calgary-glenmore by-election results.

Paul Hinman, WAP: 4,052 (37%)
Avalon Roberts, Lib: 3,776 (34%)
Diane Colley-Urquhart, PC: 2,863 (26%)
Eric Carpendale, NDP: 148 (1%)
Len Skowronski, SC: 118 (1%)
Tony Gronchowski, Ind: 71 (1%)

There will undoubtedly be no shortage of analysis and punditry about the impact of these results during the political season this fall, so here are some thoughts to help start it off:

- Calgary-Glenmore represents only the fourth time since 1979 where a provincial by-election has resulted in a switch of party representation. This is the second since Ed Stelmach became Premier in 2006.

- Paul Hinman is returning to the Alberta Legislature. Hinman is the outgoing Wildrose Alliance leader and served as the MLA for Cardston-Taber-Warner from 2004 to 2008. A 37% victory is far from a landslide, but it appears that Hinman's SEND ED A MESSAGE campaign resonated with a plurality of voters in Glenmore. It will be interesting to see if this by-election win increases public interest in that party's leadership race scheduled for October 17.

- The Alberta Liberals were hoping to build on their Calgary gains from the 2008 election, but candidate Avalon Roberts' strong second-place finish showed that the Liberals have been unable to grow their share of the vote from 2008. This is not great news for an Official Opposition party that has constantly struggled to define itself.

- How could Diane Colley-Urquhart not win? Some pundits may point out that the last time a PC candidate placed so poorly in a Calgary by-election was Calgary-Buffalo in 1992. While I'm not disputing that Rod Love's third place finish in the 1992 contest was embarrassing, the Calgary-Glenmore scenario is quite different. Unlike Calgary-Buffalo in 1992, which had been represented by popular Liberal MLA Sheldon Chumir, Calgary-Glenmore has been a PC stronghold since 1971. Also, unlike Love, Diane Colley-Urquhart was not a parachute candidate. Colley-Urquhart is a nine-year Alderman, a former President of the Glenmore PC Association, and the campaign manager for former MLA Ron Stevens. Colley-Urquhart knew Glenmore and the PCs still managed to lose over 3,500 votes in this election.

- When did it become an appropriate use of public resources for the Premier to issue a media release from the Government of Alberta thanking a candidate for running for his party? Rather than congratulating Hinman on his election, Premier Stelmach issued a Government of Alberta media release thanking Colley-Urquhart for her "strong and honourable campaign." There was no mention of the MLA-elect for Calgary-Glenmore in the media release.

- With an upcoming leadership review, expect Premier Stelmach to initiate some classic overcompensation. Since the end of the spring legislative session, there have been endless rumours about a fall cabinet shuffle and who it could include. Rumour has it that new Calgary faces in the cabinet that could include Dave Rodney and Len Webber.

- The Alberta NDP and Social Credit candidates battled throughout the evening for the fifth place finish, with Socred leader Len Skowronski finally besting NDP flag-bearer Eric Carpendale late in the evening.

Related:
Alex Abboud: Calgary Goes Wild(rose)
Ken Chapman: By-Election Results Show Premier Stelmach has some serious soul searching to do!
Chris Labossiere: Between a WRAP and a Hard Place
Trish Audette: Break out the welcome mat...
Calgary Grit: A Wild(rose) ride in Calgary Glenmore
Graham Thomson: Stelmach's nightmare now a reality

is something happening in the calgary-glenmore by-election?

Early poll-by-poll results from the by-election are showing some interesting results...

With 18 out of 66 polls reporting:

Paul Hinman, Wildrose Alliance: 816 votes
Avalon Roberts, Liberal: 698 votes
Diane Colley-Urquhart, PC: 649 votes
Eric Carpendale, NDP: 43 votes
Len Skowronski, SC: 21 votes
Tony Grochowski, Ind: 20 votes

Update:

With 56/66 polls reporting:

Paul Hinman, Wildrose Alliance: 3,261 votes
Avalon Roberts, Liberal: 2,986 votes
Diane Colley-Urquhart, PC: 2,219 votes
Eric Carpendale, NDP: 121 votes
Len Skowronski, SC: 95 votes
Tony Grochowski, Ind: 59 votes

The daveberta.ca decision desk is calling it a victory for Paul Hinman.

by-election night in calgary-glenmore.

