmermans has been selected as the Alberta Party candidate in this southwest Calgary district. Timmermans, a Mount Royal University policy studies student, will face UCP leader Jason Kenney in the next election.

Calgary-North – Tommy Low is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-North East – Gurbachan Brar is seeking the NDP nomination in this new north east Calgary district. Brar is a former President of the Punjabi Likhari Sabha and a former broadcaster at RED FM 106.7.

Camrose – Kevin Smook is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Smook is councillor for Division 1 on Beaver County council, where he was first elected in 2013. He served as Reeve of Beaver County from 2014 to 2017.

Edmonton-Rutherford – Aisha Rauf defeated Arnold D’Souza to secure the Alberta Party nomination. She is an instructor and according to her website biography is waiting for her PhD Linguistics thesis defence. She was interviewed in a September 2017 episode of the Broadcast.

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!

Former NDP leader, school trustee Ray Martin releasing new book

Ray Martin NDP MLA School Trustee Edmonton Alberta
Ray Martin

Former MLA Ray Martin is releasing his memoir, “Made in Alberta: The Ray Martin Story” on September 27, 2018.

Martin is the former leader of the Alberta NDP and served as leader of the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly from 1984 to 1993. He was elected as the MLA for Edmonton-Norwood from 1982 to 1993 and Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview from 2004 to 2008, and ran for the provincial NDP in 9 separate elections between 1975 and 2012. He most recently served as a trustee on the Edmonton Public School Board representing Ward D from 2013 to 2017.

Martin’s decades worth of experiences in Alberta politics will certainly mean he has many interesting stories to tell. I am definitely adding this new book to my Fall 2018 reading list.

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Alberta Politics Daveberta Podcast

Episode 19: Quashing Pipelines and Political Dreams

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In this episode of the Daveberta Podcast, Dave Cournoyer and Ryan Hastman discuss the latest news in Alberta politics, including Premier Rachel Notley’s response to the quashing of approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline, how rumours of an early federal election could impact Alberta’s 2019 election, and Ryan’s favourite topic, the Alberta Party.

We discussed some of the latest candidate nomination news , including the Calgary-Fish Creek UCP Islamophobia controversy and upcoming contests in Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul, Edmonton-Glenora, Calgary-Elbow, and Edmonton-McClung. We also respond some of the great questions you sent us, including about the Calgary 2026 Olympic bid and thoughts on Notley’s pipeline speech at Calgary Pride.

The Daveberta Podcast is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB Financial. 

You can listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you find podcasts online. We’d love to hear what you think of this episode, so feel free to leave a review where you download, comment on the blog, Facebook or Twitter or send us an email at podcast@daveberta.ca.

Also, it would be a big help if you could leave a review where you download this podcast and share this episode with a friend.

We are always thankful to our hard working producer, Adam Rozenhart, who helps make each episode of the Daveberta Podcast sound so great.

Thank you for listening!

Recommended reading/watching

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Alberta Politics

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!

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Alberta Politics

It’s all about Derek… Speculation mounts that ousted UCP MLA will run as an Independent in 2019

Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt faced a bizarre 72 hour suspension from the Official Opposition caucus this week.

He’s “wasting his time” if he thinks he can run for a United Conservative Party nomination, says party leader Jason Kenney, but that isn’t stopping Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt from being a thorn in his former party’s side.

Jason Kenney

Once considered a rising star in Alberta’s conservative movement, the spectacular implosion of his political career has largely been self-inflicted.

He was refused re-entry into the UCP caucus in February 2018 following an embarrassing string of controversies, including being caught renting his taxpayer subsidized condo on AirBNB, being charged with a hit-and-run, and being charged with illegally killing a deer while he was hunting on private property without the landowner’s permission.

Now as an Independent-Conservative MLA, he sits in the furthest corner of the opposition side of the Legislature, beside sole remaining Progressive Conservative MLA Richard Starke and behind Alberta Party MLA Greg Clark. He was recently removed from the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, which he used to chair, and his motion to cut MLA pay by 5 percent received zero interest from the governing New Democratic Party or the official opposition UCP.

