Tag: Raj Sherman

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Alberta Politics

alberta election: the leaders’ debate will matter.

In a typical provincial election in Alberta, the televised Leaders’ debate is a mere formality in a process that would inevitably lead to the election of another massive Progressive Conservative majority government. Even when the perceived winner of the debate is the leader of an opposition party, the effects on the governing party have been relatively minimal. In the last election, expectations were set so low for Premier Ed Stelmach that his satisfactory performance was seen as a big win for the soft-spoken and stuttering communicator.

The only televised Leader’s Debate during Alberta’s 2012 will be held on April 12 and it could be a spectacle not seen in this province in decades (CBC is hosting a Leaders’ forum, which will be broadcast on radio and live-streamed on the internet). It will be the first time that Premier Alison Redford and Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith will debate each other face-to-face and also the first Leaders’ debate for three of the four main party leaders (it is Liberal leader Raj Sherman‘s first televised debate).

All eyes will be on Premier Redford and Ms. Smith.

Alison Redford Alberta Election 2012 Conservative leader
Alison Redford

The debate will be Premier Redford’s opportunity to turn the tide that has swept her 41-year governing Progressive Conservative Party into contention for official opposition status. Unlike her recent predecessors, she has the unfortunate task of having to answer for every misstep taken by her governing party for the past four decades.

This will be Premier Redford’s big opportunity to deliver a pitch to moderate conservatives, liberals, and undecided voters that voting for the more conservative and untested Wildrose Party just is not worth the risk. Despite a rough six months as Premier, she is a skilled debater.

Danielle Smith Wildrose Party Alberta Election 2012
Danielle Smith

Calm and confident, Ms. Smith has been preparing for this debate for years. Despite having never been elected as an MLA or faced any of her political opponents on the floor of the Assembly, Ms. Smith has honed her political debating skills on and off television as a columnist with the Calgary Herald, a brief stint as a school trustee, a director of a right-wing lobby group, and party leader since 2009.

With Ms. Smith’s party riding high in the polls, creating the real possibility that she could be our province’s next Premier, expectations will be set high for her to perform well in this debate. I would be surprised if she does not meet these expectations, but the other leaders will be marking targets on her party’s more controversial positions on conscience rights, de-listing abortion, attacking reporters, and privatizing health care. So far, the Wildrose leader has tried to avoid even commenting on most these issues, sticking to her highly disciplined and controlled campaign messaging.

Brian Mason Alberta NDP leader 2012 Election
Brian Mason

Entering his third election as leader of Alberta’s NDP, Brian Mason has an opportunity to present Albertans with a clear alternative to the two leading conservative parties.

Following Ms. Smith’s announcement that her party would introduce more privatization into Alberta’s health care system, Mr. Mason jumped at the opportunity to get into the debate. With Edmonton-Calder candidate David Eggen by his side, Mr. Mason launched a campaign to “Save Public Health Care.” The NDP are polling well in Edmonton, with a recent Leger survey showing them with 20% support in the provincial capital, which has always been the centre of NDP support in Alberta.

Raj Sherman Liberal leader 2012 Alberta Election
Raj Sherman

For Dr. Sherman, who left the Tory backbenches in 2010 and now leads the official opposition Liberal Party, the debate will be his biggest opportunity to save his party from third party status or even being completely shut out of the Assembly. The Liberals became the official opposition in 1993 and since then their support has steadily declined (with the notable exception of the 2004 election when Kevin Taft led the party to double its seats in the Assembly).

Health care has been a key focus of Dr. Sherman’s campaign, and despite his professional expertise working in the Emergency Rooms of Edmonton’s hospitals, the Liberals have not been able to turn this strength into growth in the polls. Having earned a reputation for being sporadic when put on the spot, Dr. Sherman will be the wild-card in the April 12 debate.

Searching for the knock-out punch

The most interesting aspect of televised leaders’ debates, especially in elections where the results are not evident from the day the Writ is dropped, is that one misspeak or surprise Academy Award winning performance could potentially change the outcome on election day.

Most people will refer to Brian Mulroney‘s performance in the the 1984 federal election as the perfect example of a “knock-out punch“, but this clip from the 1991 British Columbia provincial election remains one of my favourite. Watch as Liberal leader Gordon Wilson delivers the most famous soundbite of that election, which helped take his party from zero seats in the Assembly to seventeen.

(Thanks to Colby Cosh, whose tweets inspired this post)

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Alberta Politics

danielle smith is ‘out-ralphing’ alison redford.

Ralph Bucks, Danielle Dollars Alberta Election Wildrose
Recycled 'Ralph Bucks' could become 'Danielle Dollars'.

Eight years after the last round of provincial rebate cheques, popularly known as ‘Ralph Bucks‘, were mailed to Albertans care of Premier Ralph Klein, Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith is proposing a similar ‘energy dividend.’

While ‘Ralph Bucks‘ were popular among most Albertans at the time, it was recognized almost universally as bad fiscal policy.

Nice gesture, wrong message: Klein’s ‘prosperity bonuses’ a short-term, feel-good effort – Calgary Herald, Sept. 14, 2005.  Editorial

How often does one hear of lottery winners wasting their lifetime opportunity, and returning to the poverty whence they came.

Let this not be the case for Alberta. The insouciance of Premier Ralph Klein’s “prosperity bonuses” announcement bears the hallmarks of a prodigal’s progress, and a poorly messaged one, too. Had he meant to tell the rest of Canada that Alberta had no idea what to do with all its money, he would have done no different.

