Continuing from here. Also, moving to Election 2015 forum.
Issues Pages:
Alberta politics election thread 2
Tue, 2015-04-28 11:18
#1
Alberta politics election thread 2
Tue, 2015-04-28 11:26
#2
Surging NDP changes contours of Alberta race
The election is looking nothing like 2012, and that is bad news for Jim Prentice
http://www.cbc.ca/news/elections/alberta-votes/surging-ndp-changes-conto...
Tue, 2015-04-28 12:02
#3
With a few exceptions (like the inaccurate swipe at secularism) I thought that Manning article was a good one. The real point wasn't his prediction, but the philosophical parallels between his party and the NDP.
I'm surprised there was no mention of Social Credit's predecessors, the United Farmers of Alberta.
Tue, 2015-04-28 12:37
#4
The best answer to the Manning Institute' red-baiting
Lance Taylor @lancetay Apr 24
@manningcentre I think Jim Prentice already took care of that. #mathishard
https://twitter.com/manningcentre/status/591684058356195328
Tue, 2015-04-28 12:56
#5
... and that if anyone has been using other peoples' money, it is the oil companies.
Tue, 2015-04-28 12:59
#6
With a few exceptions (like the inaccurate swipe at secularism) I thought that Manning article was a good one. The real point wasn't his prediction, but the philosophical parallels between his party and the NDP.
I'm surprised there was no mention of Social Credit's predecessors, the United Farmers of Alberta.
Yeah, reading it over again, his overall point is valid. And the "prophecy" doesn't really seem to belong there, since it emphasizes Manning's hostility to socialism, whereas the rest of the article emphaasizes the kinshp between Social Credit and socialism(though even that point is more applicable to Aberhart than to Manning, the latter of whom spent a lot on schools and hospitals, but didn't do much to challenge corporate perogatives). NEXT...
Tue, 2015-04-28 13:03
#7
And good call on the omission of the UFA. Both Social Credit and the CCF can trace their roots partly to that organization. (Not to mention they had the raciest sex scandal ever to hit Canadian politics.)
Tue, 2015-04-28 13:34
#8
Read this!
Alberta orange
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/opinion/editorial/alberta-orange-1.18...
Tue, 2015-04-28 13:59
#9
FROM THE ARTCLE: "Most significant of all, Alberta has changed. That flood of new residents to Alberta from elsewhere in Canada and around the world brought their cosmopolitan outlook with them and are not bound to political tradition." NEXT...
Tue, 2015-04-28 14:01
#10
^ I suppose the social-scientists can have the last word here, but I personally am pretty skeptical about the above explanation for the supposed leftward drift of Alberta politics. Until now(and we'll see what happens on election day), the NDP had been strongest in the late 80s/early 90s. Edmonton in the same time period had a two-term mayor who was to the left of Nenshi, and even the Tories had their Red-Tory heyday from the 70s to the mid 80s. All at a time when Alberta was presumably more culturally homogenous than it is now.
Tue, 2015-04-28 14:21
#11
Tories have only themselves to blame if the NDP wins
Despite that, though, PC leader Jim Prentice confidently boasted over the weekend that Alberta “is not an NDP province.” Maybe we’re not, but it doesn’t appear that Prentice gets the final word on that. Nor should he.
Of course, Prentice surely believes that we’re not a Wildrose province, either. Or a Liberal province, for that matter. The PC brand is so wrapped up in holding power, that to them, it’s self-evident that we’re a Tory province. Quite naturally, they’re terrified of losing that hold on power, and so once again, they’re hoping Albertans buy into that fear, too. It’s understandable from their perspective; if they don’t hold power, then what is the point of the PC party?
http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/breakenridge-tories-have-onl...
Tue, 2015-04-28 16:02
#12
NDP’s Notley brushes off Alberta premier ‘fear-mongering’ over energy
http://medicinehatnews.com/alberta-election/stories-features/2015/04/28/...
Tue, 2015-04-28 16:03
#13
Right-wing fail! 
We have done so little with so much': Metro talks with NDP Leader Rachel Notley
http://metronews.ca/news/edmonton/1352906/alberta-ndp-leader-rachel-notl...
Tue, 2015-04-28 16:04
#14
Tue, 2015-04-28 16:06
#15
Alberta's PC dynasty fragile with Prentice
The barbarians are at the gate again - and this time the dynasty is having trouble with the drawbridge.
http://www.journalpioneer.com/Opinion/Columnists/2015-04-28/article-4127...
Tue, 2015-04-28 16:08
#16
Rachel Notley hopes to surprise many election night with an "orange crush"
http://www.660news.com/2015/04/28/rachel-notley-hopes-to-surprise-many-e...