Leela Aheer Wildrose MLA Chestermere Rockyview
Leela Aheer

As I wrote last week, Fildebrandt is agitating in the newly redrawn Chestermere-Strathmore district, essentially accusing his former party of being afraid of an open nomination contest in the district. The theatrical former official opposition finance critic and Canadian Taxpayers Federation spokesperson accused the UCP of “Trudeau-style affirmative action” for not allowing him to run against popular Chestermere-Rockyview UCP MLA Leela Aheer, who has announced her plans to run in the new district.

Playing the victim of political correctness, Fildebrandt is trying to generate populist support for himself in the UCP membership. The strategy is not without merit. It worked two years ago.

When then-Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean attempted and failed to suspend Fildebrandt from the Official Opposition caucus in 2016, an uprising of party activists demanded he be allowed to rejoin. It was a fairly embarrassing 72-hours for the Wildrose Caucus and a clear evidence that Jean might not have had the full loyalty of his party.

But that was then and this is now. With Kenney’s intentions being pretty clear and Fildebrandt’s chances of rejoining the UCP before 2019 next to none, there is mounting speculation that he is preparing the ground to run as an Independent candidate against Aheer in the 2019 election.

Do Independents get elected in Alberta?

Clarence Copithorne

Independent candidates don’t usually get elected in Alberta, but there are exceptions. The last time an Independent MLA was elected in Alberta was in 1982, when two former Social Credit MLAs, Walt Buck and Raymond Speaker, were re-elected in Clover Bar and Little Bow. Previous to that, Clarence Copithorne was elected as an Independent MLA in the Banff-Cochrane district in 1967.

More recently, other MLAs who had been previously elected under party banners and tried to run for re-election as Independent candidates were former PC MLAs Kurt Gessell in Clover Bar-Fort Saskatchewan in 1993, Carl Benito in Edmonton-Mill Woods in 2012, former Liberal Dan Backs in Edmonton-Manning in 2008, and former Wildrose MLA Joe Anglin in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre in 2015. All were defeated.

Fringe separatist party renames itself… again

Alberta First Party has been renamed the Western Freedom Party of Alberta, according to Elections Alberta. The party was formed as the Alberta First Party in 1999 and renamed the Separation Party of Alberta from 2004 until 2013, when it was once again renamed the Alberta First Party.

The President and Chief Financial Officer of the Western Freedom Party are Bob Lefurgey and Heather McDonald Furcho. They were both previously reported to be collecting signatures to form another new separatist party that was to be called The Western Independence Party of Alberta.

Under its various names and forms, this party saw its best electoral results in the 2001 election in Cardston-Taber-Warner with leader John Reil earning 26 percent of the vote (Reil would later run for the leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party in 2004) and in a 2002 by-election in Wainwright with candidate Jerry Barber earning 25 percent of the vote (Barber is currently listed as the President of the UCP association in the Battle River-Wainwright district).

Update: As of July 3, 2018, the Western Freedom Party has been renamed the Freedom Conservative Party. As of July 18, 2018, Derek Fildebrandt has joined this party, becoming its first MLA.

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Alberta Politics

Best of Alberta Politics 2017: Rachel Notley, MLA for Edmonton-Strathcona (and Premier of Alberta)

Ryan Hastman, Rachel Notley and Dave Cournoyer (photography by Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta)
Ryan Hastman, Rachel Notley and Dave Cournoyer (photography by Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta)

Photo: Ryan Hastman, Rachel Notley and Dave Cournoyer (photography by Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta)

With more than 1,200 votes cast, Premier Rachel Notley was chosen as the Best Alberta MLA of 2017 in the Best of Alberta Politics 2017 survey.

(photography by Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta)

Daveberta Podcast co-hosts Dave Cournoyer and Ryan Hastman were thrilled to have the opportunity to present Notley with her award in-person in the Premier’s Office at the Legislature Building. We are grateful to Notley for making some time in her busy schedule to sit down with us for a short interview that will be included in the next episode of the Daveberta Podcast (which will be online on April 9, 2018).

Notley became Premier of Alberta in 2015 after her New Democratic Party’s swept the 44-year old Progressive Conservative Party out of office in a remarkable and historic election. First elected to the Legislature in 2008, Notley was re-elected as the MLA for Edmonton-Strathcona in 2012 and 2015. She was elected leader of Alberta’s NDP in 2014, one year before leading her party into government.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Alberta, and a law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School. Immediately before entering politics, Notley worked as a Labour Relations Officer with United Nurses of Alberta.