If you live in the riding of Calgary-Glenmore and haven't had a chance to vote, head down to your local polling station before 8:00pm tonight and cast your ballot.

It must have been a hot day to get the vote out in Calgary, but if you are settling for the evening to watch for the results, I hear that my friend from the ES Nation @oberhoffner will be attempting to live-tweet the results.

In the 18 provincial by-elections held in Alberta since 1979, only three have resulted in seats changing parties:

2007: Calgary-Elbow (PC to Liberal)
1992: Three Hills-Airdrie (PC to Liberal)
1982: Olds-Three Hills (PC to Western Canadian Concept)

Also, 7 of the 18 by-elections resulted in close races where the elected MLA was decided by less than 1,000 votes:

2007: Calgary-Elbow (Liberal gain by 784 votes)
2000: Red Deer-North (PC hold by 392 votes)
1996: Redwater (Liberal hold by 98 votes)
1995: Calgary-McCall (PC hold by 516 votes)
1990: Little Bow (PC hold by 262 votes)
1985: Spirit River-Fairview (NDP hold by 462 votes)
1979: Barrhead (PC hold by 355 votes)

You can also watch results come in on the Elections Alberta website

a message to calgary-glenmore voters.

Dear Calgary-Glenmore voters,

From 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM today, you have the opportunity to vote in the by-election that will choose your next MLA.

In the last general election only 41% of you voted.

You've probably heard a lot about how tens of thousands of Canadians have died to protect your democracy and your right to vote. I would reiterate this point, but because it didn't faze 59% of you during the last election, it probably won't faze you now.

So, to get to the point, please don't embarrass Alberta with a low voter turnout today. You don't have good excuse, so get out and vote.

Sincerely,

Dave

Candidate Information
Eric Carpendale
Diane Colley-Urquhart
Antoni Grochowski
Paul Hinman
Avalon Roberts
Len Skowronski

no cooperation.

Delegates at this past weekend's Alberta NDP convention decided in a 120-40 (ish) vote to not adopt a motion put forward by the Edmonton-Rutherford & Edmonton-Whitemud NDP Associations and supported by members of the Democratic Renewal Project (DRP). The motion would have put the NDP in a position to negotiate an electoral cooperation strategy with the Alberta Liberals and Greens to prevent vote-splitting.

As I've written before, I don't necessarily agree with what the DRP is proposing (I don't believe that the solution is to remove choices on the ballot, but to offer a viable option for voters), but I do respect that they are willing to break from traditional party lines and publicly call for change. It it clear that none of the opposition parties in their current forms are meaningfully connecting with voters and simply increasing the decibel levels with which the parties preach their program likely isn't going to cut it.

You can follow the debate over the DRP motion at Accidental Deliberations and on twitter at #andp09.

notes from the alberta ndp convention.

After spending one evening this week at the Wildrose Alliance leadership forum, I've spent a good part of this weekend at the other end of the political spectrum as a media observer at the 43rd annual Alberta NDP convention in Edmonton. I will post some more detailed thoughts soon, but until then, here are some notes from the convention:

- Nova Scotia NDP campaign manager Matt Hebb spoke on Friday evening about the electoral situation that led to the current NDP majority government led by Premier Darrell Dexter. I took some notes from Hebb's talk and will include my thoughts in a future post.

- The Democratic Renewal Project has made their presence known at the convention. A policy resolution directing the party leader to initiative public negotiations with the leaders of the Alberta Liberals and Green Party to conclude a tactical electoral alliance has proposed by the Edmonton-Rutherford and Edmonton-Whitemud NDP Associations. It will be debated on Sunday morning and will likely be defeated.

