Tag: United Conservative Party

Categories
Alberta Politics

Never bet against the Conservatives in Alberta

UCP leader Danielle Smith on election night in Calgary (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)
UCP leader Danielle Smith on election night in Calgary (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)

Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party will form a majority government in Alberta and Rachel Notley’s NDP will form the Official Opposition.

As of 2:00am, the UCP has 49 seats and the NDP has 38, which I believe is the closest election result in Alberta’s history. There are still some remaining polls that haven’t reported in a few Calgary ridings with tight races, so those numbers could shift slightly.

This election has been a wild ride and the electoral map shows a deeply divided province.

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

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Impress your friends with Alberta election night trivia

Sunset at the Alberta Legislature (source: Dave Cournoyer)

It’s Election Day in Alberta! If you didn’t vote in the advance polls, voting stations are open today from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Whether you are planning to settle in for a quiet evening of results watching or heading to your local candidate’s campaign office for a victory party, I am happy to share some fun Alberta election trivia you can wow your friends and family with tonight.

Enjoy!

Dave

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

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Follow the leaders: Mapping where Smith and Notley campaigned in Alberta’s election

A map showing which ridings UCP leader Danielle Smith campaigned in from May 1 to May 27, 2023 (map: CanadianPolling.ca)
A map showing which ridings UCP leader Danielle Smith campaigned in from May 1 to May 27, 2023 (map: CanadianPolling.ca)

Over the course of the election I’ve been doing my best to keep track of which ridings United Conservative Party leader Danielle Smith and Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley visited for events and announcements on the campaign trail between May 1 and May 27, 2023.

The leader’s tour can give some insight into where the parties are on the defensive and where they hope to make gains in an election. And, if competitive ridings are the big measurement, then there were only a few surprises on this map.

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

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Nenshi and Harper endorsements set the tone for final weekend of Alberta’s election

Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley and former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi (source: Rachel Notley / Twitter)
Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley and former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi (source: Rachel Notley / Twitter)

There are two days left until Election Day in Alberta.

I was planning on taking a short break from writing any election commentary this morning, but I decided I had a few thoughts I wanted to share about some recent high-profile election endorsements.

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

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

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.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Daveberta Podcast: An election so hot, you melt like you’re staring into the Ark of the Covenant

With Election Day only a few days away, Chris Henderson joins the Daveberta Podcast for a deep discussion about Alberta’s election campaign, how we got here and the spicy scenarios that might become reality after the votes are counted on May 29. We also discuss what the possible election outcomes mean for United Conservative Party leader Danielle Smith and Alberta NDP Rachel Notley.

Listen to this episode of the Daveberta Podcast by signing up for a paid subscription to the Daveberta Substack.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

19 Alberta ridings I’ll be watching closely on Election Day

19 Alberta ridings I’ll be watching closely on Election Day (source: CanadianPolling.ca)
19 Alberta ridings I’ll be watching closely on Election Day (source: CanadianPolling.ca)

There are four days left until Election Day in Alberta.

Readers of the Daveberta will know I’ve been watching this Alberta election pretty closely and, while I’ve actually been watching all 87 ridings throughout the campaign, there are a few handfuls I’ve been keeping a close eye on.

Some of them will be close races and some will be won with landslides.

Here’s my list of 19 ridings I’ll be watching closely on Election Day.

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

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

UCP and NDP making their final week pitch to Alberta voters

NDP leader at a campaign rally in south Calgary (source: Rachel Notley / Facebook)
NDP leader at a campaign rally in south Calgary (source: Rachel Notley / Facebook)

Election outcome doesn’t appear any clearer today than it did on Day 1

We’re midway through the final week of Alberta’s election campaign and while the most recent poll from Abacus Data points to Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party having an edge over Rachel Notley’s Alberta NDP, it will probably come down to ground game – who can get their voters out to the polls.

It feels like the closest election we’ve had in a long time.