Notley is the daughter of Grant Notley, who led the NDP from 1968 to 1984 and served as the MLA for the northern Alberta district of Spirit River-Fairview from 1971 until 1984.

We would like to send our sincere thanks to everyone who voted in this survey and to the other award winners – David Shepherd, David Eggen, Greg Clark, and Jason Kenney – for making time to meet with us over the past few months.

The Best of Alberta Politics 2018 Survey will launch in December 2018.

Listen and subscribe to the Daveberta Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you find podcasts online.

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Alberta Politics

Will April 2018 mark a breakthrough for Alberta Party fundraising?

As anyone who is on a political party email list will be well aware of, March 31 marked the end of the first quarter of fundraising for Alberta’s political parties.

The years since the 2015 election have shown a tough competition between the governing New Democratic Party and the Wildrose and now United Conservative Party for best fundraising returns. But with former Edmonton mayor and Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Stephen Mandel now at helm of the third-place Alberta Party, the question will be how much money that party has been able to raise in the quarter that included the February 2018 leadership vote.

Former party leader Greg Clark succeeded in generating significant media attention for the Alberta Party after the last election but the party struggled to raise money under Clark’s leadership. The party raised just over $50,400 in 2016 and $171,411 in 2017, compared to $1.7 million raised by the NDP in 2017.

As a well-known politician with strong ties to Edmonton’s business community, fundraising is not likely to be one of Mandel’s weaknesses. In his bid re-election as the PC MLA for Edmonton-Whitemud in 2015, Mandel’s campaign raised $268,965. And, if one upcoming fundraising event suggests, his network of supporters includes some big fundraising names from the old PC Party network.

Former PC Party fundraisers John Chomiak and Brian Heidecker, along with multi-party donor Marc de La Bruyère are the names included in a recent fundraising email soliciting the sale of $200 tickets to a reception with Mandel on April 11 in Edmonton.

Chomiak is an experienced fundraiser with deep ties to the now-defunct PC Party and past leadership candidates Ed Stelmach and Gary Mar. Heidecker served as a PC Party Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer for Doug Griffiths’ 2011 campaign for the PC Party leadership. de La Bruyère has made significant contributions to multiple parties in the past. According to Elections Alberta records, de La Bruyère donated $6,000 to the PC Party in 2015, $1,500 to the Liberal Party in 2016, and $4,000 to the Alberta Party in the final quarter of 2017.

The results of the first quarter of fundraising for 2018 should be released by Elections Alberta before the end of April.

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Alberta Politics

Monday Night Candidate Nomination Update

In Photo: Jason Luan, Mauri Stiff, Deron Bilous, Thomas Dang, Mark Smith, Marc Slingerland
In Photo: Jason Luan, Mauri Stiff, Deron Bilous, Thomas Dang, Mark Smith, Marc Slingerland

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

Airdrie-Cochrane: Airdrie realtor Mauri Stiff is seeking the United Conservative Party nomination.

Banff-Kananaskis – Miranda Rosin and restaurant owner Scott Winograd are seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-Acadia – NDP MLA Brandy Payne announced last week that she will not be seeking re-election in 2019. Payne was first elected in 2015 when she unseated former Justice Minister Jonathan Denis. She has served as Associate Minister of Health since 2016. David Guenter is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-Beddington – Randy Kerr is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-Elbow – Lawyer and former UCP leadership candidate Doug Schweitzer is seeking the UCP nomination in Calgary-Elbow. Schweitzer placed third in last year’s UCP leadership contest and if he wins his party’s nomination, he will face off against Alberta Party MLA Greg Clark in the next election.

Calgary-Foothills – Former Progressive Conservative MLA Jason Luan is seeking the UCP nomination. Luan served as MLA for Calgary-Hawkwood from 2012 to 2015, when he was unseated by NDP candidate Michael Connolly. The Foothills district is currently represented by UCP MLA Prasad Panda, who was first elected as a Wildrose candidate in a 2016 by-election to replace former MLA Jim Prentice.

Calgary-Hays – Two-term MLA Ric McIver is seeking re-election as the UCP candidate. McIver was elected in 2012 and 2015 as a Progressive Conservative and sought that party’s leadership in 2014.

Calgary-Klein – Two time Wildrose candidate Jeremy Nixon is seeking the UCP nomination. Nixon ran in this district under the Wildrose banner in 2012 and 2015. He is the brother of Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre MLA Jason Nixon.