- Leader Brian Mason took a direct shot at the DRP in his Saturday afternoon speech to delegates by challenging the assumption that vote splitting is not the reason the NDP does not have more MLAs in the Legislature. Mason announced intentions for the NDP to run a full slate of candidates and a plan to target resources on 12 ridings between now and the next election.

- Mason also announced the NDPs plans to hold a number of health care forums across Alberta starting on September 29 in Calgary and September 30 in Lethbridge. Other forums are expected to be held in Edmonton, Grande Prairie, and Fort McMurray.

- Edmonton-Strathcona MP Linda Duncan spoke about NGOs, the environment, and partisan politics at the Olga Blogheim luncheon this afternoon. Attendees included Mason, MLA Rachel Notley, former MLA David Eggen, federal candidate Lewis Cardinal, and provincial candidate Deron Bilous.

- According to delegates I've spoken to (and blogs I've read) there seems to be little movement behind a twitter account and blog supporting Notley to become NDP leader.

the hal walker email.

I'm sure that this now infamous email criticizing Premier Ed Stelmach by former PC bigwig Hal Walker was a long time coming, but the timing of its release probably had a lot to do with Monday's by-election in Calgary-Glenmore.

In a follow up email sent this morning, Walker wrote:

Brett, thanks for the support in the article. To the dozens of the rest of you who’ve sent me responses of support and agreement, Thank you. Interestingly, there was not one dissenting view.

it’s interesting to see that the Premier’s own communications guy delivers the same old party line.

Hal Walker

Read the original email [PDF].

(Thanks to the daveberta.ca reader who forwarded me a copy of the email)

danielle smith could be a game changer in alberta politics.

Last night, I ventured into the world of right-wing partisan politics in Alberta and attended the Wildrose Alliance leadership forum. As someone who doesn't share this party's politics, and would have a very difficult time voting for its candidates in an election, I have found myself surprisingly curious about that party's potential.

Around 180 people were in attendance, and like most political party events, the majority of them appeared to be in the +60 grey-haired category. In the crowd, I noticed former Edmonton-Sherwood Park Conservative MP Ken Epp and former Alberta Greens leader Joe Anglin. I spoke with Anglin before he left the forum and he told me that while he wasn't going to join the Wildrose Alliance, as he felt they were too socially conservative for him, he continues to be open to work with all the parties. Anglin is gearing up for a fall fight against Bill 50, which is the sister of Bill 19 that passed earlier this year. Anglin's Lavesta Area Group of landowners are the most recent group to reach out to voters before the September 14 by-election in Calgary-Glenmore.

At some points during the forum I felt like I had walked into a Conservative Party of Canada rally. Mark Dyrholm took a stance that he would cut political party funding for the Bloc Quebecois, and both he and Jeff Willerton took regular shots at Pierre Trudeau, the NEP, Liberal Peter Lougheed, Liberal Don Getty, and the "Ed Stelmach Progressives."

A strong pro-life social conservative and former PC organizer, Dyrholm strikes me as the kind of person who would excel as an organizer for the right-wing party, but as leader would not increase its appeal much beyond its already loyal base. He was well-spoken, but offered little beyond the expected Liberal-baiting and attacks on the Human Rights Commission and court challenges program. While it is difficult to tell how much support each of the candidates has among the party faithful, Dyrholm's preaching spoke directly to the base of the now defunct Reform Party.

Jeff Willerton was easily the most entertaining and off the map of the three candidates. Describing "the slimy Liberal tentacles" of "the rotten octopus of the Liberal Party of Canada," Willerton took the position that if elected Premier he would hold a province-wide referendum on separation within six months of each time the Liberals form government in Ottawa. He was adamant that he wasn't a separatist, but was convinced that this would send a message to the Liberals (I'm still unclear on what kind of message that would be).

Danielle Smith largely steered clear of the expected right-wing sophism, and offered a more nuanced and articulate vision of where she would lead the Wildrose Alliance. While she appears to have mastered the art of talking points, she spoke passionately of building a big tent conservative party, the need to look beyond out borders to fix the problems with health care and poverty, and her values as a libertarian and fiscal conservative. Not surprisingly, Smith was recently endorsed by her ideological companion Ezra Levant. She has received a lot of media attention since entering the contest, but I wonder if her message is connecting with the Wildrose Alliance base.

