Moral Chameleons
If political partisanship bothers you, it probably means your political tribe is in power. You’re satisfied with what they’re doing, but the opposing side is making headway in the polls with [...]
By Fred Stenson
Parties
Parties
The Takeover
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 [...]
Retrospective: Party, Started
Where did the chaos of January 2011 leave the Alberta Party? The only provincial party left standing that hadn’t alienated itself from Alberta’s vast swath of disaffected voters through obvious [...]
Third Option
The Alberta Liberals have a new leader. Calgary lawyer David Khan won the 2017 race against Calgary lawyer Kerry Cundal with 55 per cent of the 1,661 votes cast. A cogent issue divided the two. [...]
By Frank Dabbs
Reviving the PC Party
On a late sunny day in August 2014, Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Jim Prentice jumped off his campaign bus at the Napa AutoPro in Boyle. He posed for a photo with some of the [...]
One-Party State
This summer Alberta Tories were consumed by the question of whether Jim Prentice can revive their party’s electoral fortunes. The Progressive Conservatives have been carrying an unprecedented [...]
By Steve Patten
Party, Started
When Dave Taylor, independent MLA for Calgary-Currie, announced on January 24 that he would join the Alberta Party—a somewhat lonely “floor crossing,” since the party held no seats in the [...]
Why I Left Politics
For three and a half years (2004–2008), I had the honour of being the Alberta Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly for Edmonton-Meadowlark. The pay was pleasant, the perks were plentiful. I [...]
Party of One
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 [...]
By Alex Rettie
Ralph Klein’s Real Legacy
His critics may tell you that Ralph Klein, the 12th premier of Alberta, has done nothing much since winning his fourth general election. A little golf, a little fishing, receiving the Queen [...]
By Frank Dabbs
MOST READ
MOST READ
Kenney’s War on Workers
My wife and I spent our last day of our summer vacations in 2019 on a picket line with healthcare workers at Edmonton’s old General Hospital. Most of the cleaners, healthcare aides and nurses at the information picket were women of colour. Like public-sector workers across the province, they were ...
The Story of Joseph Lewis
In 1799 Joseph Lewis, a Hudson's Bay Company employee, arrived in what is now Alberta. He was 27 years old but his life had already been crammed with adventure.
Born in 1772 in Manchester, New Hampshire, at 20 he’d made his way to Montreal, where he joined the North West Company ...
Just Transition
There were times when I was taking home about $3,500 a week.” That was in the oil sands, during the boom before 2014. Lliam Hildebrand was a young welder who had come to the Athabasca oil sands for work.
Before that, the Victoria, BC, native spent his first eight years after high ...