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 VS. Campgrounds
I hear children giggling, wood being chopped and wind blowing through towering lodgepole pines as I use the back of a hatchet to tap my tent stakes into the soft, pine-needle-covered earth. It’s a warm Friday in mid-August, and I’ll spend the evening around a campfire before tucking myself into ...
Should Churches be Tax Exempt?
Karen Kerr, the president of Edmonton Atheists and co-founder of Alberta Secular Conference says no.
In Canada many charities and other non-profits, including churches and religious groups, are tax-exempt if they are deemed to create public benefit. The exemption is premised on the idea that they provide a public good. However ...
Pension Folly
In 1965, Quebec, eager to be master in its own house, decided it wanted to have its own pension plan and not be part of the new Canada Pension Plan. Quebec’s population was younger than the Canadian average, and the province had a high birth rate. The province believed its ...