It will depend on the results of the leadership contest on October 17, but I believe that as the leader of the Wildrose Alliance, Danielle Smith could be a game changer in Alberta politics. For over 20 years, electoral politics in Alberta has been stuck in a rut where the Liberal and NDP opposition have focused their resources on 15 to 20 ridings and have left the PCs uncontested in 40 to 60 ridings, ensuring majority governments and mediocre governance. I find it highly unlikely that the Wildrose Alliance under any leader would form government in 2012, but if a young, savvy, articulate, and well-spoken leader like Smith can succeed in moderating the traditional social conservatism of that party's members, she could turn the electoral map on its head by dislodging the democratically unhealthy logjam with which Albertans have become apathetically accustomed.

party before people.

From Don Braid's Blog:

That was quite the question - and answer - Thursday night at the Calgary-Glenmore all-candidates forum.

A taxpayer actually succeeded in getting a one-word answer out of Tory candidate Diane Colley-Urquhart, the only one on record in her long career of meandering rhetoric. He asked her for a clear yes-or-no answer to the question: if the needs of her riding varied from the government’s agenda, would she break with the party?

The candidate thought about it. Then thought some more. Then said: “No.”

Here's video of Colley-Urquhart's response (I'm not sure about the dog part at the end...)
The by-election is on Monday, September 14.

the reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.

As the national media and blogosphere let out a collective gasp at the prospect of a political party wanting to form a majority government, Graham Thomson points out that the much less attention grabbing world of Alberta politics is far from dead.

Next week marks the beginning of the first round of public hearings for the Electoral Boundaries Commission and the by-election in Calgary-Glenmore. This weekend also marks the Alberta NDPs 43rd annual convention, and while it's no surprise that the left faces some serious challenges in Alberta, so apparently does the right.

At their first leadership forum in Grande Prairie, the Wildrose Alliance is reported to have only attracted 30 people. While Grande Prairie has hardly been a hotbed of Wildrose Alliance support (that party only contested one of that city's ridings, Grande Prairie-Smoky, where the candidate placed third with 13% support), it raises questions if that party's leadership race is attracting more media attention than it is attracting new members.

Their leadership convention isn't until October 17, but much of that party's short-term prospects will be determined by how well outgoing leader Paul Hinman places in Monday's by-election. Even if voters in Calgary-Glenmore choose not to elect Hinman, but he is able to significantly increase his party's vote it could be seen a moral victory. Between the 2004 and 2008 elections, the Alliance increased its vote by 4% to 1,025 votes, which add up to a significant amount of votes in a by-election that may see a lower than normal voter turnout.

As Hinman's campaign pushes into the final days of the by-election, I'm sure that Liberal candidate Avalon Roberts will be hoping that the Wildrose Alliance cutting into the right-wing supporters of PC candidate Diane Colley-Urquhart will lead to a repeat of Craig Cheffins' 2007 Calgary-Elbow victory. Not a far fetched scenario.

I will be at tonight's Wildrose Alliance leadership forum and this weekend's NDP convention in Edmonton, and will be reporting back on this blog and on twitter with all the latest news.

from twitter on the harper tape.

Thoughts from twitter on the Harper tape.

phendrana: Query: Don't the Liberals want a majority? I've heard the tape a dozen times and see nothing there. #elxn41

ChromeSushi @phendrana This tape is the last piece of evidence I need to complete my thesis that political party leaders want to form a government.

It's Harper's outdated rhetoric about left-wing judges that bothers me.

recap: ralph goodale visits edmonton-centre.

Around 100 Liberal supporters packed the Westmount Community League Hall last night to hear Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale speak. Goodale is in Edmonton this week helping shore up support for Edmonton-Centre Liberal candidate Mary MacDonald. He is a talented stump speaker, which makes it easy to understand how he has been able to win elections in Saskatchewan for seven terms, but even after his sales pitch I'm still unconvinced that Canadians need to rush to the polls anytime soon.

