Tag: Mickey Amery

Get ready for a big fight over Alberta’s separation referendum

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date July 31, 2025

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Justice Minister Mickey Amery in April 2025 announcing changes to Alberta’s citizen initiative referendums (Photo: Government of Alberta/Flickr).

It’s going to be messy but the Chief Electoral Officer needs to hold his ground – and his independence.

Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer was publicly rebuked by Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Justice Mickey Amery after a petition aimed at triggering a province-wide referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada was referred to the courts to determine if it is legal.

Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure announced earlier this week that a citizen initiative petition request submitted by separatist Alberta Prosperity Project CEO Mitch Sylvestre was being referred to the Court of King’s Bench to determine whether it conforms with the requirements of sections 2 (4) of the Citizen Initiative Act. That section specifically states that “an initiative petition proposal must not contravene sections 1 to 35.1 of the Constitution Act, 1982.”

Smith and Amery took to social media to call on McClure to withdraw the court reference and allow the Alberta separation petition to move forward.

Read the rest on the Daveberta Substack

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Tags Alberta Chief Electoral Officer, Alberta NDP, Alberta Next Panel, Alberta Politics Substack, Alberta Prosperity Project, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Andy Sims, Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul, Canada Election Substack, Commonwealth of Alberta Delegation to Washington, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Dennis Modry, Elections Alberta, Elections Alberta Financial Disclosures, Forever Canadian, Gordon McClure, Jason Stephan, Jeff Rath, Jeffrey Rath, Ken Chapman, King Charles III, Mark Carney, Mickey Amery, Mitch Sylvestre, Money and Politics, Naheed Nenshi, Rakhi Pancholi, Red Deer-South, Scott Cyr, Subst, Thomas Luksazuk, United Conservative Party, Vladimir Putin, Western Alienation, Western Separation

Alberta Politics

Redrawing Alberta’s electoral map

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 22, 2025

Voters only getting 2 more MLAs despite huge population boom

Alberta will have a new electoral map when the next provincial election is called. An Electoral Boundaries Commission has been named and will begin travelling the province next week to collect feedback from Albertans about how new riding boundaries should be drawn to reflect population changes since the last time the map was redrawn in 2017.

Ten big questions about Alberta separatism in 2025

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 16, 2025

The Alberta Prosperity Project’s Jeffrey Rath shows off the separatist group’s proposed referendum question in Calgary (source: Facebook).

Is Premier Danielle Smith a separatist? Is the UCP a separatist party?

The biggest difference between today’s Alberta separatist push and past efforts is that today’s most vocal separatists are operating within the governing UCP. Premier Danielle Smith gave her tacit public support for these groups in an online video address earlier this month and she knows that any direct effort to try to stop it would turn those groups, which included some of the UCP’s most enthusiastic activists, against her.

Many of those enthusiastic separatists inside the UCP helped topple former Premier Jason Kenney in 2022 and propel Smith to victory in the leadership race that followed. Writer Jen Gerson cleverly described Smith’s situation through one rule of politics: you get ate by the dragon you ride in on.

What to make of Mark Carney’s meeting with Danielle Smith

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date March 21, 2025

Premier Danielle Smith speaks to supporters at the United Conservative Party Leader’s Dinner fundraiser in Edmonton on March 19, 2025 (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)

Liberal PM expected to call federal election on Sunday for an April 28 or May 5 vote

Prime Minster Mark Carney was in Edmonton yesterday for his first visit since winning the Liberal Party leadership and becoming leader of the government. Carney met with Premier Danielle Smith, who re-endorsed Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre the night before at a sold out Leader’s Dinner fundraiser in the capital city.

The Prime Minister and Premier did not make themselves available to speak with the media after the meeting and there were no photos taken of the two politicians together, which is probably an indication of how well we can expect the meeting went (Smith’s office later posted a photo of her meeting with Ambassador of Austria Andreas Rendl, which also gives us an idea of where the Prime Minister fits in her pecking order).

Alberta responds to Trump’s trade war still obsessed with border security

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date March 6, 2025

Danielle Smith joins Team Canada reluctant to use oil & gas trump card

One full day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and provincial premiers Doug Ford in Ontario and Wab Kinew in Manitoba announced retaliatory measures in response to American President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs on Canadian products, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith entered the fray.