Calgary-Piegan – Andrew Griffin and Jeevan Mangat are seeking the UCP nomination. Mangat was the Wildrose Party candidate in Calgary-Fort in the 2015 election.

Calgary-West – MLA Mike Ellis is seeking re-election under the UCP banner. Ellis was elected in a 2014 by-election and the 2015 general election as a PC candidate.

Cardston-Siksika – Joseph Schow and Marc Slingerland are challenging MLA Dave Schneider for the UCP nomination in this newly redrawn southern rural district that largely covers the areas included in the current Cardston-Taber-Warner and Little Bow districts. Slingerland was a Christian Heritage Party candidate in the 2006, 2008 and 2011 federal elections and the 2015 federal by-election in Foothills.

Drayton Valley-Devon – MLA Mark Smith is seeking the UCP nomination. Smith was first elected in 2015 as a Wildrose Party candidate.

Drumheller-Stettler – Nathan Horner is seeking the UCP nomination in this district, which is currently represented by UCP MLA Rick Strankman.

Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview – NDP MLA Deron Bilous is seeking his party’s nomination to run for re-election. Bilous was first elected in this district in 2012 and was re-elected in 2015. He was one of four NDP incumbents to run in the 2015 election and currently serves as Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

Edmonton-South – MLA Thomas Dang is running for the NDP nomination in this newly redrawn southwest Edmonton district. Dang was first elected as MLA for Edmonton-Southwest in 2015. Edmonton-South includes most of the east half of the district he currently represents. Running for the UCP nomination in this district is Payman Parseyan. Parseyan ran in the 2017 Edmonton municipal election in Ward 9, placing fourth with 15.3 percent of the vote.

Edmonton-Whitemud – Nawaz Panhwer is seeking the UCP nomination. Panhwer is Infrastructure Manager for the Town of Redwater and the former VP Finance of the PC Association in the district. His nomination is being endorsed by MPs Matt Jeneoroux, Kerry Diotte, and Michael Cooper, and former PC MLAs Naresh Bhardwaj and Sohail Quadri.

Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville – Campbell Pomeroy is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.

Leduc-Beaumont – Sharon Smith is seeking the UCP nomination. Smith ran for the Wildrose Party in this district in the 2015 election. She placed second with 29 percent of the vote.

Lethbridge-West – George Rigaux and Rick Dempsey are seek the UCP nomination. Rigaux was the chief organizer for the Reform Party in British Columbia ahead of the 1997 federal election. He is reported to have resigned from that position before the election after the media reported him making controversial comments about the role played by the Sikh community in party nominations that year.

Morinville-St. Albert – Gibbons town councillor Amber Harris has announced plans to seek the UCP nomination. Harris made news in November 2017 when she raised concerns on Facebook about the construction of gender-neutral washrooms at the Sturgeon Composite High School.

Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin – Business owner Sandra Kim has announced plans to seek the UCP nomination.

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.

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Alberta Politics

Best of Alberta Politics 2017: Greg Clark, MLA for Calgary-Elbow

Photo: Ryan Hastman, Greg Clark, and Dave Cournoyer.
Photo: Ryan Hastman, Greg Clark, and Dave Cournoyer.

Photo: Ryan Hastman, Greg Clark, and Dave Cournoyer.

After the dust settled and more than 1,200 votes were tallied, Dave Cournoyer and Ryan Hastman were delighted to present Greg Clark with the Best Opposition MLA of 2017 award from the Best of Alberta 2017 survey.

Ryan Hastman, Greg Clark, and Dave Cournoyer

Clark was first elected as the MLA for Calgary-Elbow in the May 2015 election, becoming the first candidate to be elected under the Alberta Party banner. As party leader and a one-man caucus for most of the past three years, Clark was known for punching above his weight as an opposition critic and was sometimes referred to by political watchers as the leader of the unofficial opposition.

He currently serves as the House Leader for the now 3-MLA Alberta Party Caucus and sits on the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund and the Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future.

We would also like to recognize the runners-up in this category, Nathan Cooper, UCP MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills and David Swann, Liberal MLA for Calgary-Mountain View.

Listen and subscribe to the Daveberta Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you find podcasts online.

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Oh, Grant Hunter. Where do I start?

