Leadership

At 5:20 p.m. on October 28, 2017, minutes before the accidental, and then the official announcement of the winner of the United Conservative Party’s (UCP) first-ever leadership race, blue and [...]

The summer of 2017 saw big changes in Alberta party politics. The Progressive Conservatives, which had governed the province from 1971 to 2015 and established a Canadian record for longevity, [...]

Alison Redford was a bit late to the party when she appeared, rainbow sash over black top, at Calgary Pride’s post-parade festival on September 2. From the stage at the downtown park, the premier [...]

Stephen Harper and Ed Stelmach emerged as government leaders in 2006. Some say the similarity ends there. If you stood them side by side—or, for that matter, if you studied them for a year—you [...]

Danielle Smith is ready for a brisk stroll with her dogs. At Calgary’s Nose Hill Park—a veritable dog-heaven-on-Earth—we remove our mitts and shake hands before she reaches for the back latch of [...]

If Danielle Smith ever had a youthful flirtation with the left, she’s kept it well hidden. From campus to career conservative, Smith has found a comfortable home on the right side of the [...]

Ernest C. Manning (1908–1997) was an Alberta MLA and cabinet minister for 33 years and the province’s premier for 25 years. When he first joined the provincial cabinet as provincial secretary and [...]

During a summer 2007 visit to Calgary—that provincial bastion of conservatism—Liberal party leader Kevin Taft was practically swept off his feet by the reception he got from strangers on the [...]

He is smart, he is scary. He used to be an American. He talks more than any other Alberta politician about strengthening democracy. There was a time when his family could call Dick Cheney a [...]

The upbeat strains of James Brown’s “I Feel Good” bleed out of Room 512 and echo through the five floors of the Alberta Legislature. It’s early March, and the progressive Conservative team is [...]