Tag: Jeevan Mangat

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Alberta Politics

Colleen Quintal nominated as NDP candidate in Cardston-Siksika, Alberta Party names two more candidates

With three days left until Alberta’s provincial election begins, most parties are still filling their slates of candidates. The United Conservative Party is the only party currently with a full slate of 87 candidates. The Alberta NDP have named 84 candidates and are expected to complete their slate of 87 by Sunday, April 30.

The NDP have nominated Colleen Quintal in Cardston-Siksika. Quintal is President of the NDP constituency association in Lethbridge-East and works as a staff representative with CUPE in Lethbridge.

The NDP are expected to name candidates this weekend in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche, Grande Prairie-Wapiti and Taber-Warner.

Here are the other recent updates to the list of Alberta election candidates:

  • The Alberta Party has named Wayne Rufiange is as their candidate in Morinville-St. Albert. Rufiange sought the Alberta Party nomination in the riding in 2019, but was defeated by former St. Albert city councillor Neil Korotash. He instead ran in Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock in the last election.
  • Brad Friesen is running for the Alberta Party in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo.
  • The Independence Party has nominated Rodney Bowen as their candidate in Central Peace-Notley.
  • The Wildrose Independence Party has nominated interim party leader Jeevan Mangat in Innisfail-Sylvan Lake and Mike Lorusso in Highwood.

Related updates

Total nominated candidates

Here is the list of total nominated Alberta election candidates as of this morning:

  • United Conservative Party: 87/87
  • New Democratic Party 84/87
  • Green Party: 31/87
  • Alberta Party: 18/87
  • Liberal Party: 11/87
  • Independence Party of Alberta: 7/87
  • Advantage Party of Alberta: 3/87
  • Communist Party: 3/87
  • Wildrose Independence Party: 2/87
  • Buffalo Party 1/87

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Daveberta Substack Podcast Alberta Politics Election Dave CournoyerSubscribe to the Daveberta Substack to read my latest Alberta election coverage, including what I learned from years of tracking election candidate nominations and a recent Daveberta Podcast interview with Edmonton Public School Board chairperson Trisha Estabrooks.

I am planning to share most of my writing for the upcoming Alberta election on Substack, so don’t miss out!

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Alberta Politics

Danielle Smith wins Brooks-Medicine Hat by-election with 55%

With 75 of 76 polls reporting, Premier Danielle Smith has won the by-election in Brooks-Medicine Hat.

Here are the results at the time this post was published:

  • Danielle Smith UCP – 5,768 (55.5%)
  • Gwendoline Dirk NDP – 2,512 (24.2%)
  • Barry Morishita AP – 1,871 (18%)
  • Bob Blayone IPA – 200 (1.9%)
  • Jeevan Mangat WRIP – 49 (0.5%)

I’ll share some more in-depth analysis on the Daveberta Substack on Thursday, but it’s worth noting that, while a win is win, Smith finished with only 55 per cent support in one of the most conservative parts of the province.

The NDP’s Gwendoline Dirk finished a distant second overall but appears to have won the vote in the City of Medicine Hat, a sign of the growing urban-rural divide in Alberta politics.

Third place is not where Alberta Party leader and former Brooks mayor Barry Morishita wanted to end the night, but 18 per cent in the leader’s riding is not the worst result for a party that is polling at around 3 per cent in province-wide polls.

But more soon on the Daveberta Substack (so subscribe!)

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Alberta Politics

MLA Roger Reid drops out of Livingstone-Macleod UCP nomination race, Nadine Wellwood could be acclaimed as candidate

Livingstone-Macleod MLA Roger Reid and Premier Danielle Smith United Conservative Party nomination
Roger Reid and Danielle Smith (source: Roger Reid/Instagram)

The big nomination news this week is MLA Roger Reid‘s announcement that he has dropped out of the United Conservative Party nomination contest in Livingstone-Macleod.

Reid was first elected in 2019 and was undeterred from running for the nomination again even when it looked like he would face new party leader Danielle Smith in the contest. But then Reid suddenly dropped out on the morning after the October 31 candidate entry deadline.