Grant Hunter and Jason Kenney (source: Facebook)
Grant Hunter and Jason Kenney (source: Facebook)

Photo: Cardston-Taber-Warner MLA MLA Grant Hunter and UCP leader Jason Kenney. (source: Facebook)

While announcing his plans to run for re-election in the new Taber-Warner district, United Conservative Party MLA Grant Hunter is reported to have compared the New Democratic Party’s 2015 election win to the 2004 Tsunami that ravaged southeast Asia and is estimated to have killed upwards of 280,000 people.

Hunter offered an apology to anyone was offended by his comments, but this is just the sort of ridiculous anti-NDP hyperbole that we have become accustomed to hearing from some Wildrose/UCP MLAs over the past three years.

But when talking about his decision to run in the new Taber-Warner district, rather than challenging his caucus colleague Dave Schneider for the UCP nomination in the new Cardston-Siksika district, he made another statement that caught my attention.

“…the NDP have put us in a bad position in this southern part here, in that when the boundaries were redrawn, they split Cardston-Taber-Warner into two different ridings.”

The Cardston-Taber-Warner district Hunter currently represents will see significant changes when the next election is called. While he may have legitimate concerns about the redistribution of the electoral boundaries in southern Alberta, it is misleading to blame the NDP for putting him “…in a bad position…”

The new district boundaries for the 2019 election were drawn by a commission composed of an independent chairperson (Justice Myra Bielby), two NDP Caucus appointees (Bruce McLeod of Acme and Jean Munn of Calgary) and two Wildrose Caucus appointees (Laurie Livingstone of Calgary and Gwen Day of Carstairs). The commission was appointed in October 2016 and held public hearings and received hundreds of submissions from Albertans throughout 2017.

Of the Wildrose appointees, Livingstone supported the final report recommending the new electoral map, including the changes to Hunter’s district, and Day submitted a minority report opposing changes to rural district boundaries.

The bi-partisan commission submitted recommendations for a new electoral maps to the Legislative Assembly for debate and it were voted into law by 40 NDP MLAs and Alberta Party MLA Greg Clark last December.

The process used to redraw Alberta’s electoral boundaries certainly has its flaws (I will write more about this soon), but with Hunter’s own party’s handpicked appointees deeply involved in the process it is misleading for him to blame the party in power for changes he might not like.

Note: 25 MLAs voted against the new electoral map, including two NDP MLAs, Colin Piquette and Eric Rosendahl.

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Alberta Politics

MLA Karen McPherson to endorse Rick Fraser in Alberta Party leadership race, sources confirm

Karen McPherson, Alberta Party MLA for Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill.
Karen McPherson, Alberta Party MLA for Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill.

One-third of the Alberta Party Caucus is expected to endorse Alberta Party leadership candidate Rick Fraser this morning, campaign sources confirm.

Rick Fraser MLA Alberta Party Calgary-South East
Rick Fraser

Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill MLA Karen McPherson is one of three Alberta Party MLAs in the Legislative Assembly. She was first elected as a New Democratic Party MLA in 2015 and joined the Alberta Party in 2017.

Fraser was elected as the Progressive Conservative MLA for Calgary-South East in 2012 and 2015. He briefly joined the United Conservative Party caucus before joining the Alberta Party leadership race in January 2018.

Following former leader Greg Clark’s resignation in Nov. 2017, the race flew largely under the radar of most Alberta politics watchers until former PC cabinet minister and three-term Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel threw his name into the contest. Calgary lawyer and federal Liberal official Kara Levis was the first candidate to join the race in late 2017.

By all accounts the race has been civil and the interactions between the three leadership campaigns have been friendly and cordial.

Membership sales for the leadership vote were cut off yesterday at noon. Voting will take place online from Feb. 25 to 27, 2018.

Results of the leadership race will be announced at an event at the Oasis Centre in Edmonton on Feb. 27. A results viewing party will be also be held at the Craft Beer Market in downtown Calgary.

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Alberta Politics

It’s an Alberta Party leadership race: Kara Levis, Rick Fraser… Stephen Mandel

Stephen Mandel Alberta Party Leadership
Stephen Mandel

Photo: Former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel when he announced his plans to retire from municipal politics in 2013.

The rumours have been circulating for weeks, and they now appear to be confirmed.