“This economic attack on our country, combined with Mr. Trump’s continued talk of using economic force to facilitate the annexation of our country, has broken trust between our two countries in a profound way,” Smith said at a press conference where she was flanked by Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Justice Mickey Amery, Deputy Premier Mike Ellis, and two law enforcement officers (one wearing a bullet proof vest and carrying an assault rifle).

“It is a betrayal of a deep and abiding friendship,” she said.

Read all about it on the Daveberta Substack

Quick note: Thank you for reading today’s Daveberta Newsletter! Paid subscribers can keep scrolling to read about the upcoming Edmonton-Strathcona provincial by-election and the federal Conservative Party candidate nomination votes being held in Bow River on March 6 & 7, Red Deer on March 8, and Edmonton Griesbach on March 9.

Alberta Politics

10 things I’m watching in the Alberta Legislature this spring

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date February 25, 2025

The Rotunda of the Alberta Legislature Building ahead of the provincial budget announcement in February 2024 (photo credit: Dave Cournoyer)

Political scandals, resignations, budget cuts, strikes and coal mining – Alberta politics is never boring

The familiar voice of Speaker Nathan Cooper calling out “order!” and “the honourable member for…” will once again echo through the hallowed halls of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly when MLAs return to Edmonton for the start of the spring session today.

Government House Leader Joseph Schow released the United Conservative Party government’s legislative agenda for the session, which I will write about over the next few weeks, but here is a broader overview of what I’m watching as MLAs return to the Legislature:

1. Private surgical contracts scandal

Some people are calling it the Dodgy Contracts Scandal and the opposition NDP have gone all in on naming it CorruptCare, but whatever you are calling this political scandal there is no doubt it will be front and centre in this legislative session.

This morning’s news that Minister of Infrastructure Peter Guthrie is resigning from cabinet in protest of the scandal and how Premier Danielle Smith has handled it is sure to add fuel to the political fire.

“I’m not going to stand by and see potential corruption exist within government and be a part of that,” Guthrie is reported to have said. He plans to sit in the Legislature as a UCP MLA, but whether Smith wants him to remain in the government caucus is unclear (and unlikely).

Cracks in UCP cabinet unity started to show when Guthrie’s proposal to remove Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange from her current cabinet post was leaked to the media, though it is unclear who leaked it.

Smith and LaGrange tried to change the channel on the scandal at a press conference last week by pinning the blame on Alberta Health Services procurement staff, but an almost never-ending series of scoops from Globe & Mail investigative reporters Carrie Tait and Alanna Smith have undermined the UCP government’s efforts to spin their way out of the political storm.

Expect the NDP opposition, with the protections of parliamentary privilege, to spend a lot of time questioning and prodding UCP cabinet ministers about this scandal during Question Period.

Read the rest on the Daveberta Substack

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Tags Adriana LaGrange, Alanna Smith, Alberta Federal Candidate Nomination Update, Alberta Health Services, Alberta NDP, Amber Murray, Athana Mentzelopoulos, Blake Desjarlais, Bow River, Calgary McKnight, Calgary-Skyview, Carrie Tait, CorruptCare Scandal, Dale McFee, Danielle Smith, Dave Quest, Daveberta Substack, David Bexte, Dodgy Contracts Scandal, Edmonton-Griesbach, Foothills, Graham Abela, Grande Prairie, Jennifer Villebrun, JL DeCosta, John Bruinsma, Joseph Schow, Josh Senneker, Karen Principe, Kattie Aurora, Lethbridge, Mark Carney, Mickey Amery, Naheed Nenshi, Nathan Cooper, Nathan Svoboda, Peter Guthrie, Ritesh Narayan, Rufus Awharitoma, Spring Session of the Alberta Legislature, Tanveer Taj, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Danielle Smith’s charm offensive in Trump’s America

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 13, 2024

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith with South Dakota Governor and Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)

More MAGA, Less Ottawa

With the impending electoral defeat of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau growing more likely by the day, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has embarked on her own Team Alberta diplomatic charm offensive in the United States.

Just days after American President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods imported into his country, Smith jetted off to the Western Governors conference in Las Vegas. Smith held a handful of one-on-one meetings with Republican and Democratic governors as part of her pitch to US law-makers to exclude Canadian oil and gas from Trump’s tariff war.