Tue, 2015-04-28 18:03
#17
Combine this with Prentice's dismal performance during the deabte, his bus accident, he had to reverse his position on some policy, his calling out Wildrose on their economic platform only to find out it had been vetted by right-wing economist Jack Mintz, and PC technical glitches.
Tory civil war erupts as rejected candidate leaks texts from party 
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/Tory+civil+erupts+rejected+...
Tue, 2015-04-28 18:08
#18
Guess who is doing well. 
Prentice says Alberta has 2 choices: PC or NDPDoes not utter 'Wildrose' even once during radio interview
http://www.cbc.ca/news/elections/alberta-votes/prentice-says-alberta-has...
Tue, 2015-04-28 18:09
#19
Funny, the last time I was in Alberta was the morning after the "look in the mirror" comment. CBC radio had two commentators on - Paula Simons, and some other fellow, who mentioned only the WIld Rose and Liberals as options to the Conservatives. Simons called him on the omission of the NDP of course, but it is amusing in retrospect.
Tue, 2015-04-28 18:13
#20
Prentice really is a right-wing moron. How stupid can you be!
Notley pledges to restore 'reckless' cuts to apprenticeship funding
Tue, 2015-04-28 18:16
#21
Alberta NDP leader defends call for royalty review
http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1353745/ndp-leader-defends-call-for-roya...
Tue, 2015-04-28 18:33
#22
Truly amazin' for this to happen to the Cons in the last week of the campaign.
Jamie Lall claims he couldn’t run against a former Wildrose MLA. Now, he's shared his texts to show how the party treated him
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/theyre-playin...
Tue, 2015-04-28 20:36
#23
Alberta Premier Jim Prentice missed the province's pulse on charity tax credit budget grab
http://www.calgarysun.com/2015/04/26/alberta-premier-jim-prentice-missed...
Tue, 2015-04-28 20:39
#24
If Prentice does lose, I think his arrogant comment for Albertans to look in the mirror for the cause of their problems is what did him in.
Tue, 2015-04-28 20:40
#25
Well that was quick. One presumes that someone was holding onto this information. At this point it makes them look just as bad as it does him:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/elections/alberta-votes/jamie-lall-chestermere-ca...
Tue, 2015-04-28 20:52
#26
So the right-wingers say!
Don't expect an NDP government
http://www.edmontonsun.com/2015/04/27/gunter-dont-expect-an-ndp-government
Tue, 2015-04-28 20:54
#27
Documents reveal new details of sole-source contracts to Tory-connected firm
NavigatorAlberta Health staff knew Navigator contracts breached rules
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/documents-reveal-new-details-of-s...
Tue, 2015-04-28 20:58
#28
Hopefully the NDP has a shot here.
Two more Progressive Conservative board members in Chestermere-Rocky View riding step down
“Fifteen people were on the board and five of us are now gone,” said Wilkinson.
Parker said he fears for the future of the riding.
“I think peoples’ hearts aren’t in it because of this sort of thing,” he said.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/2015/04/27/two-more-progressive-conservative-...
Tue, 2015-04-28 21:09
#29
Are the NDP going to take Calgary-Mountainview?
http://globalnews.ca/news/1967283/alberta-election-2015-calgary-mountain...
Tue, 2015-04-28 21:13
#30
Poll
Question
Which party has run the best campaign so far?
Thanks for your vote
Liberal 12(2 %)
NDP 241(44 %)
PC 130(24 %)
Wildrose 134(24 %)
Other 36(7 %)
Tue, 2015-04-28 21:20
#31
Alberta’s NDP insurgent in the oil patch:
Rachel Notley could be leading the Alberta NDP to a historic showing next Tuesday. Just look where she was this Tuesday.
Rachel Notley has parachuted behind enemy lines for a BLT with avocado and a side salad.
The Alberta NDP leader, a woman chasing history in next Tuesday’s provincial election, sits in a café next door to the Chevron Tower. She’s essentially down the hall from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Landmen and Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada.
This is not a typical NDP stomping ground in Alberta. In fact, there have been years when the NDP had no ground to stomp anywhere in this province.
Now the 51-year-old Notley has set up shop in the shadow of the oil patch for four days for what Progressive Conservative Leader Jim Prentice has called a battle of “two competing visions’’ for this province.
There is no doubt Notley has the PC gentry spooked. She won last week’s leadership debate and she appears to be having fun on the campaign trail, as if she is playing with house money and has nothing to lose.
None of that, however, necessarily translates into victory. But it could translate into the strongest NDP opposition in provincial history.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/04/28/albertas-ndp-insurgent-in-...