I had a chance to speak with Goodale after his speech (see the picture of Goodale and the scruffy looking blogger above) and was generally impressed by what he had to say. I was dismayed by his support of the Carbon Capture Scheme, but he redeemed himself when we discussed the need for a national R& D and Innovation strategy for Canada (which he supports).

I also had a chance have a conversation about social media with Senator Grant Mitchell, who can now be found on twitter at @SenMitchell. Mitchell and former Edmonton-Ellerslie MLA Debby Carlson are heading up Liberals' central campaign in Edmonton in preparation for an upcoming federal election.

(Thanks to Annet Swart for emailing me the picture that she snapped of Goodale and I last night)

alberta red, green, and blue.

Green endorses Glenmore Liberal: Former Alberta Greens Vice-President & candidate Susan Stratton has endorsed Liberal candidate Avalon Roberts in the by-election in Calgary-Glenmore, which is being held on September 14.

“I’m not a Liberal; I'm a Green, but our first job as opposition voters is to stand together to defeat the Conservatives. Only Avalon Roberts can do that. She's a quality candidate who won nearly eight times more votes than either the Greens or New Democrats in last year's general election.”

The Greens aren't running a candidate in this by-election and are in the process of being de-registered by Elections Alberta. On another Calgary-Glenmore related note, Jeremy at PolitiCalgary has leveled some strong criticisms of PC candidate Diane Colley-Urquhart, suggesting that she 'needs to move away from the same political game.'

Wildrose Leadership Forums: The Wildrose Alliance will be holding leadership forums in Grande Prairie (September 8), Edmonton (September 10), Calgary (September 16), Lethbridge (September 17), and Red Deer (September 23). Candidates for the leadership of the right-wing party include Danielle Smith, Mark Dyrholm, and Jeff Willerton. I am planning to check out the September 10 forum in Edmonton.

Goodale in Edmonton: Wascana Liberal MP Ralph Goodale is in Alberta today and will be speaking at a Town Hall meeting in Edmonton-Centre, no doubt to help shore up support for candidate Mary MacDonald. The Town Hall will be held from 8:00pm to 9:00pm at the Westmount Community League.

alberta orange.

2009 Alberta NDP Convention: The Alberta NDP will be holding their annual convention in Edmonton from September 11 to 13 in Edmonton. Guest speakers include NDP leader Jack Layton and Nova Scotia NDP organizer Matt Hebb.

Painting the City Orange: 37 NDP MPs will be descending on Alberta's capital city in the next few weeks for their annual caucus retreat. Two events being held include a meeting with Jack Layton, Edmonton-Strathcona MP Linda Duncan, and Churchill MP Niki Ashton at the University of Alberta on September 18, and the September 21 Edmonton-Strathcona nomination meeting, where Duncan is expected to be renominated as the NDP candidate in that riding (Halifax NDP MP Megan Leslie is the guest speaker).

From Edmonton-Centre with love: This morning, 2008 Edmonton-Centre NDP candidate Deron Bilous will announce his intentions to seek the NDP candidacy in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. Bilous is following a road similiar to that taken by former MLA David Eggen, who ran unsuccessfully against Edmonton-Centre Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman in 2001 before being elected as MLA for Edmonton-Calder in 2004. In 2008, former PC MLA Tony Vandermeer unseated NDP MLA Ray Martin in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview by 318 votes.

offset your government's fiscal responsibility.

September 2009: Education Minister and Edmonton-Whitemud PC MLA Dave Hancock announced more than $80 million worth of immediate cuts to the education budget, including $890,000 from changes to a socio-economic grant that school boards get for the number of students they have who live in poverty.

Meanwhile... back in May 2008: In a closed-door cabinet meeting, Ed Stelmach and his cabinet voted to give themselves over $890,000 worth of pay increases. Premier Stelmach gave himself a 34% boost, increasing his salary by $54,000, from $159,450 to $213,450, and cabinet ministers increased their salaries from $142,050 to $184,000.

