A political cartoon in The Leader-Post in May 1938 depicting Alberta Premier William Aberhart as a a plague of locusts.
86 years ago, Premier William Aberhart staged an invasion of Saskatchewan politics
It’s Election Day in Saskatchewan and it looks like a close race between the 17-year long governing Saskatchewan Party led by Premier Scott Moe and a revived Sask NDP led by Carla Beck. While I’ll leave the political analysis of tonight’s results and the past four weeks of campaigning to people more familiar with the Land of the Living Skies, I do know a little bit about one particular election in Saskatchewan’s history.
Eighty-six years ago, in 1938, Alberta Premier William Aberhart staged an invasion of Saskatchewan politics by using the Alberta Social Credit Party’s organization and the levers of the Alberta government to try to get the Social Credit Party of Saskatchewan elected as government.
Sunset at the Alberta Legislature (source: Dave Cournoyer)
The recent mini-cabinet shuffle is being followed by a series of staffing changes among the senior ministerial ranks of the United Conservative Party government.
Announced during last week’s shuffle that saw Kaycee Madu appointed Justice Minister, Doug Schweitzer put in charge of a newly rebranded economic ministry and Tracy Allard promoted to Municipal Affairs, was the departure of Premier Jason Kenney’s Principal Secretary Howard Anglin, who is being replaced by Larry Kaumeyer.
Other changes announced today include the departure of the Premier’s Director of Community Relations Ariella Kimmel, who will now take the role of Chief of Staff to Schweitzer. Kimmel replaces current Chief of Staff Kris Barker, who will now become a Senior Policy Advisor in the office of Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda.
More changes in Room 307 include, Julia Bareman leaving Finance Minister Travis Toews office to join the Premier’s office as a Policy Advisor and Manager of Stakeholder Relations Siobain Quinton and Executive Assistant Clancy Bouwman moving to part-time roles as they pursue post-secondary studies.
Staffing changes in ministerial offices include:
Brock Harrison has been appointed as Executive Director of the UCP Caucus, moving on from his role as Chief of Staff to the Minster of Children’s Services. Harrison is a long-time political staffer, having served as Communication Director of the Wildrose Caucus and in the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition in Ottawa.
Current press secretary to the Minister of Children’s Services Lauren Armstrong will become the new Chief of Staff. Alberta Proud spokesperson Becca Polak will take over as Press Secretary in this office. Polak was a candidate for the UCP nomination in Calgary-Mountain View ahead of the 2019 election.
At the UCP Caucus, Harrison replaces Robyn Henwood, who will take over as Chief of Staff to Community and Social Services Miniser Rajan Sawhney. Current Chief of Staff Ryan Hastman will move into a new role which has yet to be announced.
Current Indigenous Relations Press Secretary Ted Bauer has been promoted to Chief of Staff in Minster Rick Wilson’s office and UCP Caucus Director of Communications Joseph Dow will take over as Press Secretary in this office.
Riley Braun, the current Chief of Staff in Indigenous Affairs, will become a senior advisor in the office of the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General.
Jonah Mozeson has been promoted from Press Secretary to Chief of Staff in the office of the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General. Mozeson is married to Jamie Mozeson, who is currently the Chief of Staff to Minister of Service Alberta Nate Glubish.
Long-time Kenney ally, Blaise Boehmer has been appointed as Senior Press Secretary in the Office of the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, moving over from his role as Special Advisor to Agriculture & Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen. Bohemer was director of communications for Kenney’s UCP leadership campaign and the manager of communications and engagement for the UCP caucus from 2017 to 2018. He previously worked as director of research and operations for the Saskatchewan Party Caucus in Regina.
Kalee Kent has been appointed a Legislative Assistant in the office of Minster of Environment & Parks Jason Nixon, moving from her current role as Ministerial Assistant in the Office of the Municipal Affairs Minister. Kent was Constituency Development Director for the UCP from 2016 to 2019 and previously worked for the Saskatchewan Party and Regina-Coronation Park MLA Mark Docherty.
The ban on vehicles with Alberta license plates on Saskatchewan road worksites was initially framed as a retaliation for similar actions by the Alberta government. But when no evidence could be found that this was actually happening in Alberta, the ban was soon framed as a retaliation for the Alberta Government’s support of the province’s booming craft beer industry.
The fake trade war was seen by some political watchers as a strategic failure or a distraction from scandals and unpopular decisions that plagued Wall’s Government in its final year. But it was also consistent with Wall’s ongoingadversarial relationship with Premier Rachel Notley, and the NDP in general.
Joe Ceci
A decade ago, Wall was the fresh face for conservatism on the prairies after he led his party to unseat a 16-year old NDP government. But after ten years in office, Wall has assumed the role as the leading voice of grumpy conservatism in Western Canada.
Wall, who continues to enjoy incredible popularity in his province and among Conservative partisans in Alberta, raised the white flag days before he is set to retire as Premier.
While New Democrats in the Alberta Legislature will be pleased to see Wall ride into the political sunset, it remains unclear whether his successor will be open to a more cordial relationship with their provincial neighbours.
Alberta’s NDP should enjoy their quick victory in the fake trade war on the prairies, but they should not lose focus as the real political battle continues to brew to the west – and that fight is about oil pipelines, not licence plates or beer.