Dr Bob Turner NDP Edmonton-Whitemud By-election
Dr. Bob Turner

Stephen Mandel is jumping back into provincial politics by launching a campaign for the leadership of the Alberta Party. The 72-year old former Edmonton mayor and provincial cabinet minister is expected to officially join the race on Jan. 10, 2018 at an “announcement about Alberta’s future” at the Boyle Street Community Hall.

Mandel was a popular mayor from 2004 to 2013 and briefly served as the Progressive Conservative MLA for Edmonton-Whitemud and Minister of Health from 2014 to 2015. Despite his largely successful three-terms as mayor, his short and unremarkable time in the provincial cabinet was ended when New Democratic Party candidate and Cross Cancer Institute oncologist Bob Turner unseated Mandel in the 2015 election.

He was rumoured to have considered a run for the PC Party leadership in 2017, but instead made a last-minute endorsement of Richard Starke. Since then, Mandel has been seen as a driving force behind Alberta Together, the political action committee led by former PC Party president Katherine O’Neill. AT is believed to have been influential in pushing former leader Greg Clark to step down as leader ahead of the party’s annual general meeting in November 2017.

Both Mandel and O’Neill were seen as star candidates for the PC Party in the 2015 election and were featured in online and television ads produced for the campaign.

Mandel’s installation as Chancellor of Concordia University of Edmonton on Nov. 30, 2017 makes the timing of his reentry into political life confusing, but his well-known dislike for the Wildrose Party and his cool relationship with former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Ottawa Conservatives – which would extend to Jason Kenney – could be what is driving him. He will certainly add some interest to the Alberta Party leadership race.

Former UCP MLA enters the Alberta Party race

Rick Fraser Alberta Party
Rick Fraser

The news of Mandel’s entry into the race broke on the same day it was reported that Calgary-South East MLA Rick Fraser will join the Alberta Party and enter the leadership race. Fraser’s candidacy means he will join party MLAs Greg Clark and Karen McPherson to form a caucus of three. McPherson joined the party shortly after she left the NDP caucus in Oct. 2017.

Fraser was elected as MLA for Calgary-South East in 2012 and 2015 as a Progressive Conservative and left the United Conservative Party Caucus in July 2017 citing concerns about the party’s positions on climate change and social issues.

He served as Associate Minister of Recovery and Reconstruction of High River following the floods that devastated southern Alberta in 2013. And he is the former president of CUPE Local 3421, which until April 2009 represented two-thirds of the province’s paramedics.

Kara Levis was the first candidate in the race

The two men joined the contest almost one month after Kara Levis, a Calgary-based commercial lawyer and President of the National Women’s Liberal Commission, became the first candidate to enter the leadership race. Levis is a co-founder of Ask Her, an organization dedicated to encouraging more women candidates to run in the 2017 Calgary Municipal Election.


Huffman is back

Jacob Huffman Alberta Liberal Leadership
Jacob Huffman

Also declared as a candidate in the race is jokester Jacob Huffman, whose previous attempt to run for the leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party was rebuffed.

His top campaign promises include returning “Redford supporters to positions of power and influence” and stimulating “economic growth by building the greatest Sky Place ever.”

It is unclear if the Alberta Party is prepared to allow such bold ideas in their leadership race.

The Alberta Party leadership race will take place on Feb. 27, 2018. The deadline for candidates to join the race is January 15, 2018.

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Alberta Politics Daveberta Podcast

Episode 3: Best of Alberta Politics 2017

Winners of the Best of Alberta Politics 2017 Survey: David Eggen, David Shepherd, Rachel Notley and Greg Clark.
Winners of the Best of Alberta Politics 2017 Survey: David Eggen, David Shepherd, Rachel Notley and Greg Clark.

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In the latest episode of The Daveberta Podcast, Ryan and I discuss Kara Levis‘ entry into the Alberta Party leadership race, the results of the Calgary-Lougheed by-election, Conservative MPs being challenged for their nominations, and we reveal the winners of the Best of Alberta Politics 2017 Survey.