Statement from our MLA Roger Reid:
November 1, 2022
After much personal wrestling and conversations with family and friends I have decided to withdraw my name from the United Conservative Party nomination for Livingstone Macleod. While I hoped to serve a second term, I no longer feel it is possible for me to do so.
It has been a tremendous honour to represent the people of this riding as the MLA. I have discovered many amazing places so close to home and it has been my privilege to meet with constituents from High River to the Crowsnest over the last 4 years. I will continue to be focused on the needs of Livingstone Macleod through the end of my term.
The last couple of years have been particularly challenging for our province. Neither I, nor our government have been perfect, but I believe the work we have done has put Alberta back on track. We are stronger and in a better position to weather the current storms than we were four years ago.
There is still work to do. To move forward we must be a united movement to ensure a strong conservative government continues to lead the province. It is essential for our true prosperity.
As I end my term, I will ensure that the concerns and the needs of Livingstone Macleod are kept in front of our Premier and her cabinet until the next election is called.
Thank you for allowing me privilege of representing you.
In Service,
Roger W. Reid
MLA – Livingstone Macleod

Unless there is another surprise candidate in the race, it looks like Nadine Wellwood could be acclaimed as the UCP candidate in the rural southwest Alberta riding.

Danielle Smith and Nadine Wellwood United Conservative Party Take Back Alberta
Premier Danielle Smith and Nadine Wellwood at the Take Back Alberta hospitality suite at the UCP AGM (source: Nadine Wellwood/Twitter)

Wellwood was a candidate for the right-wing People’s Party of Canada in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections and the 2021 Senate nominee election. She is a prolific sharer of internet conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and globalist plots on her social media, and she also participated in the blockade at Coutts border crossing earlier this year.

The UCP has not announced if it has accepted Wellwood’s application to seek the UCP nomination in Livingstone-Macleod.

Well-known conservationist Kevin Van Tighem is expected to be chosen as the Alberta NDP candidate at a November 23 nomination meeting. Van Tighem is the former Superintendent of Banff National Park, author of Our Place: Changing the Nature of Alberta and Wild Roses Are Worth It: Reimagining the Alberta Advantage, and an outspoken opponent of open-pit coal mining on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

NDP drop Calgary-Klein candidate

Marilyn North Peigan Alberta NDP Calgary-Klein nomination
Marilyn North Peigan

Marilyn North Peigan is no longer the NDP candidate in Calgary-Klein.

NDP provincial secretary Brandon Stevens issued a statement about her candidate status after North Peigan retweeted a video clip of City Councillor Dan McLean with an accompanying tweet alleging he was corrupt and that one of his family members was a corrupt board member for the Calgary Stampede.

Stevens also stated that while McLean’s actions in the original video circulating online are racist and unacceptable, the statements made by North Peigan towards his family and the Stampede are not appropriate and not reflective of the views of the Alberta NDP.

North Peigan defeated Heather Eddy and Mattie McMillan to win the NDP nomination in March 2022.

The Calgary-Klein riding is currently represented by UCP MLA Jeremy Nixon and is seen as a potential NDP pick up in the next election.

Other UCP nomination updates

  • Past city council candidate Lana Palmer is seeking the UCP nomination Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview.
  • Construction company owner Dave Guenter is running for UCP nomination in Calgary-Fish Creek. Incumbent UCP MLA Richard Gotfried is not running for re-election.
  • Premier Smith says it’s up to Drew Barnes to decide whether he wants to rejoin the UCP Caucus and seek the party’s nomination to run for re-election. Barnes was first elected as MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat in 2012 and was one of four Wildrose MLAs not to cross the floor with Smith in 2014. He was kicked out of the UCP Caucus in 2021 after becoming one of former Premier Jason Kenney‘s biggest internal critics.
  • Two-term MLA Ron Orr is not running for re-election and Jennifer Johnson and paramedic Dusty Myshrall have stepped forward to run for the UCP nomination in Lacombe-Ponoka. Johnson’s social media feed shows her recently attending events organized by the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project and COVID-19 skeptical Canadians For Truth group.

Brooks-Medicine Hat by-election

Advance voting in the Brooks-Medicine Hat by-election is open until Saturday, November 5. On Election Day, November 8, voting stations will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The five candidates contesting the by-election, UCP leader Danielle Smith, NDP leader Gwendoline Dirk, Alberta Party leader Barry Morishita, Wildrose Independence Party interim leader Jeevan Mangat, and Independence Party candidate Bob Blayone, participated in a forum organized by the Alberta Teachers’ Association Grasslands Local No. 34.

Total nominated candidates

The NDP have nominated candidates in 62 of Alberta’s 87 ridings. The UCP have candidates named in 36 ridings and the Green Party has 18 candidates. The Alberta Party has nominated 3 candidates.

Here are the scheduled upcoming nominations:

  • November 8 – Calgary-Peigan NDP
  • November 8 – Calgary-South East NDP
  • November 16 – Calgary-West NDP
  • November 20 – Airdrie-East NDP
  • November 23 – Livingstone-Macleod NDP

I am maintaining a list of candidates running for party nominations, so if you are seeking a nomination and would like you name added to the list please let me know. Thanks!