“I am a fan of our biggest trading partner” Smith’s told a Fox News host when she was asked on-air if she was a fan of Trump. In response to Trump’s now frequently repeated threats that Canada should become America’s 51st state if Canadians don’t like the tariffs, Smith said he was “hilarious.”

Janis Irwin voted Best Alberta MLA for fifth year in a row

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 3, 2024

Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood MLA Janis Irwin (source: Janis Irwin / Facebook)

Justice Minister Mickey Amery voted Best Cabinet Minister of 2024

With all the votes counted, the winners of the Best of Alberta Politics 2024 Survey have been chosen. The eighth annual survey is all about celebrating the best in Alberta politics. The winners were selected from a week-long vote for the top two choices in each category nominated by Daveberta subscribers.

Read all about the winners on the Daveberta Substack.

Alberta Politics

Vote for the Best of Alberta Politics in 2024!

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date November 26, 2024

The 2024 Best of Alberta Politics finalists. Janis Irwin, Searle Turton, Rakhi Pancholi, Mickey Amery, Todd Loewen, Kathleen Ganley, Jennifer Johnson, Kyle Kasawski (left to right)

Vote for this year’s best MLA, cabinet minister, MLA to watch, municipal leader and more

With hundreds of names submitted to the 2024 Best of Alberta Politics Survey, your nominations have been sorted and the top two choices have been identified in all seven categories.

Voting in the eighth annual survey is now open to the nearly 4,600 Daveberta subscribers (free and paid) until Sunday, December 1 at 8:00 p.m. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, December 3.

Vote in the 2024 Best of Alberta Politics Survey

Tags 2024 Alberta NDP Leadership Race, Alberta NDP, Alberta Politics Substack, Best of Alberta Politics, Best of Alberta Politics 2024, Daveberta Substack, Janis Irwin, Jennifer Johnson, Kathleen Ganley, Kyle Kasawski, Mickey Amery, Naheed Nenshi, Rakhi Pancholi, Richard Ireland, Searle Turton, Terry Jessiman, The Strategists Podcast, Todd Loewen, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

UCP cuts the “length” off arms-length AIMCo

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date November 15, 2024

Minister of Finance Nate Horner and Premier Danielle Smith on February 29, 2024 (photography by Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta/Alberta Newsroom)

Alberta’s $160.6 billion investments now under a government controlled cone of silence

Secure in her party’s leadership after earning the support of 91.5 percent of members at the United Conservative Party AGM earlier this month, Premier Danielle Smith isn’t skipping a beat in implementing her government’s political agenda.

The firing of the CEO and the entire board of directors of AIMCo, the arms-length Alberta Investment Management Corporation, was confirmed through a short 9:47 am press release from Finance Minister Nate Horner last Friday.

Read the rest on the Daveberta Substack

Tags AIMco, Airdrie-Cochrane, Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission, Alberta Federal Candidate Nomination Update, Alberta Firewall Letter, Alberta Investment Management Corporation, Alberta Pension Plan, Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund, Alex Williams, Amarjeet Sohi, Avni Soma, Brian Thiessen, Bruce McAllister, Calgary Municipal Election 2025, Canada Pension Plan, Carla Beck, Chris Nielsen, Chrystia Freeland, CUPE Alberta, CUPE Strike in Fort McMurray, Dale McFee, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Dj Kelly, Edmonton Municipal Election 2025, Edmonton-Decore, Edmonton-Manning, Elliot Weinstein, Evan Siddall, Heather McRae, International Democracy Union, Jeremy Nolais, Jim Dinning, Karen Principe, Kenneth Kroner, Lesley Thompson, Local Authorities Pension Plan, Management Employees Pension Plan, Marlene Puffer, Mary MacDonald, Matt Jones, Mickey Amery, Mike Ellis, Nate Horner, Paul Wynnyk, Peter Sandhu, Postmedia, Public Sector Pensions, Public Service Pension Plan, Ray Gilmour, Rick Bell, Rory Gill, Sarah Zagoda, Stephen Harper, Tim Cartmell, Tony Caterina, United Conservative Party, Ward tastawiyiniwak, Yellowhead

Alberta Politics

Nate Horner’s hooked on a pension feeling

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date November 3, 2023

Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner (photography by Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta)

More confusing messaging about the Alberta Pension Plan

As Alberta’s United Conservative Party government continues its big $7 million advertising push to convince Albertans to leave the Canada Pension Plan and start a separate Alberta Pension Plan, Finance Minister Nate Horner told CTV’s Vassy Kapelos that the province’s decision on whether or not to hold a referendum on leaving the CPP will be based on a “high level feeling from many sources.”