With more than 1,200 votes cast in two rounds of voting, we were proud to announce and discuss the results of the Best of Alberta Politics 2017 Survey on this episode:

  • Biggest Issue of 2017: The economy and jobs
  • Best political play of 2017: The formation of the United Conservative Party
  • Best Opposition MLA of 2017: Greg Clark, Alberta Party MLA for Calgary-Elbow
  • Best Cabinet Minister of 2017: David Eggen, Minister of Education
  • Up and comer to watch in 2018: David Shepherd, NDP MLA for Edmonton-Centre
  • Best Alberta MLA of 2017: Rachel Notley, Premier of Alberta and NDP MLA for Edmonton-Strathcona

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and wherever you find podcasts online.

We’d love to hear what you think of the podcast, so feel free to leave a positive review and share the podcast with your friends and family. Also feel free to leave a comment on this blog, Facebook or Twitter or send us an email at podcast@daveberta.ca.

We’d also like to send a big thanks to our producer, Adam Rozenhart, for his help in making this podcast a reality.

We will be back in January 2018!

Merry Christmas!

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Alberta Politics

Vote in the Best of Alberta Politics 2017 Survey (Round 2!)

Best of Alberta Politics 2017 Survey Photo: Jessica Littlewood, Greg Clark, Shannon Phillips, Nathan Cooper, and Sarah Hoffman.
Photo: Jessica Littlewood, Greg Clark, Shannon Phillips, Nathan Cooper, and Sarah Hoffman.

In our most recent episode of The Daveberta Podcast, Ryan and I asked you to help us shape our final episode of 2017 by voting in the Best of Alberta Politics 2017 Survey.

More than 300 of you responded to the survey last week with your choices for the biggest political players and defining political issues of 2017. We tallied all the responses from that survey and we are now asking you to vote on the top 3 choices in each category.

Voting will be open until 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 21, 2017 and we will reveal and discuss the results in the final podcast episode of 2017, which we will be recording on the same day.

Here are the top 3 contenders who you can vote for in Round 2 of the Best of Alberta Politics 2017 Survey:

Who was the best Alberta MLA of 2017? – Vote

  • Premier Rachel Notley, NDP MLA for Edmonton-Strathcona
  • Greg Clark, Alberta Party MLA for Calgary-Elbow
  • David Shepherd, NDP MLA for Edmonton-Centre

An honourable mention to Sandra Jansen, the NDP MLA for Calgary-North West, who placed a strong fourth in the first round of voting.

What was the biggest political issue in 2017 in Alberta politics? – Vote

  • Gay-Straight Alliances
  • The Economy and Jobs
  • Oil Pipelines

Who was the best Alberta cabinet minister of 2017? – Vote

  • Sarah Hoffman, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Seniors
  • David Eggen, Minister of Education
  • Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks

Honourable mentions to Danielle Larivee, Minister of Children’s Services, and Deron Bilous, Minister of Trade and Economic Development, who placed a strong fourth and fifth in the first round of voting.

Who was the Best Opposition MLA for 2017? – Vote

  • Greg Clark, Alberta Party MLA for Calgary-Elbow
  • Nathan Cooper, UCP MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills
  • David Swann, Liberal MLA for Calgary-Mountain View

Honourable mentions to Richard Starke, the Independent PC MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminster, and Brian Jean, the UCP MLA for Fort McMurray-Conklin, who placed a strong fourth and fifth in the first round of voting.

Who is the up and comer for 2018? – Vote

  • Jessica Littlewood, NDP MLA for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville
  • Jason Kenney, UPC MLA for Calgary-Lougheed and Leader of the Official Opposition
  • David Shepherd, NDP MLA for Edmonton-Centre

An honourable mention to Brian Malkinson, the NDP MLA for Calgary-Currie, who placed a strong fourth in the first round of voting.

What was the biggest political play of 2017 in Alberta politics? – Voting Closed

In the first round of voting, 59 percent of you chose the creation of the United Conservative Party as the biggest political play of 2017. Because of this was the choice of a clear majority, we have declared this result as the winner in this category. Congrats, UCP.

Other notable choices in his category were Premier Rachel Notley’s pipeline tour, Greg Clark’s being forced out of the Alberta Party leadership and the NDP government’s Bill 24: An Act to Support Gay-Straight Alliances in Schools.

Photo: Jessica Littlewood, Greg Clark, Shannon Phillips, Nathan Cooper, and Sarah Hoffman.

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Alberta Politics

NDP expands Third Party Advertiser law to cover ‘Political Action Committee’ activities

Labour Minister Christina Gray. Photo from premierofalberta on Flickr.
Labour Minister Christina Gray. Photo from premierofalberta on Flickr.