(Subscribe to the Daveberta Substack and get my bi-weekly Alberta politics column delivered straight into your email inbox)

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A Reverse Kudatah! Hinman loyalists retake control of the Wildrose Independence Party

Paul Hinman (source: Twitter)

There ain’t no party like a fringe right-wing Alberta separatist party.

Less than two months after Paul Hinman was ousted as leader of the Wildrose Independence Party and replaced by interim leader Jeevan Mangat, it appears that a counter-kudatah (known outside Alberta as a “coup d’état”) has pushed out Hinman’s opponents.

An online statement and email to WIP members from former Wexit Alberta interim leader Kathy Flett, who identifies herself as the WIP VP Communications, says a false narrative is being put out by the former Provincial Board after a well-attended annual general meeting on July 23, 2022 in Red Deer.

“There have been repeated claims that a “Minority Group of 40 or so” members “Took Over” the AGM,” Flett writes. “The Facts tell a different story.”

“This weekend in Red Deer, history was made as Wildrose members stood steadfast for what they knew was right. Their tenacity and persistence forced those who thought they should remain on the board to finally walk out in shame.”

“What occurred yesterday is a sad example of what happens when a small group of individuals completely lose touch with the will of the majority.”

“The Wildrose Independence Party belongs to its members, not the Party Board of Governors, and, therefore, Rick Northey, Wes Caldwell, Bill Jones, et al, are no longer Governors of the Wildrose Independence Party.”

“As of this moment, they still control the party’s website and email system. As such, we advise you to disregard any communications originating from “Wildrosenation.com” until we’ve confirmed with you that it is, again, from us.”

According to Flett’s statement, the newly elected board includes President Angela Tabak (the party’s president in Cardston-Siksika), Chief Finance Officer Allan Wesley, and Secretary Gord Elliot (who until recently was President of the United Conservative Party constituency association in Calgary-North West).

The takeover appears to have pushed out President Rick Northey (the former President of the Wildrose Party association in Airdrie) and CFO Bill Jones.

As of this afternoon, the party’s website showed most of the party’s Board of Governors positions as vacant but still listed Northey and Jones, as well as former Conservative MP Rob Anders and separatist activist Bob Lefurgey as members of the party’s board.

It appears as though Hinman has been reinstated as party leader but Elections Alberta still lists Mangat as the party’s interim leader, so it’s not totally clear.

Hinman originally stepped into the role on an interim basis in 2020 but later became the party’s permanent leader when no one else ran for the leadership. He was leader of the Wildrose Alliance from 2005 to 2009 and was elected to the Legislature twice – as MLA for Cardston-Taber-Warner from 2004 to 2008 and MLA for Calgary-Glenmore from 2009 to 2012. He briefly mounted a campaign for the UCP leadership in 2017 but withdrew before the nomination deadline and endorsed Jason Kenney.

The Wildrose Independence Party was created in 2020 as a merger of the Wexit Alberta group created after the federal Liberals were re-elected in 2019 and the Freedom Conservative Party, which was previously known as the Alberta First Party, Separation Party of Alberta, and the Western Freedom Party.

The WIP has suffered from poor fundraising returns in recent months, raising a measly $7,613 in the second quarter of 2022, and low support in the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche by-election.

A recent push by UCP leadership candidates Danielle Smith, Brian Jean and Todd Loewen toward all out separatism or some form of provincial autonomy has given a second wind to Alberta separatists but sucked the wind out of the sails of the actual separatist parties.

Recent merger talks with the competing Independence Party of Alberta fell apart in June 2022. A statement on the IPA website lists Northey and Jones as key negotiators for the WIP in those talks.

The IPA, formerly known as the Alberta Independence Party, went through its own internal drama after the 2019 election and is now in the process of choosing its second new leader since that election. Former federal Liberal candidate and anti-COVID restrictions activist lawyer Katherine Kowalchuk is the only candidate in the race.

All this ongoing drama is almost par for the course for Alberta’s small cottage industry of right-wing separatist parties, but it raises the big question: How do they plan to fight Ottawa when they are so busy fighting themselves?

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Alberta Politics

Danielle Smith is making sure Alberta doesn’t have a boring political summer

Danielle Smith and Rob Anderson in 2010 (source: Dave Cournoyer)
Danielle Smith and Rob Anderson in 2010 (source: Dave Cournoyer)

Popular opinion would have that summer is a quiet and boring time in politics, but not so in Alberta.

I can’t remember there was a boring political summer in Alberta?

Last year was the Best Summer Ever disaster and the summer before that was the first COVID summer. Before that was the Summer of Repeal. And so on.

This summer, the most unexpected political comeback might be happening before our eyes.

In almost every aspect, former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith is defining what the United Conservative Party leadership race is about.