Perhaps showing just how much the Progressive Conservative campaign has lost control of their agenda, Ms. Smith is now trying to ‘out-Ralph‘  Premier Alison Redford. Ms. Smith practices a harder-edged brand of conservatism than the wishy-washy beer parlour conservatism of Premier Klein, but her party’s attention-grabbing election promises are grabbing the attention of conservative voters (while political watchers are questioning her math).

It must be difficult for Premier Redford, who, as the brightest and most intelligent leader of the PC Party since Peter Lougheed, has inherited a party that has been divided by two bitter leadership contests in less than a decade.

In a recent interview with the Globe & Mail, Mr. Lougheed, highlighting the deep divisions among PC elder statesmen, did not speak highly of Mr. Klein,

“Mr. Klein came along and he reverted the party backward to what I call the old Social Credit days, when Alberta was the whole focus and it wasn’t a cross-Canada focus.”

Premiers Lougheed and Klein embodied two very different visions of government within the same governing party, one which generally saw government as a positive force and another that saw government as a negative force. In the past, these differences could have been touted as an example of the resiliency of Alberta’s big blue Tory Party.

What does it all mean?

It is difficult to pinpoint what effect these high-level party posturing is having on the ground. Speaking with campaign managers and candidates from a number of parties across the province over the past week, I am consistently hearing that there is a feeling of unease at the doors. In some cases, this is leading to unlikely swings in party support.

One long-time NDP supporter from northeast Edmonton told me that some of her traditionally NDP-voting neighbours have planted Wildrose Party signs on their front-lawns. Two long-time Liberal voters from north west Calgary told me that they were planning on supporting their local PC candidate, because they admired Premier Redford.

What is indisputable is that many Albertans are unhappy with the PC’s and, at least for the moment, the Wildrose Party and its slate of untested candidates are turning that unhappiness into electoral momentum.

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redford orders mla’s to return pay, cancels transition allowance, and sherman crashes her party.

Premier Alison Redford has announced that Tory MLA’s will repay all the money they received from the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections (aka the “no-work” committee) and that MLA’s who retire or are defeated in future elections may not received a generous severance package.

Ordering Tory MLAs to pay back all the money and admitting that she made a mistake by not doing so sooner was a wise move, and also demonstrates how worried the Tories have become after recent polls have put them in a dead heat with the Wildrose Party.

Premier Alison Redford campaign election Edmonton 2012
Premier Alison Redford arrives at her campaign stop on 124th Street in Edmonton.

Following the announcement, Premier Redford joined Edmonton-Glenora PC MLA Heather Klimchuk for some “main-streeting” down Edmonton’s 124th Street area in the Westmount neighbourhood. The area has gone through an incredible revival over the past few years, transitioning from a seedy pawn-shop infested street to a vibrant cafe and specialty shop destination in the city.

This was Premier Redford’s second campaign stop in Edmonton-Glenora in the first week of the election. Ms. Klimchuk is in a hotly contested race with former public school trustee and Alberta Party candidate Sue Huff, former Liberal MLA Bruce Miller, former NDP MLA Ray Martin, and past mayoral candidate and Wildrose candidate Don Koziak.

Alison Redford campaign election Edmonton 2012
Liberal candidate Bruce Miller drops in on Edmonton-Glenora PC MLA Heather Klimchuk and Premier Redford at a campaign stop at Cafe Tiramisu.

In what I can only describe as a strange attempt to garner media attention, Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman, local candidate Mr. Miller, and an entourage of Liberal candidates and handlers made two “coincidental” appearances on the Premier’s campaign stop, crashing her visits at two cafes on the same block. Here are some photos of the stop and of Dr. Sherman’s visit:

Premier Alison Redford Alberta Election 2012
Premier Redford with Edmonton-Glenora PC MLA Heather Klimchuk and business owner Dawit Isaac.
Premier Alison Redford Election 2012 Greenpeace
A Greenpeace activist at Premier Redford's campaign stop.
Premier Alison Redford Election 2012
Premier Redford at the Duchess Bake Shop on 124th Street.
Local candidate Bruce Miller makes a second appearance along with Liberal leader Raj Sherman at Premier Redford's campaign stop at the Duchess Bake Shop.
Local candidate Bruce Miller makes a second appearance along with Liberal leader Raj Sherman at Premier Redford's campaign stop at the Duchess Bake Shop.

I have posted more photos from the lunch-hour campaign stop on Flickr.

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Alberta Politics

who should be invited to the televised leaders’ debate?

Alberta Election Leaders' Debate 2012
PC leader Premier Alison Redford, Wildrose leader Danielle Smith, NDP leader Brian Mason, and Liberal leader Raj Sherman.

The televised Leaders’ debate for Alberta’s 2012 election will be aired on April 12 at 6:30pm to 8:00pm on Global Television.

The debate will include Progressive Conservative leader Premier Alison Redford, Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman, Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith, and NDP leader Brian Mason. Some members of the Alberta Party have voiced disappointment that their leader Glenn Taylor was not invited to participate in the debate.

Glenn Taylor Alberta Party leader Election 2012
Glenn Taylor

The Alberta Party gained a presence in the Assembly in January 2011 when former Liberal MLA Dave Taylor joined that party. Despite strong campaigns from candidates Michael Walters in Edmonton-Rutherford, Sue Huff in Edmonton-Glenora, Tim Osborne in St. Albert, and Norm Kelly in Calgary-Currie, recent polls have placed the party with 2% support province-wide.