Photo: Labour Minister Christina Gray. (Photo from premierofalberta on Flickr)

Labour Minister Christina Gray , who is responsible for the Alberta NDP government’s democratic renewal initiatives, introduced Bill 32: An Act to Strengthen and Protect Democracy in Alberta into the Legislative Assembly on December 4, 2017.

David Swann Liberal MLA Calgary-Mountain View
David Swann

The bill pulls ‘Political Action Committees’ under the Election Finances and Contribution Disclosure Act by expanding the activities covered in the Third Party Advertisers section beyond just advertising. If passed, the law would now cover typical PAC activities, such as selling memberships, fundraising, collecting or compiling information about voters, and other administrative activity for a party, candidate, leadership contestant or nomination contestant.

The bill would limit individual PAC spending to $150,000 on political activities in the three months ahead of Alberta’s fixed election period and  to $150,000 during the election period. Only $3,000 of the $150,000 would be able to be used to promote or oppose the election of one or more candidates in any one electoral district.

The bill would also prevent collusion between PACs, preventing groups of PACs from pooling their funds and resources. The bill would create an independent Election Commissioner who would be responsible for “investigating complaints and recommending prosecutions.”

The bill falls short of limiting annual donations to PACs and banning corporate, union and out-of-province donations, which a private members’ bill introduced by Liberal MLA David Swann and championed by leader David Khan proposed to do.

Rick Strankman Alberta United Conservative Drumheller Stettler MLA
Rick Strankman

“Simply put, our bill is a better bill and will do a better job of getting dark money out of politics,” Khan said in a press release responding to Bill 32.

As an expanded list of PAC-type activities now fall under the province’s election finance laws governing third party advertisers, it is my understanding that all donations to registered PACs will be disclosed to Elections Alberta, eliminating the ‘dark money‘ element of PACs in Alberta.

Bill 32 also makes a number of amendments to the Election Act, including the ability of Elections Alberta to collect information of 16 and 17-year-olds in order to automatically register them to vote when they turn 18, extend advance voting by one day, and improve mobile voting stations.

Gray’s Bill 32 also incorporates some changes around government advertising during election periods that were included in a private members’ bill introduced by Drumheller-Stettler UCP MLA Rick Strankman in 2015.

Then a Wildrose MLA, Strankman’s Bill 203: Election (Restrictions on Government Advertising) Amendment Act was referred to the Select Special Ethics and Accountability Committee in November 2015, but was never formally dealt with before the dysfunctional committee disbanded in September 2016.

With only three days remaining in the Legislative session, it is expected this bill will pass third-reading before MLA’s break for the holiday season on Thursday, December 7, 2017.

Alberta Party leadership race extended

Greg Clark Alberta Party MLA
Greg Clark

We have heard a lot of talk but have not seen much activity in the Alberta Party leadership race since current leader Greg Clark announced he would step down 25 days ago. The party released the rules of its leadership race on December 4 and, perhaps realizing the clock is ticking, moved the date of the leadership vote from February 7 to February 27.

Ron Dunseith will serve as Chief Returning Officer for the Alberta Party’s 2018 leadership race. Dunseith served as President of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1999 to 2002 and the Chief Returning Officer for the party’s 2017 leadership campaign. He also served as campaign co-chairman of Dave Hancock‘s campaign during the PC Party’s 2006 leadership election.

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Alberta Politics Daveberta Podcast

Episode 1: Calgary-Lougheed by-election, Alberta Party leadership and more.

Alberta's Legislature

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Daveberta Podcast Alberta PoliticsThe Calgary-Lougheed by-election, the Alberta Party leadership race, a new ThinkHQ poll, Rachel Notley as Canada’s Pipeline Paladin, and changing electoral boundaries are just some of the topics covered in the latest episode of The Daveberta Podcast with Dave Cournoyer and Ryan Hastman (recorded on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017).

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and wherever you find podcasts online.

We’d love to hear what you think of the podcast, so feel free to leave a review where you download it, leave a comment on this blog, Facebook or Twitter or send us an email at podcast@daveberta.ca.

We’d also like to send a special thanks to our producer, Adam Rozenhart, for his help in making this podcast a reality (and making us sound so good!).

Thanks!

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