Following her “Alberta First” campaign slogan, Smith declared plans to introduce an Alberta Sovereignty Act to let Alberta MLAs vote on which federal laws they want the province to follow.

The other candidates responded.

Even Finance Minister Jason Nixon, a staunch Jason Kenney-loyalist, stepped in to pooh-pooh Smith’s idea (Nixon was nominated as Wildrose candidate back when Smith was still party leader).

Her campaign chair, Rob Anderson, is founder of the Free Alberta Strategy and was one of two Progressive Conservative MLAs to cross the floor to Smith’s Wildrose in 2010 (he later crossed the floor back to the PCs with Smith in 2014).

Smith declared Alberta will never ever have a lockdown again (we never *really* had a lockdown).

The other candidates responded.

She made wild statements about any cancer before Stage 4 is a result of poor personal choices.

Everyone responded.

Postmedia columnist Don Braid wrote that her “dabbles in quackery” are sometimes almost funny but “this one is dangerous.”

When Smith hosted a popular radio talk show she promoted hydroxychloroquine as a cure to COVID-19. She even touted ivermectin as a treatment. Now she wants to appoint chief medical officers of alternative medicine.

Quackery is putting it politely.

It’s the realm of internet pseudoscience.

As my friend David Climenhaga opined, it is the Donald Trump strategy of saying outrageous stuff that appeals to the base voters and damn the consequences.

And it might be working.

Smith has now nabbed 4 MLA endorsements.

Airdrie-Cochrane’s Peter Guthrie, Calgary-Falconridge’s Devinder Toor, Lethbridge-East’s Nathan Neudorf, and Lesser Slave Lake’s Pat Rehn, who dropped his endorsement of establishment favourite Travis Toews to support Smith.

But it’s not exactly the crème de la crème of the UCP Caucus.

Toor was fined $15,000 by Elections Alberta for breaking political finance laws in 2018 and 2019, and was allegedly part of group who bullied and harassed a food truck owner in northeast Calgary.

Rehn was briefly expelled from the UCP Caucus in 2021 after taking a hot holiday to Mexico while most Albertans respected the government’s own COVID-19 travel advice and stayed home, and local municipal leaders called on him to resign after spending more time in Texas than his own riding.

Kenney said Rehn would not be allowed to run for the UCP nomination in the next election but he was quietly allowed to rejoin the UCP Caucus last summer. But now Kenney is on his way out.

Some might say I’m playing into the Smith-comeback narrative by writing this article, but she’s the only candidate saying anything interesting – even if it’s quackery.

She’s drawing crowds and appears to be hitting the right notes with a motivated segment of the UCP base, which says a lot about who the membership of the UCP is today.

This isn’t your father’s Progressive Conservative Party, folks.

The other candidates in the UCP race better get their acts together, because the membership sales deadline is on August 12.

That’s just 16 days away.

The final 7

Smith might be getting the most attention but she’s not the only candidate in the race. Leela Aheer, Brian Jean, Todd Loewen, Rajan Sawhney, Rebecca Schulz and Travis Toews also made the cut. Bill Rock dropped out to endorse Jon Horsman, who dropped out, and, as expected, Raj Sherman was not allowed to run (his old job as Liberal Party leader is open though).

More separatist drama

Danielle Smith Paul Hinman Daveberta Wildrose United Conservative Party
Paul Hinman and Danielle Smith in 2010. (source: Dave Cournoyer)

If there’s one thing we can depend on Alberta’s cottage industry of fringe right-wing separatist parties to deliver, it’s drama.

It looks like Paul Hinman has been ousted as leader of the Wildrose Independence Party. The ouster comes shortly after the Independence Party of Alberta announced that merger talks with WIP broke off.

Hinman has been replaced by Jeevan Mangat, who ran for the Wildrose Party in Calgary-Fort in 2012 and 2015.

The WIP was created in 2020 through the merger of the Wexit group and the Freedom Conservative Party (which was previously known as the Alberta First Party, the Separation Party of Alberta and the Western Freedom Party). The party has struggled with fundraising and Hinman placed a distant third in the recent Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche by-election.

Before his time as WIP leader, Hinman served as a Wildrose MLA from 2004 to 2008 and 2009 to 2012, and as leader of the Wildrose Alliance Party immediately before Danielle Smith was chosen as leader in 2009.

Meanwhile, the IPA is still looking for a new leader. Past federal Liberal candidate Katherine Kowalchuk is the only candidate in the race, so far.

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Wednesday Morining Alberta Candidate Nomination Update

Photo: Danielle Larivee, Tanya Fir, Lori Sigurdson, and Sonya Savage.

I took a short break from writing about Alberta politics while I was on vacation over the past few weeks, so I am catching up this morning on the latest Alberta nomination candidate news.