If Premier Stelmach and Minister Hancock are looking for government savings, they could start by looking at the pay increases they voted themselves in 2008. According to the 2006 census, the median annual family income after taxes was $70,986 in Alberta, which is $113,014 less than the increased salary that individual cabinet ministers voted themselves.

When Premier Stelmach rolled back the liquor tax, he said:

"It was something that I had a hard time agreeing with; it's been bothering me all that time."

Let's hope that after five months, he feels the same way about young students living in poverty. In the meantime, feel free to make a donation to a local charity to offset your government's fiscal responsibility.

dunn's done. now... more than ever.

Dunn's done. Auditor General Fred Dunn has announced that he will be stepping down in February 2010.

In 2007, Dunn singled out Energy Minister Mel Knight and the Department of Energy for failing to collect billions of dollars in resource revenues over the past 15 years. In 2009, Dunn's office announced the delay or cancellation of 27 out of 80 planned system and financial audits due to lack of financial resources. At the time, Calgary-Egmont MLA Jonathan Denis was quoted as justifing the lack of funding to the Auditor General by defending the one-year MLA pay freeze:

"Realistically everybody would like more money, I would like more money, but the reality is we froze our pay cheques this year. This is the first time in 15 years we froze our pay cheques. And similarly we don’t want to be giving extra money to departments where that’s not required.”

Now... more than ever. His ideas may now be marginalized within the party he led to office 38 years ago, but the now Stelmach-led PC Party is seeking to revive fond memories of Peter Lougheed's victory over Harry Strom's Social Credit Party. The slogan for the November 6-7, 2009 PC leadership review, 'Now... more than ever,' appears to be an attempt to remind older supporters of their party's exciting 1971 slogan: 'Now!' Or maybe I'm wrong and the PCs are actually trying to channel Richard Nixon....


Who's ready for a federal election? With the exception voters in a couple of ridings, Albertans are going to be far off the political radar in any upcoming federal election. While the Conservatives have already nominated candidates in all 28 ridings, the Liberals and NDP have only officially nominated a couple candidates each (Liberals: Jennifer Pollock in Calgary-West, Mary MacDonald in Edmonton-Centre, Rick Szostak in Edmonton-Sherwood Park. NDP: Lewis Cardinal in Edmonton-Centre and Ray Martin in Edmonton-East). With an election seemingly imminent, expect to hear a lot from the New Obama Party when they hold their caucus retreat in Edmonton in a couple of weeks.

in four months time...

Earlier this week, I drank coffee with Alberta Liberal Party President Tony Sansotta while discussing politics and the state of Alberta's official opposition party (and my former employer).

Sansotta was cagey enough not to reveal much about direction he's trying to take the Liberals and he was was insistent (but not necessarily convincing) that big changes are starting to happen within the Liberal Party. When I pried for specific examples, I was continually told that I would have to wait four months to see what the changes are. Coyness aside, Sansotta did provide a couple of bits of information to this blogger:

- The Liberals long-awaited Renewal Committee report, an initiative led by former Edmonton-McClung MLA Mo Elsalhy, was submitted to the Liberal Party executive committee but will not be made public. Sansotta ensured me that elements of it will be included in recommendations to delegates at their March 2010 policy conference (but delegates may not be informed which recommendations were taken from the renewal report). Although I understand why any political party would want to keep this sort of report private, it appears slightly insincere to solicit public/membership input and then to keep the recommendations secret from the same party membership (creating little room for an accountability mechanism).

- On September 26, the Liberal Party Board of Directors will be discussing plans for candidate nominations and if incumbency protections should be allowed for the nine incumbent MLAs.

- So far, eight submissions have been received in the Liberal logo redesign contest. The submissions will be judged by a panel whose membership includes VP Communications Jody MacPherson, the co-VP Fundraising, a member-at-large, and a representative from an anonymous PR firm.