If I were making the decisions, I would invite the leader’s from all the political parties to join the televised debate, but because the decision is being made by a private television company I can understand how they came to this conclusion. With only 30 candidates nominated in 87 constituencies, most viewers tuning in to the televised debate will not have the option of voting for an Alberta Party candidate on Election Day. The four other parties are expected to nominate candidates in all 87 constituencies.

What about past leaders’ debates that included parties with no elected MLA’s?

During the 1997 election, both NDP leader Pam Barrett and Social Credit leader Randy Thorsteinson were allowed to participate in the leaders debate. Neither of those parties had elected an MLA in the previous election. The Social Credit Party had not elected an MLA since the 1979 election. During the 2004 election, as the Alberta Alliance leader, Mr. Thorsteinson was not invited to join the televised Leaders; debate, despite his party having an MLA in the Assembly. Just before the election was called, Edmonton-Norwood PC MLA Gary Masyk crossed the floor to the new party.

There is no denying that the Wildrose Party is a force in this election campaign and should be represented in the televised debates, but it is important to remember that neither Ms. Smith or any of her party’s four incumbent MLA’s were elected as Wildrose candidates in the last election. Former leader Paul Hinman returned to the Assembly in a 2009 by-election and Heather Forsyth, Rob Anderson, and Guy Boutilier were elected as PC candidates in 2008 before crossing the floor to join the Wildrose Party in 2010.

Debate in front of an audience.

Instead of holding the televised debate in a sterile and controlled television studio, I would love to see the party leader’s demonstrate their debating skills in front of a live audience. A live audience would add an atmosphere of unpredictability and would force the leaders to speak to both the voters in the room and those watching their television screens.

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alberta election day 2: health care, balanced budgets, and benitomania.

Premier Alison Redford John Barlow Evan Berger Alberta Election 2012
Premier Alison Redford with PC candidates John Barlow and Evan Berger (photo from Alison4Premier Facebook Page).

Campaigning in the same constituency yesterday, it is interesting to wonder what Premier Alison Redford and Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith would have said to each other if their paths had intersected. Close polls, push polls, and sharp criticisms have defined the first two days of Alberta’s 2012 election campaign.

Premier Redford was in Highwood campaigning with Progressive Conservative candidate John Barlow, who faces the daunting task of keeping the high-profile Ms. Smith out of the Assembly.

Campaigning in southern Alberta yesterday, Ms. Smith released her party’s pledge to table balance budgets. Under the Wildrose platform, future government spending would be limited to population growth plus inflation. Despite Wildrose Party assurances that they would not launch into a round of drastic service cuts if they are elected, I cannot help believe that a government led by Ms. Smtih would do anything but.

Health care was the focus of the second day of the election campaign for the NDP and Liberals, as both parties leaders unveiled parts of their platforms.

Brian Mason David Eggen Alberta NDP 2012 Election
NDP leader Brian Mason and Edmonton-Calder candidate David Eggen (photo via @johnalanashton).

In the north end constituency of Edmonton-Calder, NDP leader Brian Mason joined candidate and former MLA David Eggen to announce that his party would create 1,500 long-term care beds, cover dental costs for Albertans under the age of 18, and bring down the cost of prescription drugs through a new provincial pharmaceutical plan. Mr. Eggen was the MLA for this constituency from 2004 until 2008, and since then has served as the executive director of the Friends of Medicare.

On the day the election was called, Mr. Eggen’s campaign team flexed their organization muscle by placing more than 1,100 lawn signs on private property across the constituency, painting Edmonton-Calder orange.

Raj Sherman Calgary Alberta Liberal Election 2012
Raj Sherman campaigns in Calgary (photo via @alanacbaker).

In Calgary yesterday, Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman reaffirmed his party’s commitment to increase funding to build and operate more long-term care beds and facilities. Joined by a medical doctor and a retired health care worker, Dr. Sherman continued to call on Premier Redford to fulfil her promise to hold a judicial inquiry into doctor intimidation.

Today, the Dr. Sherman will travel to Red Deer to make another health care related announcement at the campaign office of Red Deer-North candidate Michael Dawe and Red Deer-South candidate Jeff Chilibeck.

Focusing on health care is a smart strategy for the Liberals, who are seen as strong on this issue, yet have slipped in the polls over the past four years. It gives the party an opportunity to contrast itself with the PC’s, whose poor management has created many of the staffing problems faced in the health care system, and the Wildrose Party, which would introduce a “hybrid” or “European” model of health care. It is suspected that the Wildrose model would include the introduction of private medical insurance.

Meanwhile, in Lethbridge, interesting contests are shaping up in both of that city’s constituencies.

As first predicted on this blog on February 24, former Edmonton-Mill Woods Tory MLA Carl Benito is entering this election as an Independent candidate. Campaign-like signs began to appear on fences near major intersections in the constituency in late February. The controversy–prone Mr. Benito was first elected in 2008 and lost his party’s nomination to Sohail Qadri. Mr. Benito will face Mr. Qadri, former Liberal MLA Weslyn Mather, NDP candidate Sandra Azocar, Wildroser Joanne Autio, and Alberta Party candidate Robert Leddy.

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alberta election day 1: campaign kick-offs and legalizing prostitution.

With hours of the election being called yesterday, Premier Alison Redford kicked-off the Progressive Conservative campaign at the campaign office of Edmonton-Glenora MLA Heather Klimchuk.