Fir defeats former Ontario MP Jeff Watson for UCP nomination in Calgary-Peigan

Jeff Watson Essex Calgary Peigan UCP
Jeff Watson

Tanya Fir defeated former Ontario Member of Parliament Jeff Watson and past Wildrose Party candidate Jeevan Mangat to secure the United Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Peigan. Fir was backed by her campaign chair, Craig Chandler, a controversial conservative activist.

Quebec MP Maxime Bernier became momentarily involved in this nomination race when Fir’s campaign sent an email to their supporters claiming Maxine Bernier had endorsed his candidate. The real Bernier responded with an email disputing the claim and instead appeared to endorse his “good friend” Watson.

Larivee seeks re-election in Lesser Slave Lake

MLA Danielle Larivee is seeking the New Democratic Party nomination in Lesser Slave Lake. Larivee was first elected in 2015 unseating 7-term PC MLA Pearl Calahasen. She currently serves as Minister of Children’s Services and the Status of Women.

Former Liberal MLA runs for Alberta Party nomination

In Edmonton-South West, former Liberal Party MLA Mo Elsalhy is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. 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.

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:

Randy Kerr UCP Calgary Beddington Climate Change Denial
Randy Kerr

Calgary-Beddington – Randy Kerr defeated Josephine Pon to win the UCP nomination. Kerr was recently the focus of media attention when it was discovered he had made several social media postings that cast doubt on the legitimacy of climate change.

Calgary-East – Andre Chabot and Issa Mossa are the latest candidates to enter this UCP nomination contest. Chabot was a Calgary city councillor from 2005 to 2017. He placed a distant third in the October 2017 mayoral election, earning 3.08 percent of the vote. Mossa ran for Calgary city council in Ward 10 in 2017.

Calgary-Falconridge – Christopher Steeves is seeking the UCP nomination. He served as a councillor with the City of Chestermere from 2005 to 2017.

Calgary-Fish Creek – Cyndy Morin has withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest in this south Calgary district and endorsed fellow candidate Cindy Ross over incumbent MLA Richard Gotfried. Morin had already previously withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest in Calgary-North West before the nomination vote was held in that district.

Morin noted on her Facebook page that she intends to “bring a defamation suit against the NDP for blatantly publishing what they refer to as facts.” The NDP issued a press release days ago “asking the Election Commissioner of Alberta to investigate UCP nomination candidate Cyndy Morin, running in Calgary-Fish Creek, for accepting and promoting corporate donations to her campaign.”

Calgary-North – Devin Green is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-North East – Rajan Sawhney is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-North West – Sonya Savage defeated Jennele Giong and Cam Khan to win the UCP nomination. Savage is a pipeline lobbyist and served as the president of the Progressive Conservative Party youth wing in 1992.

Calgary-Peigan – Herjinder Saran is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.

David Shepherd NDP MLA Edmonton City Centre
David Shepherd

Edmonton-City Centre – MLA David Shepherd is seeking the NDP nomination, which is scheduled to take place on September 6, 2018. Shepherd was first elected in 2015 and in 2017 was voted “MLA to watch in 2018” in the Best of Alberta Politics survey. Stephen Hammerschmidt is the latest candidate to enter the UCP nomination contest in this district.

Edmonton-Glenora – Marjorie Newman, David Salopek, and former Edmonton-Riverview PC MLA Steve Young are seeking the UCP nomination. A nomination meeting will be held on August 15, 2018.

Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood – Atul Ranade is seeking the UCP nomination. Ranade previously withdrew from UCP nomination contests in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview and Edmonton-South.

Edmonton-Manning – Dakota Drouillard is seeking the UCP nomination. Jitender Sahni has withdrawn from the Alberta Party nomination contest.

Edmonton-Meadows –  Amrit Matharu has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.

Edmonton-Mill Woods – James Moore is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.

Edmonton-Riverview – MLA Lori Sigurdson has been nominated as the NDP candidate in this district. She was first elected in 2015 and currently serves as Minister of Seniors and Housing.

Edmonton-South – Inderdeep Sandhu is seeking the UCP nomination.

Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville– Marvin Olsen is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.

Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland: Don McCargar has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate. McCargar made headlines in 2016 when he put his $7.5 million Parkland County mansion for sale. The palatial home included a sauna, wet bar, six-vehicle garage, and a car wash, as well as herringbone marble tiles covering the floors and hand-painted dome murals adorning the ceilings.

Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright – Blake Prior is seeking the UCP nomination. Prior was the Progressive Conservative candidate in the Battle River-Wainwright district in the 2015 election.

West Yellowhead– Stuart Taylor is seeking the UCP nomination. Taylor was the Wildrose Party candidate in this district in the 2012 and 2015 elections. He is a former Hinton town councillor and was defeated in his bid for mayor in 2017.

