Mandel’s retirement kicks-off Edmonton’s first open mayoral race in 45 years.
TweetEdmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel‘s announcement yesterday that he will not seek re-election in the October 21, 2013 election has made way for our city’s first real open mayoral contest in 45 years....
View ArticleTwenty years since Alberta’s epic 1993 election.
TweetToday marks the 20th anniversary of Alberta’s 1993 election, known in Tory political circles as “the miracle on the Prairies” and to others as the election that interrupted the 1993 Stanley Cup...
View ArticleNews from parties not named PC or Wildrose
TweetWith Alberta’s daily political scene dominated by the loud and partisan voices of the governing Progressive Conservatives and the official opposition Wildrose, it has become easy to miss what is...
View ArticleTories hope for a Hancockian era of stability
TweetOn March 20, 1989, Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives were re-elected with a majority government but Premier Don Getty was defeated by voters in his Edmonton-Whitemud constituency. It was a...
View ArticleJim Prentice tells Albertans to strap on their seat belts
Tweet“After two weeks with me as the premier, there will be no doubts in anyone’s minds that this a time of renewal and a time of change. Put your seat belts on.” – Jim Prentice speaking with Roger...
View ArticleAre the wheels falling off the Wildrose bus?
TweetA short few months ago, it almost felt inevitable that the Wildrose Party would sweep into a majority government at the next election. Their support in the polls was skyrocketing and the 43-year...
View ArticleAlberta’s Great Family Day Debate of 1989
[This post was originally published on Feb. 16, 2010] The annual Family Day long-weekend is something that many Albertans look forward to. The many Albertans who take the holiday on the third Monday of...
View ArticleJune 15 marks the end of the NDP’s trek through Alberta’s political wilderness
On June 15, 2015, Alberta’s new government will present its first Speech from the Throne. Read by new Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell, the speech will represent the first official major statement...
View Articlealberta 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...
View ArticleDisappointed Wildrosers sit outside as Redford Tories abandon Klein-era...
Alberta’s opposition parties are traditionally notorious for being unforgiving towards leaders who fail to meet or beat electoral expectations. Take for example former Edmonton Mayor Laurence Decore,...
View ArticleThe origin and real meaning of the “Alberta Advantage”
August 31, 1993 marked the first time the words “Alberta Advantage” were uttered on the floor of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly. “Unlike some others, my government will not try to buy prosperity...
View ArticleAlberta’s odd tradition of naming electoral districts after former politicians
Become famous in Alberta politics and one day you could have a provincial electoral district named in your honour. It has become a custom in recent decades in Alberta for electoral districts to be...
View ArticleRepost: The Great Family Day Debate of 1989
[This post was originally published on Feb. 16, 2010] The annual Family Day long-weekend is something that many Albertans look forward to. The many Albertans who take for granted the holiday on the...
View ArticleWill the Alberta Together takeover turn the Alberta Party into PC 2.0?
Photo: Alberta Party leader Greg Clark on the campaign trail in Calgary-Elbow in 2014. Source: Twitter. In the latest shakeup in Alberta politics, Greg Clark announced last Friday that he would resign...
View ArticleSon of Conservative MP Earl Dreeshen running for UCP nomination in...
Photo: Jason Kenney (centre) and Devin Dreeshen (right). (Photo source: Twitter) Facing charges of sexual assault and sexual interference, United Conservative Party MLA Don MacIntyre resigned from his...
View Articlepremier stelmach’s problems are bigger than a cabinet shuffle.
There has been a lot of chatter about what Premier Ed Stelmach can do to reverse the Progressive Conservatives downward spiral in recent polls. According to these recent polls, the PCs now sit at 25%...
View Articlemacewan university – the future of story conference & alberta’s political...
I had a great time participating in the Future of Story Conference organized by MacEwan University‘s School of Communications this weekend (you can read tweets from participants at #futureofstory). I...
View Articlealberta’s great family day debate of 1989.
The annual Family Day long-weekend is something that many Albertans look forward to. The many Albertans who take the holiday on the third Monday of February for granted may be surprised to know that...
View Articlewildrose wildfire.
While the sacking of Toronto grabbed national attention this weekend, another event captivated political audiences in Alberta. The Wildrose Alliance policy conference in Red Deer drew the kind of...
View Articlevictims of alberta’s opposition meat-grinder
Since Peter Lougheed catapulted from official opposition leader to Premier in 1971, Alberta’s opposition leadership have become a political graveyard for many well-intentioned and ambitious...
View Articletesting conservative unity.
Calgary-Centre North by-election could be a test of conservative unity in alberta. As the first major political event on the federal stage in Alberta since the Wildrose Alliance jumped from...
View Articlealberta politics notes 1/28/2011.