Tue, 2015-04-28 21:26
#32
No wonder Dawson doesn't want to talk with Navigator getting sweetheart deals like that
The man behind Prentice’s election campaign stays behind the curtain
Mr. Dawson has been giving his clients what they want for more than 30 years. During that span, he advised Alberta’s finance minister and Canada’s minister of constitutional affairs, and was an influential figure on behalf of then-Alberta premier Ed Stelmach. He later worked as an advice-giver to former premier Alison Redford and provided what was called “general communications services” to Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall in his successful bid for the premier’s office. Outside of politics, Mr. Dawson ran specialized liquor stores before selling them.
All of this comes from Mr. Dawson’s bio at Navigator, a public-relations firm that says it deals with issues management, crisis response and reputation recovery. Mr. Dawson is a managing principal at Navigator, whose motto serves as a mantra: “When You Can’t Afford to Lose.”
Mr. Dawson is on leave from Navigator to run Mr. Prentice’s campaign. On Tuesday, the firm was identified as a beneficiary of sole-source contracts handed to them by former health minister Fred Horne; the CBC confirmed that after obtaining government documents. Navigator is also working with the town of Okotoks, Alta., in its bid to have a pipeline built to bring in water from Calgary. The water is needed to enable the town of 27,000 to reach its projected growth of 80,000, which can only get done if the province agrees to help.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/the-man-behind-prentices-ele...
Tue, 2015-04-28 21:27
#33
Tue, 2015-04-28 22:17
#34
Wow.
Two tweets this evening from Frank Graves of Ekos:
in an exquisite juxtapostion of the federal scene the majority of Albertans are split between hard and Lite-right and will see NDP majority
Frank Graves @VoiceOfFranky 1h1 hour ago
@mcsmartypants it varies but they do have some impact Our polling in Alberta suggests something amazing is in works/ We will link to federal
Tue, 2015-04-28 23:33
#35
Hopefully the NDP has a shot here.
Two more Progressive Conservative board members in Chestermere-Rocky View riding step down
“Fifteen people were on the board and five of us are now gone,” said Wilkinson.
Parker said he fears for the future of the riding.
“I think peoples’ hearts aren’t in it because of this sort of thing,” he said.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/2015/04/27/two-more-progressive-conservative-...
Poll from four days ago:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/elections/alberta-votes/alberta-election-6-riding...
Wed, 2015-04-29 00:17
#36
This is precisely what I hate about politics. Why did ND Mark Chikinda have to challenge Liberal Dr. Swann in Mountainview?
Swann is one of the 2 or 3 best opposition MLAs Alberta has -- an extremely knowledgeable, decent, and honest voice for medicare in this province - why take HIM out? I'm all for the NDP doing well, believe me, but this was an unconscionable ploy. There is no reason why the ND couldn't have run a paper candidate in this riding.
Exactly who will it serve to have Swann and Chikinda split the vote so that the PC or Wildrose can walk up the middle? Shame on Chikinda and all party backroom boys involved in this "brilliantly" asinine decision to screw Swann over in order to prove the death of the Liberals for once and for all. You can only shake your head at the stupidity of people in this province, and that includes so-called progressives. It makes me want to vote another party in my own district.
Wed, 2015-04-29 01:06
#37
This is precisely what I hate about politics. Why did ND Mark Chikinda have to challenge Liberal Dr. Swann in Mountainview?
Swann is one of the 2 or 3 best opposition MLAs Alberta has -- an extremely knowledgeable, decent, and honest voice for medicare in this province - why take HIM out? I'm all for the NDP doing well, believe me, but this was an unconscionable ploy. There is no reason why the ND couldn't have run a paper candidate in this riding.
Exactly who will it serve to have Swann and Chikinda split the vote so that the PC or Wildrose can walk up the middle? Shame on Chikinda and all party backroom boys involved in this "brilliantly" asinine decision to screw Swann over in order to prove the death of the Liberals for once and for all. You can only shake your head at the stupidity of people in this province, and that includes so-called progressives. It makes me want to vote another party in my own district.
The Liberals have never given the same courtesy for NDP incumbents. Federally in Ontario the Liberals just announced former Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair as the Trudeau-backed candidate for the Liberal nomination that, if he won, would pit him against one of the best and hardest working MPs on Parliament Hill - NDPer Dan Harris.
Wed, 2015-04-29 01:19
#38
Wow, if this citizen's panel is representative of a cross-section of Alberta voters......................fantastic!!!
Citizens’ panel: Who would make the best premier?
Rachel Notley comes across as principled yet pragmatic, highly capable, and ironclad in her integrity, not to mention that her party got to first place in the polls with a fraction of the war chest funds of other parties. She’s articulate and smart, and she matches the energy and vitality of contemporary Alberta. She would be my pick for premier.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Citizens+panel+would+make+best+premier/11...