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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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.
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!

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Former Ontario MP Jeff Watson running for UCP nomination in Calgary-Peigan

Photo: Jeff Watson (left) speaks at a rally in support of Ontario PC candidate Chris Lewis (right) on May 11, 2018. (Source: Facebook)

Former Essex Member of Parliament Jeff Watson is the fourth candidate to enter the United Conservative Party nomination contest in the new Calgary-Peigan district.

Calgary-Peigan

Watson served as the Conservative Party MP for southern Ontario district of Essex from 2004 until 2015 when he was unseated by New Democrat Tracey Ramsey. He had previously run in Windsor-West as a Reform Party candidate in 1997 and a Canadian Alliance candidate in 2000.

While in Ottawa he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport.

The Windsor Star reported in November 2016 that Watson was planning to relocate himself and his family to Calgary to pursue new opportunities.

Watson works as a Constituency Assistant in the office of Calgary-Hays UCP MLA Ric McIver.

His LinkedIn page describes him as the Proprietor of Issachar Strategies with his clients listed as “Jason Kenney Leadership, Alberta Advantage Fund, the Hon. Andrew Scheer, We R Conservative.” His Facebook page does not name specific organizations but states that some of his clients are “independent schools and parent groups fighting the NDP for school choice and to preserve parental authority.”

Watson worked as Director of Outreach and Coalitions in Kenney’s leadership campaign.

Joe Ceci Calgary NDP
Joe Ceci

Watson travelled back to Ontario during the first week of that province’s recent election and spoke at a rally organized for Progressive Conservative candidate Chris Lewis in the provincial Essex district on May 11, 2018.

Elections Alberta lists Watson as being the President of the Calgary-Hays UCP association since 2017 and as having served as president of the PC association in the same district in 2017.

Calgary-Peigan is a new district that is created mostly from areas currently included in Calgary-Fort as well as Calgary-Acadia, Calgary-Hays, Calgary-South East. Current Calgary-Fort MLA Joe Ceci will run for the NDP in the newly redrawn Calgary-Buffalo district.

The other candidates running for the UCP nomination in this district are Tanya Fir, Andrew Griffin, and two-time Wildrose Party candidate Jeevan Mangat.

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

12 races I’m watching on Election Night in Alberta

Some candidates to watch on Election Night: Derek Fildebrandt, Sarah Hoffman, Chris Labossiere, Shannon Phillips and Joe Ceci.
Some candidates to watch on Election Night: Derek Fildebrandt, Sarah Hoffman, Chris Labossiere, Shannon Phillips and Joe Ceci.

With all the polls showing the 43-year long governing Progressive Conservatives trailing the NDP and Wildrose across the province, there could be a race to watch in every constituency in Alberta when the provincial election polls close at 8:00 p.m. tonight.

Here are 12 races that I will be paying particular attention to on Election night:

Alberta Election Races to Watch 2015
12 races to watch in Alberta’s 2015 election (click to enlarge).

Calgary-Acadia: This south Calgary constituency has reliably voted PC since 1971, but recent controversy surrounding PC candidate Jonathan Denis, who was ordered to resign from his job as Justice Minister and Attorney General in the middle of the election campaign, could help boost support for NDP candidate Brandy Payne and Wildrose candidate Linda Carlson.

Calgary-Buffalo: Voters in this downtown Calgary constituency have elected Liberals in six of the last eight elections. Popular MLA Kent Hehr is running for federal office so the Liberals have nominated lawyer David Khan as his successor. Mr. Khan faces arts advocate Terry Rock running for the PCs and lawyer Kathleen Ganley running for the NDP.

Calgary-Elbow: A rematch between Alberta Party leader Greg Clark and PC candidate Gordon Dirks. Mr. Dirks narrowly defeated Mr. Clark in an October 2014 by-election and with recent cuts to education funds, a nasty debate over Gay-Straight Alliances, and neighbourhoods still recovering from the 2013 floods,  Mr. Dirks could be in trouble.

Calgary-Fort: Popular five-term PC MLA Wayne Cao is retiring from politics, leaving the PCs with rookie candidate Andy Nguyen. The NDP are have put a lot of hope into Alderman Joe Ceci, the party’s most high-profile Calgary candidate in decades. The Wildrose have nominated Jeevan Mangat, who came within 200 votes of defeating Mr. Cao in the 2012 election.

Calgary-Varsity: NDP candidate and lawyer Stephanie McLean faces off against PC stalwart and lawyer Susan Billington. Ms. Billington’s involvement in the Kananaskis Improvement District, which voted to provide millions of dollars to the privately-operated Kananaskis Golf Course, became an issue early in the campaign. This constituency elected Liberal MLA Harry Chase in the 2004 and 2008 elections.