First-term MLA Ms. Klimchuk is facing one of the most hotly contested races in the province, with strong challenges by former public school trustee and Alberta Party candidate Sue Huff, former Liberal MLA Bruce Miller, former NDP MLA Ray Martin, and past mayoral candidate and Wildrose candidate Don Koziak. The central Edmonton constituency has become a swing-riding in recent elections, but it was once held by Tory MLA’s Lou Hyndman and Nancy Betkowski.

After the campaign launch, Twitter reported her having visited a Tim Horton’s on the way to visit the campaign of new candidate Steve Christie in Lacombe-Ponoka. Last week, Mr. Christie replaced two-term MLA Ray Prins, who resigned after it was revealed he was being paid to chair a legislative committee that had not met in four years.

Eager to grab a scoop, two major television networks released the results of polls they commissioned in recent days. An Ipsos Reid online poll commissioned by Global News reports that the PC and Wildrose Party are tied at 38% support. The online poll surveyed 890 Albertans participating in Ipsos Reid’s online household panel (I am unclear how big the pool of Albertans in this online panel is). A CTV News commissioned ThinkHQ survey shows 44% of Albertans surveyed say the PCs don’t deserve to be reelected. No details of how these results were collected, sample size, or margin of error were included in the online news report. Poor reporting of these polls aside, these results could represent a shift in attitudes over the past month.

Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman will kickoff his party’s southern Alberta campaign at MLA Kent Hehr‘s Calgary-Buffalo campaign office this morning. Continuing to focus on health care and Premier Redford’s decision not to hold an independent judicial inquiry into health care issues, Dr. Sherman will be joined by a guest speaker who will talk about the issue of bullying and intimidation.

The Liberals are quickly filling their slate of nominations and I will update my list as I become aware of the new candidates.

Alberta Party Election 2012 Kickoff Calgary
The Alberta Party kicked off their election campaign in Calgary (photo from the Alberta Party Facebook Page).

Fresh from launching their election platform, the Alberta Party held campaign launches in Calgary and Edmonton. Leader Glenn Taylor, who is running in the West Yellowhead constituency, joined candidates at Ms. Huff’s campaign office in Edmonton-Glenora.

NDP leader Brian Mason is visiting the campaigns of Edmonton-Calder candidate David Eggen and Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview candidate Deron Bilous today, and will make an announcement about his party’s health care platform.

Danielle Smith Wildrose Alberta Election 2012 Day 1
Danielle Smith, with Link Byfield by her side (photo taken from screenshot of video).

Danielle Smith kicked off the first day of the campaign surrounded by Edmonton area candidates, and with Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock candidate Link Byfield by her side (Watch the video here).

Perhaps a sign of things to come in this election campaign, the PC’s launched their first salvo against Ms. Smith yesterday afternoon on an issue that no one would have predicted. Following the Ontario Appeal Court’s decision saying that prostitutes’ rights are violated by some criminal law, the PC’s released quotes from a Calgary Herald column penned by Ms. Smith in 2003 where she advocated legalizing the sex trade.

Some of Ms. Smith’s libertarian views may pose a threat to the conservative coalition of like-minded libertarians and social conservatives that she has worked hard to build. I have little doubt the Tories will take every opportunity to expose these types of cleavages in Ms. Smith’s record, with the purpose of breaking her coalition, as well as pushing wavering moderate conservatives back into the Tory camp.

Opinions that politicians have put out into the public sphere are fair game for use by opponents and are a cautionary tale for columnists, bloggers, or even tweeters with electoral ambitions. Loose tweets sink fleets and columns supporting the legalization of prostitution will be used against you.

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alberta election called for april 23, 2012.

Alberta Election 2012

Alberta’s provincial election will be held on April 23, 2012. In this election, the number of constituencies are increasing from 83 to 87 (the first time increase in seats since the 1986 election).

As of today, the Progressive Conservatives, NDP, and Wildrose Party are the only parties to have nominated candidates in all constituencies. Click here to find a full list of candidates and their website and social media links. The list will be made official 14 days after the election is called.

To find out which constituency you live in, visit the Elections Alberta Street Key website. You can also find maps of the new constituencies on the Elections Alberta website. Once you find which constituency you live in, you can register online to add your name to the voters list. I have also prepared a list of 15 constituencies that I will be watching in the election.

On Twitter, follow the #abvote hashtag for election tweets.

Here are some useful website and social media links to Alberta’s political parties and their leaders:

Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
Facebook Twitter YouTube
Leader: Alison Redford (MLA Calgary-Elbow)

Alberta Liberal Party
Facebook Twitter
Leader: Raj Sherman (MLA Edmonton-Meadowlark)

Wildrose Party
Facebook Twitter YouTube
Leader: Danielle Smith (candidate in Highwood)

Alberta NDP
Facebook Twitter YouTube
Leader: Brian Mason (MLA Edmonton-Highands-Norwood)

Alberta Party
Facebook Twitter Vimeo
Leader: Glenn Taylor (candidate in West Yellowhead)

Evergreen Party
Facebook Twitter
Leader: Larry Ashmore (candidate in Livingstone-Macleod)

Social Credit Party
Leader: Len Skowronski (candidate in Calgary-Hawkwood)

Communist Party – Alberta
Leader: Naomi Rankin

Separation Party of Alberta
Leader: Bruce Hutton

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alberta’s tories could have already won another election.

Premier Alberta Alison Redford Election 2012
Alberta Premier Alison Redford

Premier Alison Redford is expected to call a provincial election today.

