With or Against Him
It’s dog whistle politics without the whistle. Alberta’s new UCP government doesn’t have to come out and admit it’s much less committed to Indigenous issues than the former NDP [...]
Graham Thomson
Graham Thomson
Floor Crossings
Anyone who says a leopard can’t change its spots has never met an Alberta provincial politician. Over the years the spot-changing has included Liberal MLAs who “crossed the floor” to become [...]
Imposing Decorum
You may have missed this promise from Jason Kenney in the lead-up to April’s election: “I and our caucus will raise the bar of civility and decorum in the legislature.” It probably didn’t grab [...]
Equalization Rage
It has been called the superglue of Canada’s Confederation. It is also, ironically, one of the things that keeps driving provinces apart. It is ridiculously complicated, made more so by [...]
Alberta’s Watchdogs
He might not be Alberta’s version of US Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated President Trump. But he’ll do in a pinch. His name is Lorne Gibson and he’s Alberta’s new Election [...]
Whipsaw Change
If you think at times you’ve got a tough job, just be glad you’re not a member of Alberta’s civil service. These poor souls don’t know if they’re coming or going. They’ve spent the past four [...]
No Mutinies Here
When MLA Robyn Luff declared last November that she would boycott the Legislature because of a “culture of fear and intimidation” emanating from the premier’s office, she expected immediate [...]
Take Us to Your Leader
We were expecting a brawl. When Premier Rachel Notley and United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney faced off for the first time in the legislature on March 12, 2018, we were ready for plenty [...]
A Minority Government?
As we head toward the upcoming Alberta election, two words give hope to political underdogs and strike fear into the hearts of the overdogs: minority government. Our province has never had a [...]
The 2019 Election
If all goes according to plan, Alberta will have a provincial election this spring. But what if it doesn’t go to plan? What if we don’t have an election this spring? Oh, I know we’re supposed to. [...]
MOST READ
MOST READ
Misplaced Anger
Should Alberta ditch Canada? This simple yet ominous question—blazoned on two Alberta billboards earlier this year, and asked by many in the recent provincial election campaign—reflects a deep feeling of frustration and resentment throughout the province, much of it directed at Ottawa.
Environics, in their 2019 Survey of Canadians, found 71 ...
The Consequences of How We Pay Doctors
At approximately 9:21 p.m., on May 18, 2015, a couple driving on Edmonton’s Yellowhead Trail called 911 to report a suspected impaired driver. They said he appeared “like someone high on drugs.” At 9:33 p.m., two police officers in an unmarked vehicle pulled up behind the Nissan Maxima, which was now stopped ...
Heritage Trust Fund
A decade ago, when Alberta was debt-free and staring at a $7.4-billion surplus, Premier Ralph Klein decided it was time to spread the wealth. He announced that every person who lived in the province—and, as it turned out, more than a few who didn’t—would receive a cheque for $400 as ...