Edmonton-Centre: Popular Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman has represented this constituency since 1997 and is one of the most effective voices in the Assembly. But her choice to split with her party and accept the nominations from the Alberta Party and Greens may confuse voters. The rising NDP tide in Edmonton, represented by the charismatic David Shepherd in Edmonton-Centre, may impact her chances of re-election.

Edmonton-Glenora: Former Edmonton Public School Board chairperson and NDP star candidate Sarah Hoffman is facing two-term PC MLA Heather Klimchuk. Glenora has never elected an NDP MLA, but the party saw its support rise in 2004 and 2012, giving Ms. Hoffman a strong base of support to build on.

Edmonton-Rutherford: Businessman and Edmonton enthusiast Chris Labossiere faces university instructor Richard Feehan in this southwest Edmonton constituency. Voters have swung between the Liberals and PCs in this area since the 1980s and without a strong Liberal campaign in this election, swinging to the NDP might not be a far stretch. Both the PCs and NDP are running strong campaigns in Rutherford, so this will be a constituency to watch.

Edmonton-Whitemud: Voters in Whitemud have elected PC MLAs since 1997 and chose former Mayor Stephen Mandel in an October 2014 by-election. The PCs typically win by large margins in this constituency but the NDP candidate Dr. Bob Turner earned record support in by-election. If Mr. Mandel cannot win in Whitemud, it is likely the PCs will not win anywhere else in Edmonton.

Fort-McMurray-Conklin: Wildrose leader Brian Jean is trying to unseat first-term PC MLA Don Scott. Mr. Jean’s name recognition as party leader and the former Conservative MP for the area could help him overcome Mr. Scott, who only narrowly won the 2012 election. Also a factor in this race is the NDP, which is represented by NDP candidate and local teacher Ariana Mancini.

Lethbridge-West: In 2012, Shannon Phillips surprised many political watchers when she placed 1,115 votes behind PC MLA Greg Weadick in a three-way race with the Wildrose. This time, it is a rematch between the two, with the Wildrose playing the wildcard.

Strathmore-Brooks: He is a familiar face in the media and former Taxpayers’ Federation spokesperson Derek Fildebrandt hopes to return to Edmonton as an MLA. Mr. Fildebrandt faces County of Newell Reeve Molly Douglass who is running for the PC Party in this southern Alberta rural riding. Former MLA Jason Hale, who was elected as a Wildrose MLA in 2012 but crossed the floor to the PCs in 2014, is not seeking re-election.

 

Voting stations are open in provincial constituencies across Alberta until 8:00 p.m. tonight. If you do know where to vote, visit the Elections Alberta website. If you do not know who the candidates in your constituency are, check out my list of candidates.

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Alberta Politics

Will 2015 be an lucky or unlucky #13 for Alberta’s PC Party?

Jim Prentice is dwarfed by a giant photo of himself on the PC campaign bus at a stop in Edmonton this week.
Jim Prentice is dwarfed by a giant photo of himself on the PC campaign bus outside an election rally in Edmonton.

CALGARY, ALBERTA

On May 5, 2015, the Progressive Conservatives will face Alberta voters for the thirteenth time since they first formed government in 1971. Since that election 44 years ago, the PCs have dominated over their opposition.

Rachel Notley NDP Alberta
Rachel Notley

It remains difficult to believe that the PC will not form another majority government, but there are indications that the opposition parties could do much better than initially expected. Some political watchers have even suggested that the PCs could form their first minority government.

With the most money and resources at their disposal, the PCs are the only party running a true “province-wide” campaign, but recent polls indicate the two main opposition parties have an opportunity to make gains.

NDP leader Rachel Notley appears to be enjoying an unprecedented bump in support in Alberta. Ms. Notley’s campaign has focused on job creation and health care, contrasting her party’s plan with Jim Prentice‘s party’s 44 year record. Clear signs, and many lawn signs, are indicating that an NDP surge in Edmonton, Lethbridge, and pockets of Calgary, could boost the NDP into Official Opposition status (the NDP previously formed official opposition from 1982 to 1993).

Brian Jean Wildrose Leader
Brian Jean

The current Official Opposition Wildrose Party, now focused on rural Alberta and cities like Red Deer and Grande Prairie, have made opposition to government spending and tax increases a central theme of their campaign. Wildrose leader Brian Jean was chosen little more than one month ago, so it is difficult to believe he alone is the inspiration for the bump in Wildrose support. More likely, there are many voters who still feel comfortable parking their votes with the Wildrose, which is why Mr. Prentice’s party has begun increasing their attacks on their conservative opposition.

