Playing with Fire
Among the United Conservative Party’s most fiery election promises during the 2019 campaign was one impossible to misinterpret: “Alberta’s United Conservatives will give voters the power to fire [...]
Graham Thomson
Graham Thomson
A Farcical Test
Imagine it’s November 19, 2013, and you’re a delegate to the Alberta Progressive Conservatives’ annual general meeting in Red Deer. The big issue on the agenda is a leadership review of [...]
NathanCoopergate
Lost in the controversies and crises involving COVID this year was a scandal involving the Speaker of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly, Nathan Cooper. I say scandal, but it could have escalated [...]
The Great Distracto
If Premier Jason Kenney is ever looking for a career outside of politics, might I suggest stage magician? For he is a master of manipulation, misdirection and sleight of hand. He’s trying to [...]
The Also-Rans
If you’re unhappy with the state of Alberta politics and are tempted as a summer project to form your own political party, might I suggest you call it the “None of the Above” party. Or [...]
Missing Answers
On February 23, 2021, something amazing happened—almost a miracle, as far as I’m concerned. I got to ask Premier Jason Kenney a question during a news conference (about the upcoming legislative [...]
A Rogue Conservative
He is a one-man minefield—set to explode whenever Premier Jason Kenney makes a misstep. And there’s not much Kenney can do to defuse him. Say hello to Drew Barnes, United Conservative MLA for [...]
A Leaky Blue Balloon
Jason Kenney is not the man he used to be. At least not popularity-wise. His approval rate has been falling, not sinking like a stone but deflating slowly like a balloon. It is a curious [...]
Unwatchable Politics
Once upon a time, politics in Alberta was such a relatively tame affair that the leader of the Opposition was kicked out of the legislative assembly for calling a cabinet minister a “mouse.” That [...]
Pandemic Politics
Pop Quiz! What do you call a government that runs up record deficits, intervenes in the marketplace, restricts people’s movements and pays workers to stay home? a. Socialist b. Communist c. New [...]
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Alberta Rebirth
In 1972—50 years ago this year—Alberta passed its first-ever Bill of Rights.
In 1972—50 years ago this year—the Alberta government introduced its first Individual’s Rights Protection Act.
In 1972—50 years ago this year—Alberta outlawed eugenics and repealed its infamous Sexual Sterilization Act.
In 1972—50 years ago this year—Alberta repealed its Communal Property Act, which ...
Should Post-Secondary Education be Free?
Hugh Mackenzie
The economist and research associate at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says yes.
Free tuition would redress a massive intergenerational inequity created over the past 30 years. In 1990–91, average university tuition in Canada was $1,464; adjusted for inflation, that would be $2,541 in 2019–20. Today the actual average ...
Crowfoot Comes Home
Herman Yellow Old Woman was asleep in his home on the Siksika reserve east of Calgary on April 7, 2020, when the phone started ringing at 5:30 a.m.
It was Alison Brown, a professor of anthropology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. She told Yellow Old Woman that Exeter City Council ...