Alberta Politics

What UCP cabinet minister mandate letters say about the government’s agenda

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date September 15, 2023

AI generated images of the “Alberta Legislature Building on the moon.” (source: DALL-E mini)

Kind of like Aunt Martha’s fruitcake. It keeps coming back at you year after year.

Over the summer months, while most Albertans were focusing on navigating wildfire smoke and intense heat, the provincial government released a steady stream of mandate letters from Premier Danielle Smith to her cabinet ministers.

The mandate letters are meant to provide direction from the Premier to the Ministers on where the departments they are responsible for fit in the government’s agenda.

Publicly releasing ministerial mandate letters provides a certain level of transparency on the surface but the stream of press releases, as conservative thinker Ken Boessenkool mused last year, “turns an important governing process into a communications and stakeholder exercise.”

Read the rest on the Daveberta Substack.

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Alberta Politics

Danielle Smith is no fan of wind and solar power

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date August 14, 2023
No Comments on Danielle Smith is no fan of wind and solar power

Danielle Smith and Rob Anderson in the Media Room at the Alberta Legislature in 2010 (Source: Dave Cournoyer).. — Danielle Smith and Rob Anderson in the Media Room at the Alberta Legislature in 2010 (Source: Dave Cournoyer).

As a columnist, Smith was a harsh critic of “unreliable” renewable energy

The United Conservative Party government’s decision to impose an immediate 7-month moratorium on all new major wind and solar energy projects in Alberta came as a surprise to many political watchers.

The drastic decision was sudden and it wasn’t featured in any of the UCP’s campaign promises in the election held only 75 days ago. But anyone who has paid close attention to now-Premier Danielle Smith’s newspaper and radio commentary knows she has not hidden her deeply critical and skeptical views of wind and solar power.

Alberta Politics

Final Friday! Three days left until Election Day in Alberta

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 26, 2023
No Comments on Final Friday! Three days left until Election Day in Alberta

NDP leader Rachel Notley speaking at an event in support of Calgary-Fish Creek candidate Rebecca Bounsall (source: Rebecca Bounsall / Twitter)

There are three days left until Election Day in Alberta!

The parties and their leaders are spending the final days making their last pitches to voters and rallying their supporters.

Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley spoke to a crowd of about 350 supporters at a campaign rally in Medicine Hat yesterday before heading back to Calgary to speak at a backyard gathering in support of Calgary-Fish Creek candidate Rebecca Bounsall.

Neither of these places are where an NDP leader would traditionally spend any time during the final days of the campaign in past elections but all of the old assumptions have been tossed out the window in 2023.

Read the rest on the Daveberta Substack. Sign up for a paid subscription to get access to the Daveberta Podcast and special election extras.

Tags Alberta Election 2023, Alberta NDP, Calgary-Cross, Calgary-Fish Creek, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Gurinder Singh Gill, Mickey Amery, Rachel Notley, Rebecca Bounsall, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Wildfires rage across Alberta. This natural disaster will define the second week of the election campaign

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 8, 2023
No Comments on Wildfires rage across Alberta. This natural disaster will define the second week of the election campaign

A map showing wildfires across Alberta on May 7, 2023 (source: Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard)

A hot, dry, and windy spring has sparked dangerous wildfires across Alberta.

More than 25,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in communities including Brazeau County, Drayton Valley, Edson, Entwistle, Evansburg, and the County of Grande Prairie. In rural areas, this not only means that people need to get out quick but they also need to arrange the speedy transport of livestock caught in the paths of the fires.

Alberta’s provincial election is probably the last thing on the minds of most people impacted by these natural disasters, but the wildfires will certainly play a defining role in the second week of Alberta’s provincial election campaign.

Read the rest of the column on the Daveberta Substack. Sign up for a paid subscription to get access to the Daveberta Podcast and special election extras.