Had Premier Alison Redford‘s Progressive Conservatives followed conventional political wisdom and dropped the writ shortly after tabling the 2012 provincial budget on February 10, they may have already secured their next majority government.

Danielle Smith Alberta Wildrose Party leader Election 2012
Danielle Smith

Instead, in an attempt to bump that conventional wisdom by holding a spring sitting in the Assembly after the budget was tabled, Premier Redford may have bolstered the opposition parties resilience. With the organizational ability to have had candidates nominated in every constituency by February 10, 2012, a mid-March Election Day would have saved the Tories from a month of embarrassing media coverage and robbed the opposition parties of one full month of organizing (this also demonstrates the uselessness of the new fixed-election period, which does not set a fixed election date, but a period over three months that election can be held).

Unfortunately for Premier Redford, “change from within” has not looked very flattering over the past month. A rough pre-election session has bruised the Tories and quickly ended the new Premier’s honeymoon period, allowing the opposition parties to expose weaknesses in the Tory battle lines (some more aggressively than others).

Raj Sherman Liberal Party leader Election 2012
Raj Sherman

The loud protests by religious homeschooling parents, the MLA committee pay fiasco, the drawn out “judicial” inquiry into health care, investigations into illegal political donations, and allegations of unethical conduct by Premier Redford’s man in Asia and former Tory leadership opponent Gary Mar, have scuffed the shine off the new PC administration. Even Rod Love, the former chief of staff to Premier Ralph Klein, has publicly asked “what the hell is going on in Edmonton?”

It is difficult to say what actual effects delaying the election until after the Spring sitting will have had on Alberta’s opposition parties. Danielle Smith‘s Wildrose Party are hitting the Tories hard on the fiascos that have developed over the last month, and putting personal egos aside, they could make some significant inroads. For the Liberal Party, former Tory MLA and new leader Raj Sherman needs to prove wrong the predications of  doom and gloom for his official opposition party. The NDP led by Brian Mason are hoping to replace the Liberals as the main opposition on the centre-left. And managing expectations well, the Alberta Party led by Glenn Taylor are very conscious of the uphill battle they face.

Calling in the big guns, the Wildrose Party has long-time conservative stratagist Tom Flanagan as campaign manager and Cliff Fryers, the former chairman of Enmax and chief of staff to Preston Manning, as their campaign chair. Along with flocks of federal Conservative organizers migrating to their party, rumour has it that high-priced political consultants from Ontario are being flown in to advise the Wildrose Party’s central campaign.

Despite all this new ammunition made available to the opposition parties after the rough Spring sitting, a betting man would look at the Tories’ 41 years of election victories and easily weigh the odds in their favour of winning once again. Maybe all of these cracks in the Tory armour will amount to nothing Election Day? Maybe the will make all the difference? Maybe new cracks will appear?

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alberta election candidates update – march 2012.

With a provincial election expected to be called early next week, three of Alberta’s main political parties – the Progressive Conservatives, New Democrats, and Wildrose Party – have nominated full-slates of 87 candidates. The official opposition Liberal Party, with 60 candidates nominated, is rushing to fill  their remaining 27 candidacies. Expected to nominate more than 30 candidates in this election, the Alberta Party has already nominated 27 candidates. The Evergreen Party, which has risen from the financial ashes of the defunct Green Party, has sixteen candidates nominated across the province. [Last week, I spoke on CBC Calgary’s The Eyeopener how different political parties are progressing in candidate nominations].

Alberta Liberal Party nominated election candidates (March 22, 2012)
Alberta Liberal Party nominated election candidates (March 22, 2012)
Alberta Party nominated election candidates (March 22, 2012)
Alberta Party nominated election candidates (March 22, 2012)
Evergreen Party nominated election candidates (March 22, 2012)
Evergreen Party nominated election candidates (March 22, 2012)

Here are a few of the recent updates that I have made to the growing list of candidates running in the election:

Lacombe-Ponoka: Replacing MLA Ray Prins, who announced a last minute withdrawal as the Progressive Conservative candidate earlier this week, will be replaced by City of Lacombe Mayor Steve Christie. Mayor Christie was first elected in October 2010. Meanwhile, Pauline Prins, wife of Mr. Prins, wrote a letter defending her husband to the Lacombe Globe. The local paper has been filled with letters criticizing Mr. Prins over the past few weeks.

Calgary-Bow: Ellen Phillips has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.

Calgary-Buffalo: Comedian and writer Cory Mack has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate in this downtown Calgary constituency.

Calgary-East: Ali Abdulbaki has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate.

Jason Webster Alberta Party candidate Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill
Jason Webster

Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill: The Alberta Party has nominated Jason Webster and the Liberals have nominated Don Thompson.

Drayton Valley-Calmar: The Liberals have nominated Chantel Lillycrop as their candidate.

Edmonton-Castle Downs: Kim Cassady has been chosen as the Liberal Party candidate in this north Edmonton constituency. Mr. Cassady ran in the 2010 City Council election and was the Liberal candidate in Edmonton-Highlands in the 2001 provincial election. Previous to his first provincial run, he worked for Edmonton-Glenora Liberal MLA Howard Sapers.

Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood: The Liberal Party has nominated University of Alberta student Keegan Wynychuk as their candidate. The Alberta Party has announced Cameron McCormick will be their candidate.