Wed, 2015-04-29 01:44
#39
It's just like saying the Liberals getting totally crushed in the Alberta election will have no bearing federally. What nonsense that is.
Alberta election: Jim Prentice and the David Peterson parallel
Longtime political watcher says Alberta's upcoming election is feeling eerily similar to Ontario's in 1990
http://www.cbc.ca/news/elections/alberta-votes/alberta-election-jim-pren...
Wed, 2015-04-29 03:30
#40
Left Turn
If Prentice does lose, I think his arrogant comment for Albertans to look in the mirror for the cause of their problems is what did him in.
lol they looked in the mirror and saw Jim Prentice Staring right back at them.
Wed, 2015-04-29 06:48
#41
Here are a couple videos.
The first was from the 2012 Alberta Provincial election that has young progressive voters saying they are voting PC to keep out the Wildrose Party:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPR84Gn1d9II
Never Thought I'd Vote PC
The second video is from the Alberta NDP for the 2015 election and it shows young progressive voters who realize they were duped into voting PC the last time and are not going to make the same mistake again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHuc5TdCBlI
Not This Time.
Wed, 2015-04-29 09:58
#42
Unreal numbers in latest poll. NDP leading 44 to 20 to 19.
http://1abvote.ca/poll-ndp-in-a-qualified-lead-while-math-indicates-clos...
Wed, 2015-04-29 10:33
#43
Unreal numbers in latest poll. NDP leading 44 to 20 to 19.
http://1abvote.ca/poll-ndp-in-a-qualified-lead-while-math-indicates-clos...
if we tally up the “potential holds” at this point, discounting for the momentum and growth of the NDP, we can estimate that they are currently 6 to 10 seats behind the PCs (given the current regional splits) – assuming that the Wildrose take about 15 to 20 seats in rural Alberta and suburban Calgary, and Greg Clark lands Calgary Elbow. . . . Further, there is a circumstance that the NDP can win the popular vote by a massive margin and yet come in third. With lots of potentially close ridings, and the massive, efficient PC GOTV effort to be unleashed there many more chapters to play out over the course of this last week.
Wed, 2015-04-29 11:08
#44
Is this a joke column? Or is it meant to galvanize the PC voters?
Don't be suprised if Prentice isn't premier after election day
http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/cooper-dont-be-suprised-if-p...
Wed, 2015-04-29 11:11
#45
Notley has pledged to raise the minimum wage to $15 in Alberta within 3 years - what's not to like?
http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-notleys-overreach
Wed, 2015-04-29 11:16
#46
Is this a joke column? Or is it meant to galvanize the PC voters?
Don't be suprised if Prentice isn't premier after election day
http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/cooper-dont-be-suprised-if-p...
I'm not sure why you'd think it's a joke. And as for galvanizing PC supporters, well, if the article itself is to be believed, that might not do much good, since strategic-voting might not work for the PCs this time.
Wed, 2015-04-29 11:20
#47
Is this a joke column? Or is it meant to galvanize the PC voters?
Don't be suprised if Prentice isn't premier after election day
http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/cooper-dont-be-suprised-if-p...
What makes it a joke? Or a surprise? People would have lost a lot of money over the years betting against the PCs in Alberta.
Wed, 2015-04-29 11:46
#48
Wed, 2015-04-29 11:47
#49
Ken Boessenkool @KenBoessenkool · 2h2 hours ago
Polling, of course, is BS. But this is staggering. Mind-blowing. Head exploding. And consistent with other polls.
Wed, 2015-04-29 12:14
#50
Get as many people as you can out voting today
The Journal’s guide to the Alberta Election: What you need to know before voting
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/edmonton/Journal+guide+Alberta+Elect...
Wed, 2015-04-29 12:19
#51
Unreal numbers in latest poll. NDP leading 44 to 20 to 19.
http://1abvote.ca/poll-ndp-in-a-qualified-lead-while-math-indicates-clos...
if we tally up the “potential holds” at this point, discounting for the momentum and growth of the NDP, we can estimate that they are currently 6 to 10 seats behind the PCs (given the current regional splits) – assuming that the Wildrose take about 15 to 20 seats in rural Alberta and suburban Calgary, and Greg Clark lands Calgary Elbow. . . . Further, there is a circumstance that the NDP can win the popular vote by a massive margin and yet come in third. With lots of potentially close ridings, and the massive, efficient PC GOTV effort to be unleashed there many more chapters to play out over the course of this last week.
I think there will be great concern as to the legitimacy of the electoral proces if the NDP gets 44% of the vote, and comes in third.