Unless the PCs have given up their chances in Edmonton, we should expect PC cabinet ministers to soon start lining up to denounce Ms. Notley as well.

Because of the two opposition party’s different regional support, there might be only two or three constituencies across Alberta where both the NDP and Wildrose in a real competition with the PC candidate.

Joe Ceci Calgary NDP
Joe Ceci

One of those constituencies appears to be Calgary-Fort. Popular five-term PC MLA Wayne Cao has decided to retire from politics, leaving the PCs with rookie candidate Andy Nguyen. The NDP have nominated former Alderman Joe Ceci, the party’s most high-profile Calgary candidate in decades. The Wildrose have nominated Jeevan Mangat, who came within 200 votes of defeating Mr. Cao in the 2012 election.

Four months ago, there appeared to be a growing consensus that Mr. Prentice would lead the PCs to win nearly all the seats in the Legislative Assembly. And while it is never safe to bet against the PCs, with twelve consecutive election wins in their belt, with seventeen days left before election day, it appears that Albertans could send a very strong contingent of opposition MLAs to the legislature.

I have updated the unofficial list of Alberta Election candidates with information released by Elections Alberta after today’s nomination deadline.

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Alberta Politics

alberta candidate nomination update – october 2011 (part 3).

I have updated the list of candidates who have been nominated or declared their intentions to stand as candidates in Alberta’s next provincial election expected in 2012. Please email comment below or email me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com if there are additions to the list.

Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock: CUPE activist Trudy Grebenstein is seeking the NDP nomination scheduled for November 14, 2011. Ms. Grebenstein previously contested the NDP nomination in Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater on September 21 and was defeated by Mandy Melnyk.

Bonnyville-Cold Lake: Many-time NDP candidate Luanne Bannister is seeking the NDP nomination on November 16. Ms. Bannister has previously stood as an NDP candidate in the 2004 election in Cardston-Taber-Warner and in the 2008 election in Drayton Valley-Calmar.

Calgary-Fort: Jeevan Mangat has been nominated as the new Wildrose candidate in Calgary-Fort. Mr. Mangat replaces previously nominated candidate Bob McInnis, whostepped down for personal reasons earlier this year. Also contesting the nomination wasDalton Dalik.

Calgary-Hawkwood: Previously nominated in Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill, Collin Anderson is now seeking the NDP nomination in Calgary-Hawkwood. In the 2008 election, Mr. Anderson stood as the NDP candidate in Calgary-North West.

Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill: Replacing the previously nominated Mr. Anderson (see above) is Anne Wilson who is seeking the NDP nomination scheduled for November 10. Ms. Wilson was the NDP candidate in Banff-Cochrane in the 2008 election.

Cardston-Taber-Warner: The NDP have nominated Barbara Eng-Bonthoux as their long-shot candidate in this deep rural south constituency. In the 2008 election, NDP candidate Susan Sirias earned 190 votes out of the 9,505 votes cast.

Edmonton-Centre: The NDP nomination originally scheduled for last week has been postponed. The candidate expected to be nominated was Nadine Bailey, who had stood as the federal NDP candidate in Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont in the recent federal election.

Edmonton-Whitemud: Julia Necheff has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate. Ms. Necheff is a former reporter with Canadian Press and writer for Faculty of Medicine at the University of Alberta.

Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills: The Progressive Conservative nomination to replace retiring MLA Richard Marz is scheduled for November 26, 2011. Declared candidates include Darcy Davis, Al Kemmere, and William Stevenson. The NDP have nominated Kristie Krezanoski as their candidate.

Red Deer-South: On November 3, 2011, the Alberta Party is expected to nominate Serge Gingras as their candidate.

Rocky Mountain House: Jocelyn Stenger is expected to be nominated as the NDP candidate at a meeting scheduled for November 17, 2011. Ms. Stenger is currently employed in the Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood constituency office of NDP MLA Brian Mason.

St. Albert: Recently retired Canadian Forces Major Jeff Wedman is seeking the PC nomination in St. Albert, challenging incumbent PC MLA Ken Allred. Mr. Wedman recently retired as Deputy Commanding Officer of 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron in Edmonton. Mr. Allred was first elected in 2008 after defeating Liberal MLA Jack Flaherty by 2,805 votes.

Stony Plain: Alberta Federation of Labour staff member Linda Robinson is seeking the NDP nomination scheduled for November 1, 2011.

Vermilion-Lloydminster: Many-time NDP candidate Ray Stone is seeking his party’s nomination on November 16, 2011. Mr. Stone stood as his party’s candidate in Vermilion-Lloydminster in the 2004 election and as the federal NDP candidate in Vegreville-Wainwright in the 2008 and 2011 elections.

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