Jonathan Huckabay Liberal candidate Edmonton-Manning
Jonathan Huckabay

Edmonton-Manning: Official Opposition Chief of Staff Jonathan Huckabay was chosen as the Liberal Party candidate in this north east Edmonton constituency. Mr. Huckabay worked as legislative assistant to PC MLA’s until Raj Sherman was suspended from the governing caucus. The Alberta Party has nominated Mark Wall, professor of Church History and Theology and Dean of Students at Vanguard College.

Edmonton-Strathcona: University of Alberta student Ed Ramsden has been acclaimed as the Liberal Party candidate.

Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville: Matthew Levicki has been nominated as the Evergreen Party candidate.

Livingstone-Macleod: The Liberals have appointed Alex Macdonald as their candidate in this south west Alberta constituency. Mr. Macdonald works as a strategic advisor to Liberal leader Dr. Sherman at the Assembly and played a key role in former Liberal leader Laurence Decore‘s campaigns in the early 1990s.

Sherwood Park: Teacher Chris Kuchmak has been chosen as the Alberta Party candidate.

Whitecourt-Ste. Anne: Vern Hardman has been acclaimed as the Liberal Party candidate. In 2011, Mr. Hardmand was an unsuccessful candidate for the PC nomination in the neighbouring Stony Plain constituency.

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tories scramble into damage control mode over no-work committee pay and mla resignation.

Alberta MLAs fight against MLA Committee Pay
Alberta MLA's are scrambling to control the monster that has become the "Pay for No Work Committee."

Scrambling to balance damage control with party unity on the eve of an election call, MLA’s in Premier Alison Redford‘s Tory caucus are returning pay earned over the past six months from the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections. The committee has not met since 2008, yet MLAs serving on the committee have collected $1,000 per month over that period of time.

Ray Prins MLA Lacombe-Ponoka
Resigned: MLA Ray Prins.

After collecting an estimated $18,000 per year as chairman of the committee, sources say that PC MLA Ray Prins has resigned as the PC candidate in Lacombe-Ponoka.

The move highlights how big a political problem this issue has become for the governing party. Last week, members of the caucus were directed by Premier Redford to take significant pay cuts, which the Tories hoped would help quash the issue. Despite attempts quash the issue, fifteen Tory MLAs are now having to write cheques for the past six months of this committee pay. Rather than repay the full amount collected, six months may be the best that Premier Redford could afford to ask for (I can imagine more than a few Tory MLA’s are feeling a some angst and hostility about how this issue was handled).

Some Opposition MLAs pledged to return the pay after the committee’s absence became public weeks ago. After briefly taking a stand defending the most unpopular position he could under the circumstances, Calgary-Glenmore Wildrose Party MLA Paul Hinman agreed to repay the funds, as did Calgary-Fish Creek Wildrose MLA Heather Forsyth. Liberal leader Raj Sherman cut a cheque for $44,000 to return funds collected from his time as a PC MLA on the committee. Only one opposition MLA, Calgary-Mountain View Liberal David Swann, refused the pay from the beginning, donating it to charity instead.

The end of publicly funded religious education? Amen.
Grande Prairie and District Catholic School chairman Ralph Wohlgemuth calls the new Education Act the beginning of the demise of Catholic education in Alberta, according to the Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune. The Act would allow for the creation of blended school boards, in which both public and Catholic trustees would sit. In an attempt to address crowded schools in many districts across the province, the new Act would give school districts the ability to share space.

Earlier this week, thousands of parents pulled their home-schooled children away from their kitchen tables to protest in front of the Assembly against changes included in the new Education Act.

Andrew Constantinidis Wildrose Calgary-West
Andrew Constantinidis

Meet Ken Hughes dot com
In Calgary-West, Wildrose candidate Andrew Constantinidis is attacking PC candidate Ken Hughes with a new website MeetKenHughes.com. The attack website includes some particularly nasty accusations against the former Conservative Member of Parliament and Alberta Health Services chairman. The emergence of these ads suggests that some Wildrose Party candidates may go to great lengths, and into great depths of negativity, in their campaign against the PCs in the upcoming election.

UPDATE: The videos attacking Mr. Hughes appear to have been taken down from Mr. Constantinidis’ website, likely due to copyright infringement because they used video taken from network television news.

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pimp my ride: alberta election wheels.

With an election call expected in the next week, Alberta’s political parties are loading up their campaign vehicles and hitting the road. Here is a look at some of their sweet rides:

Wildrose Danielle Smith Campaign Election Bus
Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith is featured prominently on her party's election campaign bus.

Wildrose Party: The first opposition party to use a full campaign bus in more than a decade. The unfortunate placement of the bus’ back wheels will surely lead to some giggles over the course of the campaign, but the presence of the bus signals that the Wildrose is investing a lot of funds in this election campaign.

As a good friend in the public relations industry wrote in an email this morning

“In politics, perception is reality. You can talk about policy all you want, but at the end of the day people will focus on what is interesting to them, and the wheels on the bus are interesting in the same way that Jay Leno’s headlines are. It’s funny to see someone screw up, and if there is some sexual innuendo in there then it’s all the more fun.”

Alberta PC Alison Redford campaign election bus
PC campaign bus.

Progressive Conservative: Alison Redford‘s PC Party launched their campaign bus at their February campaign colleges in Edmonton and Calgary, and have since been using it as a mobile billboard while stopping at candidate’s campaign offices across Alberta. The PC’s have the money and can afford to pull out all the stops, like a big bus.

Alberta Liberal Raj Sherman campaign election truck
Raj Sherman's campaign truck.