- Calgary-based communications consultant Corey Hogan has been tapped to become the Liberals Executive Director, a position that has been vacant since long-time ED Kieran Leblanc resigned in 2008. Hogan's served as campaign manager for Dave Taylor's 2008 leadership bid and more recently as a candidate for the Liberal nod in Calgary-Glenmore. I wish Hogan good luck, because he has one heck of a job ahead of him.

get used to the sound of mount royal university.

From the world of post-secondary education!

The Council of Alberta University Students have released their submission for Alberta's 2010 budget consultation process. While not the boldest recommendations that have ever come from CAUS (speaking as one of its former Chairpersons), it appears that the new reality for post-secondary education is to avoid becoming the target of massive budget cuts rather than advocating for bold increases (which is more or less a pretty savvy maneuver in a province that is running a record $6.9 billion deficit)

On Thursday, it is expected to be announced that after a long process, Mount Royal College will become a University. "MRU" will be Alberta's fifth University and the first established since Athabasca University was created in 1970. Alberta's other universites include the University of Alberta (est. 1908), University of Calgary (est. 1966), and University of Lethbridge (est. 1967). There have been some exciting changes happening within Alberta's post-secondary education system since Doug Horner became Minister of Advanced Education & Technology in 2007, but I am still unconvinced whether Alberta needs a fifth University-level institution.

On a final post-secondary education note, I'm glad that I am not the only person to point out how ridiculous it is to suggest that Mount Royal's transition to a University is a conspiracy to influence the September 14 by-election in Calgary-Glenmore, as Calgary-Varsity Liberal MLA Harry Chase suggested this morning. Please keep the coffee room conspiracy theories away from the media releases.

dear mr. ignatieff.

Please don't.

Sincerely,

Dave

still missing: premier ed stelmach.

Thanks to @Sirthinks for providing photos of two Albertans joining the search to find missing Premier Ed Stelmach. While the two Albertans searched the Legislature grounds high and low, the media is reporting that Stelmach was briefly spotted teeing off on a golf course in Jasper National Park.

You can download the print-quality PDF here. Please help the search by printing these off and posting them all over your towns and cities! (Send a picture of you putting up a poster, and I will post/link to it on this blog!)

alberta's voices in ottawa.

Care of How'd They Vote? (via Pundits' Guide) are some statistics for Members of Parliament from Alberta during the last session of Parliament. Perhaps Alberta's MPs don't need the kind of 500 word prefaces that MPs from Toronto do, but it is a little concerning that out of 308 MPs, 19 of Alberta's 28 representatives in Ottawa find themselves in the lower half of spoken words.

Words Spoken (42nd Parliament, 2nd Session): Alberta MPs
16th: Ted Menzies (Macleod): 38940 words
17th: Linda Duncan (Edmonton-Strathcona): 37654 words
55th: Brian Jean (Fort McMurray-Athabasca): 21003 words
63rd: Stephen Harper (Calgary-Southwest): 19212 words
83rd: Deepak Obhrai (Calgary-East): 16894 words
107th: Laurie Hawn (Edmonton-Centre): 14156 words
113th: Mike Lake (Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont): 13617 words
141st: James Rajotte (Edmonton-Leduc): 10671 words
142nd: Brent Rathgeber (Edmonton-St. Albert): 10555 words
176th: Blaine Calkins (Wetaskiwin): 7885 words
178th: Jim Prentice (Calgary-North Centre): 7592 words
198th: Chris Warkentin (Peace River): 6107 words
214th: Rob Merrifield (Yellowhead): 5145 words
223rd: Kevin Sorenson (Crowfoot): 4546 words
230th: Jason Kenney (Calgary-Southeast): 4304 words
231st: Blake Richards (Crowfoot): 4272 words
233rd: LaVar Payne (Medicine Hat): 4203 words
237th: Lee Richardson (Calgary-Centre): 3951 words
239th: Tim Uppal (Edmonton-Sherwood Park): 3822 words
243rd: Leon Benoit (Vegreville—Wainwright): 3650 words
245th: Earl Dreeshen (Red Deer): 3610 words
259th: Brian Storseth (Westlock-St. Paul): 2934 words
287th: Rick Casson (Lethrbridge): 1376 words
291st: Diane Ablonczy (Calgary-Nose Hill): 940 words
295th: Devinder Shory (Calgary-Northeast): 769 words
300th: Peter Goldring (Edmonton-East): 506 words
301st: Rob Anders (Calgary-West): 355 words
303rd: Rona Ambrose (Edmonton-Spruce Grove): 202 words

missing: premier ed stelmach.