What’s next? The sudden Tuesday morning announcement by Premier Ed Stelmach that he will resign before the next election caught many people by surprise, but beyond the broad statement there was little...
View Articlenot seeing the forest for the trees: swann’s departure will change little.
After a tumultuous two years as leader of Alberta’s Liberal Party, Calgary-Mountain View MLA David Swann announced that he will not lead his party into the next election, and that he will formally...
View Articlebill harvey enters liberal leadership contest.
Calgary financial services executive Bill Harvey is the fifth candidate to join the Alberta Liberal leadership contest. Mr. Harvey was the Liberal candidate in Calgary-East in 2004 and 2008, where he...
View Articlea look at the alberta liberal leadership candidates.
You might be forgiven if you have not paid much attention to the Alberta Liberal Party leadership contest, which is currently under way. The Liberal contest is not as exciting as the Progressive...
View Articleforty years of political hegemony over alberta.
Forty years ago today, Albertans voted to end the 36 year rule of the Social Credit League and let the light shine as Peter Lougheed‘s Progressive Conservatives scored their first majority election...
View Articlein alberta politics, what once was old is new again.
Premier Alison Redford is expected to introduce new fixed-election date legislation in the postponed fall sitting of the Assembly, expected to sit in late November. In 2009, I wrote: “In April 2008,...
View Articlesurveys show big-tent tories and ideologically polarized opposition.
A new survey released in the National Post by Forum Research Inc. shows Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives with 38% province-wide support and the opposition Wildrose Party sitting at 29%. This survey...
View ArticleFormer Speaker Gene Zwozdesky has died at age 70. The “Wizard of Zwoz”...
Gene Zwozdesky, the former Speaker of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly, has died of cancer at the age of 70. Known for being incredibly approachable and having the ability to lay-on the political charm...
View ArticleNathan Cooper claims the throne in Alberta’s latest Speaker election
When MLAs gathered for the first sitting of the new Legislature today, the first piece of business they were required to conduct was the election of a Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, who will...
View ArticleThe Battle of Alberta Politics: How voters in Calgary and Edmonton can...
The Battle of Alberta is a term usually reserved for competitions on the hockey rink or football field, but the rivalry between Calgary and Edmonton probably predates our professional sports clubs....
View ArticleNick Taylor was a giant in Alberta politics
He was never Premier of Alberta or even Leader of the Official Opposition, but Nick Taylor was a giant in Alberta politics nonetheless. The quick-witted oilman-turned-politican with swept-back silver...
View ArticleNDP nominate Julia Hayter in Calgary-Edgemont. Sayid Ahmed running for UCP...
Julia Hayter was nominated as the Alberta NDP candidate in Calgary-Edgemont at a meeting held last night. Hayter was the NDP candidate in the northwest Calgary district in the 2019 election, where she...
View ArticleMaking the Alberta Party relevant is Barry Morishita’s new job
Brooks Mayor Barry Morishita has been acclaimed as leader of the Alberta Party. “As a compassionate leader and experienced community builder, I believe that a new, fresh approach to politics is what...
View ArticleThe Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche by-election and the Alberta Politics Time...
The calm before the storm. The deep breath before the plunge. Tomorrow is the day. Tomorrow is by-election day in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche. They’ve been overshadowed by Jason Kenney’s leadership...
View ArticleSharif Haji defeats MLA Chris Nielsen in Edmonton-Decore NDP race, UCP choose...
Sharif Haji defeated MLA Chris Nielsen to win the Alberta NDP nomination in Edmonton-Decore. “As a immigrant, as a black person, as a Muslim person, and as someone who has spent years working in...
View ArticleInto the Wilderness. Nobody wants to lead the Alberta Liberal Party
“This Leadership Race is an exciting opportunity to build our party, debate ideas, discuss strategy and reach out to Albertans,” wrote Alberta Liberal Party president Helen Mcmenamin in a June 13...
View ArticleA short history of leaders’ debates in Alberta elections
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...
View ArticleHow to build an Alberta cabinet without Edmonton
It’s easy. Edmontonians didn’t want a seat at Smith’s cabinet table. It has been one week since Alberta’s election and Premier Danielle Smith is expected to appoint a new roster of cabinet ministers...
View ArticleAlberta politicians betting on the Stanley Cup
Harmless fun or shameless stunt? Does it matter?! Go Oilers! As hockey fans pour into Rogers Place tonight to watch the Edmonton Oilers face the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals,...
View ArticleDrugs, gaffes and good intentions: The Big Family Day Debate of 1989
That time of year is once again upon us: the annual Family Day long weekend in Alberta. Thirty-five years after Albertans first marked the third Monday in February as a provincial holiday in 1990, most...
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