Liberal: Jokingly nicknamed the “Sherman Tank” by some supporters, the literal meaning may have been lost when that description was made about Liberal leader Raj Sherman‘s campaign truck . During the Second World War, the Sherman tanks earned a reputation for easily catching fire when hit by enemy shells.

Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason's campaign mini-van.
Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason's campaign mini-van.

NDP: NDP leader Brian Mason is sporting a slick new mini-van, which it is not as flashy as a giant campaign bus, but is more reflective of his party’s financial situation compared to the two main conservative parties.

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Alberta Politics

more on alberta mla extra pay and the privileges & elections committee.

2012-03-11 Alberta Politics MLA Committee Pay
Alberta MLA's at a meeting of the Privileges and Elections Committee.

More information has been relvealed about controversial $1,000 monthly payments made to Alberta MLA’s for being members of a committee that has not met for three years. Retiring Edmonton-Gold Bar Liberal MLA Hugh MacDonald revealed late last week that Premier Alison Redford was briefly a member of the committee while she served as Minister of Justice & Attorney General (though Premier Redford has no recollection). It was also revealed that Liberal leader Raj Sherman sat on the committee and collected the extra pay while he was a Progressive Conservative MLA.

Alberta MLA’s are allowed to collect extra pay for a maximum of $3,500. Some opposition MLA’s, like Edmonton-Strathcona NDP MLA Rachel Notley, sit on four or five committees (and are only paid for three). Premier Redford told the Edmonton Sun that it would be up to individual MLA’s to choose whether they would return the extra pay.

Transcript of a meeting of the Privileges and Elections Committee from Monday, November 17, 2008 includes some interesting comments about the committee’s work by a three MLA’s who found themselves sitting in different political positions four years ago. Two-term Liberal MLA Bridget Pastoor (now a PC MLA) questioned the need for the committee, five-term PC MLA Heather Forsyth (now a Wildrose Party MLA) defended the committee’s work, and rookie-PC MLA Dr. Sherman (now leader of the Liberal Party) expressed honour for being invited to join the committee.

Ms Pastoor: I think I just want to get on the record with a couple of comments. This committee hadn’t met for almost 20 years, and now we’ve met two or three times and probably won’t meet again. I just feel that a lot of the work that we did – and I’m not saying that it’s not good – in committee really was probably the responsibility of the two House leaders. Prior to this, I think both our House leaders and the leader of the third party as a part of that really did a fine job, so I’m still not exactly sure why we had the large meeting when, in fact, it was the responsibility of the House leaders.

…

Mrs. Forsyth: Just a comment to Bridget. I’ve been here since 1993, and this committee has been around, and I always questioned what it did. I felt the whole process very worth while. I liked the idea of the people who put together the new standing orders, et cetera, giving us, even though we didn’t win some of the battles, like I did, the opportunity to debate it and say why we support it. For example, I’ll go back. I thought it would be a good idea to have sessions in the morning. I got overwhelmingly defeated on that particular motion, but for me it was an extremely valuable process to be able to say that I was part of a committee that had the opportunity after 20 years to be able to set new rules in what’s going to be the future, hopefully for – I’m not going to say 20 years because I don’t assume that that’s going to happen. I mean, we all age.

People change. Things change.

….

Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Chair. As a new member it’s a good opportunity for the new members to learn, to see how the process works, and to sit across the table from our other colleagues. This is part of us working together. It’s been an honour for me to be here. Thank you, Mr. Chair. You’ve done a good job.

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Alberta Politics

tgif! alberta election candidate update – march 2012 (part 2).

I have updated the list of Alberta election candidates to include some of the following individuals:

Farouk Adatia Alison Redford Calgary-Shaw 2011
Farouk Adatia and Premier Alison Redford

Calgary-Shaw: Following a surprising announcement by three-term PC MLA Cindy Ady that she would not seek re-election, lawyer Farouk Adatia has been appointed to replace her at the Progressive Conservative candidate. Mr. Adatia was the Chief Financial Officer for Premier Alison Redford‘s leadership campaign in 2011, and he was an unsuccessful candidate in the hotly contested PC nomination in Calgary-Hawkwood earlier this year. Following the disqualification of former Calgary-McCall MLA Shiraz Shariff as the PC candidate in Calgary-West, it was speculated that Mr. Adatia might be appointed to run as a candidate there.

Calgary-Cross: Susan Stratton will represent the Evergreen Party in this east Calgary constituency. Ms. Stratton ran in this constituency in the 2008 election under the Green Party banner, earning 395 votes. In 2004, she ran for the Green Party in Calgary-North Hill, placing third and earning 1,261 votes.

Jennifer Ketsa Edmonton-Ellerslie Liberal
Jennifer Ketsa

Calgary-Elbow: Businessman Greg Clark has been nominated as the Alberta Party‘s candidate in the constituency represented by Premier Redford.

Edmonton-Ellerslie: As reported in Mark Lisac‘s Insight Into Government newsletter, the Liberal Party is expected to announce Jennifer Ketsa (confirmed on Twitter) as their candidate after previously nominated candidate Bharat Agnihotri stepped down. Mr. Agnihotri served as MLA for this constituency from 2004 until 2008.

Edmonton-Manning: Past mayoral candidate Daryl Bonar appears to have fallen off the list of Wildrose Party candidates. Mr. Bonar placed third in Edmonton’s 2010 mayoral election and was nominated as a Wildrose candidate in 2011.