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

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

After the election: What different scenarios mean for Alberta

UCP leader Danielle Smith with candidates Dale Nally (left) and Angela Wood (right) at a campaign event in St. Albert (source: Becca Polak / Twitter)
UCP leader Danielle Smith with candidates Dale Nally (left) and Angela Wood (right) at a campaign event in St. Albert (source: Becca Polak / Twitter)

Before the collapse of the Progressive Conservative Party in 2015, being a PC Party member – or at least participating in PC Party events – was extremely normal. Normal to the point that it was barely political.

If you were a business or a non-profit that depended on government policy, you were a participator to some extent – you kind of had to be. As a decades-old political dynasty, it was the only game in town, and the political dynamic in Alberta showed it.

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

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Take Back Alberta bringing Jordan Peterson and Tea Party politics to Alberta

Jordan Peterson, 14, in the Edmonton Journal on March 14, 1977 (source: Paul Fairie on Twitter)
Jordan Peterson, 14, in the Edmonton Journal on March 14, 1977 (source: Paul Fairie on Twitter)

A controversial right-wing media personality with a huge online following will soon be entering the election fray.

Toronto psychologist Jordan Peterson is making three speaking tour stops in the Alberta next week and will almost certainly provide fodder for local conservative media columnists to chew on.

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

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

It’s a draw. Fast-paced leaders debate was entertaining but probably didn’t move votes

Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley and UCP leader Danielle Smith at the televised leaders debate (screenshot source: CBC)
Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley and UCP leader Danielle Smith at the televised leaders debate (screenshot source: CBC)

It’s one and done.

United Conservative Party leader Danielle Smith and Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley met last night for the only televised leaders debate of Alberta’s election campaign. The debate was entertaining for political watchers and it will probably be analyzed to death for the next 24 hours, but I’m not sure it will have much of an impact on the election campaign.

Here are a few quick thoughts on the leaders debate…

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

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

A short history of leaders’ debates in Alberta elections

PC leader Ralph Klein, NDP leader Ray Martin and Liberal leader Laurence Decore at the 1993 TV leaders debate, a first in Alberta politics (screenshot source: CBC)
PC leader Ralph Klein, NDP leader Ray Martin and Liberal leader Laurence Decore at the 1993 TV leaders debate, a first in Alberta politics (screenshot source: CBC)

United Conservative Party leader Danielle Smith and Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley will face each other at 7:00 pm tonight in the only televised leaders debate of Alberta’s election campaign.

This is the first time Alberta has had a TV debate featuring only two party leaders, but both people taking the stage have experience doing this before.

This is Notley’s third televised debate since 2015 and it’s Smith’s second.

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

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Please Take Your Seats, the Show is About to Get Under Way

Election lawn signs in Edmonton (source: Dave Cournoyer)
The next two weeks will be a lot of fun for political watchers

We’re halfway through the third week of Alberta’s election campaign and we’re seeing how the two main parties are laying the groundwork for this week’s marquee event: the televised leaders debate.

After a rough first two weeks of the campaign, the United Conservative Party is stepping up its attacks on the Alberta NDP’s economic record, trying to shift attention away from health care and the never-ending stream of controversial comments that have come out of Danielle Smith’s mouth.

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

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Daveberta Podcast: Who’s on the ballot in Alberta’s election?

I joined Éric Grenier of TheWrit.ca on his excellent podcast this week to discuss Alberta’s election and the candidates who will be on the ballot on May 29. Éric was generous enough to share the audio from that episode so I can share it with the lucky paid subscribers of the Daveberta Substack.

Thank you to Daveberta Podcast producer Adam Rozenhart for editing this so we can share it with you today.

Listen to this episode of the Daveberta Podcast by signing up for a paid subscription to the Daveberta Substack.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Look who’s running in Alberta’s election. There are 349 candidates but it’s still a UCP-NDP race

NDP leader Rachel Notley at an election campaign rally in Calgary (source: Rachel Notley / Twitter)
NDP leader Rachel Notley at an election campaign rally in Calgary (source: Rachel Notley / Twitter)

The official list of candidates was released by Elections Alberta at the end of last week. I’ve been tracking candidate nominations for this election quite closely over the past two years and shared some initial thoughts a few weeks ago. But now that the list of candidates is official, here’s a quick look at the slates on the ballot on May 29.

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

Email