Neil Mather, Edmonton-Meadowlark Alberta Party candidate 2012
Neil Mather

Edmonton-Meadowlark: Lawyer and past federal Liberal candidate Neil Mather will run in this west Edmonton constituency under the Alberta Party banner. In the 2004 election, Mr. Mather earned 12,912 in the Edmonton-Spruce Grove riding, which includes parts of Meadowlark. The constituency is currently represented by Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman, who was elected under the PC banner in 2008.

Edmonton-Rutherford: David Tonner, an organizing member of The Zeitgeist Movement, has been nominated as the Evergreen Party candidate.

Lacombe-Ponoka: Rancher and agricultural policy specialist Tony Jeglum has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.

St. Albert: Despite initial problems finding a candidate, social worker Kim Bugeaud has been chosen to run for the Liberals in St. Albert. Ms. Bugeaud served as a trustee on the St. Albert Protestant School Board from 1995 to 1998.

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Alberta Politics

cindy ady not seeking re-election, hector goudreau demoted, and raj sherman tweets about university intimidation.

Alberta's politicians are preparing for the next election.
Alberta's politicians are preparing for the next election.

Less than 48 hours after the Progressive Conservatives filled their slate of 87 candidates, three-term Calgary-Shaw MLA Cindy Ady announced on her website that she will not be seeking re-election. Ms. Ady served as Tourism minister from 2008 until 2011. Here is the message she posted:

For the past decade, I have had the honour and privilege to serve as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and to make a difference in the lives of Albertans. I have decided it is time to transition and explore new opportunities. As such, I will not be running in the upcoming provincial election.

I wish to thank the constituents of Calgary-Shaw for their inspiration and energy. Their hopes, vision, and determination have led to remarkable growth in our community. In just 10 short years, we have built schools, new healthcare facilities and better transportation systems that will shape the lives of Calgarians for years to come.

I am well aware that there is more work to be done. The hospital project and the Ring Road are two good examples. Rest assured that I will work closely with the future MLA of Calgary-Shaw to ensure a smooth and effective transition.

I would like to express my appreciation for the excellent leadership and counsel I have received from Premier Redford and my colleagues during my time as MLA. The support provided to me and my family, and the opportunities to serve the people of this province have been life changing.

Hector Goudreau demoted, not running for re-election?

Dunvegan-Central Peace PC MLA Hector Goudreau has resigned as chairman of the Cabinet Policy Committee for Community Development after defending himself from allegations he bullied school board officials in his constituency. CTV News is reporting that Mr. Goudreau has also decided against seeking re-election, though other news outlets have not reported this.

Mental health funding increased

In a pre-election announcement yesterday morning, Health & Wellness Minister Fred Horne told the media that the government has allocated an additional $15 million towards much needed renovations and expansion of services at Alberta Hospital Edmonton. The hospital’s future looked bleak only a few years ago when then-CEO of Alberta Health Services Stephen Duckett canceled previous plans for upgrades, claiming that the site buildings were too old and decrepit.

Sherman accuses government of intimidating U of A

Meanwhile, Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman is accusing the provincial government of intimating the University of Alberta‘s interim Dean of Medicine & Dentistry Verna Yiu. Dr. Sherman tweeted that he could not understand why the interim Dean cancelled his grand rounds and suggested that the decision was caused by “the intimidating arm of the #pcaa.”

Raj Sherman tweets 2012/03/05
Raj Sherman tweets 2012/03/05
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Alberta Politics

premier redford’s light legislative agenda and half-kept promise.

A photo of Alberta Premier Alison Redford
Premier Alison Redford

Six is the number of pieces of legislation that Premier Alison Redford‘s Progressive Conservative government has introduced into Alberta’s Legislative Assembly during the Spring sitting that started in February.

Nineteen is the number of pieces of legislation passed by the PC government led by Premier Ed Stelmach during the 2011 Spring sitting of the Assembly.

The government’s light legislative agenda during the Spring sitting should be a surprise to Albertans, especially after the kerfuffle around the cancellation and delay of the 2011 Fall sitting. Perhaps explaining the lack of a long list of legislative items is that this sitting is expected to culminate with passage of the provincial budget and the dropping of the Writ, which some political watchers suspect may happen during the third or four week of March.

Along with a safe pre-election budget, the Tories legislative agenda includes items that posed difficult political challenges to the government under Premier Stelmach. The Results-based Budgeting Act is a response to criticisms from the Wildrose Party that the Tories have become bad fiscal managers. The new version of the Education Act is meant to ease the worries created by the Bill’s previous incarnation that school boards would be eliminated or have their powers greatly reduced.

Perhaps touching the most politically sensitive issue for the PCs is the Property Rights Advocate Act, which is meant to cool the flames of angry and well-organized landowners in rural Alberta who have loudly voiced their opposition to the construction of transmission lines and new powers that allow cabinet to expropriate private property. Danielle Smith‘s Wildrose Party has focused what I can only imagine are a wealth of resources and countless time on making property rights a defining wedge issue in some rural areas.

Promises kept?

Half-fullfilling a promise made during the PC leadership contest to hold an independent judicial inquiry into the health care system, Premier Redford’s support for a quasi-judicial inquiry with a narrower mandate has made some political watchers spitting mad. Opposition politicians, like Liberal leader Raj Sherman and Wildrose MLA Rob Anderson, have criticized the recent report as being “whitewash” and “an outrage.”

Being Alberta’s first Premier in a generation who can explain policy positions articulately (and in full sentences), it would not be surprising to see many voters looking past the misgivings and political maneuvering and decide that they would be comfortable with Premier Redford in office.

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