While he made a brief appearance this week to announce Alberta's projected record $6.9 billion deficit, many Albertans have begun to notice Premier Ed Stelmach's absence from the important debates happening in our province.

In the first of many upcoming collaborative productions, Adam Rozenhart and I have created this poster to help Albertans in the hunt to find our missing Premier.

You can download the print-quality PDF here. Please print these off and post them all over your towns and cities!

Related Posts:
Missing: Alberta's Premier
Where's Stelmo?

alberta electoral boundaries review: first scheduled public hearings announced.

The schedule for the first round of public hearings to Alberta's Electoral Boundaries Commission was released this afternoon. Locations TBA.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 - Fort McMurray
Thursday, September 17, 2009 - St. Paul
Thursday, September 17, 2009 - Wainwright
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - Edmonton
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - Edmonton
Thursday, September 24, 2009 - Calgary
Friday, September 25, 2009 - Calgary
Monday, October 5, 2009 - Drumheller
Monday, October 5, 2009 - Medicine Hat
Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - Lethbridge
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - Grande Prairie
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - Peace River
Thursday, October 8, 2009 - Slave Lake
Thursday, October 8, 2009 - Westlock
Friday, October 9, 2009 - Edson
Friday, October 9, 2009 - Red Deer

While you may be distracted by the IE 6 inspired design, the AEBC website does include some helpful suggestions on preparing a submission or presentation for the public hearings.

More to come.

Related Posts
- Kowalski: Swann did consult with Mason
- Welcome to the Irrelevant Show
- Ernie Walter Appointed Chair of Electoral Boundary Commission
- Setting the Stage for an Electoral Boundary Battle

i sense a lack of sincerity.

At the best of times, I have a really hard time taking federal politics in this country seriously. On the issue of Senate reform, I believe that it's time we all stopped pretending that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is sincerely interested in reforming Canada's Upper Chamber.

Stephen Harper on September 7, 2006:

“As everyone in this room knows, it has become a right of passage for aspiring leaders and prime ministers to promise Senate reform – on their way to the top. But once they are elected, Senate reform quickly falls to the bottom of the Government’s agenda. Nothing ever gets done.”

CBC News on August 26, 2009:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to name eight new members to the Senate as early as Thursday, and the appointments will include loyal and long-serving Conservative advisers...

(Thanks to a long-time reader for providing the Harper quote)

alberta's record deficit: a $16 billion switch.

On August 26, 2008, Finance Minister Iris Evans announced that the Government of Alberta was headed to a $8.5 Billion surplus. "It's clear that our economic outlook continues to be bright," Evans was then quoted.

On August 26, 2009, it is expected that the Government of Alberta will announce a $6.9 to $8 billion deficit. That is a $16 billion dollar difference in one year.

Once considered to be the land of endless money and honey, Toronto-style bragging rights included, Albertans have now found their government back in a place that our political leaders swore they would never take us. But as development of our bitumen-glazed energy beach has slowed to a more manageable pace and natural gas prices have dropped, is it fair to criticize a one or five year deficit in a province that has in many ways become a rentier state?

Personally, it is not so much the existence of a deficit that I have a problem with, as much as it is the sloppy political decisions that led us here. This won’t be a surprise to regular readers, but I sincerely believe that mediocre leadership from each end of the political spectrum is holding Alberta back. There are a lot of smart people in Alberta, so it's not as if there was a lack of warning to the Alberta Government to save while the boom was hot.

I don't usually like to be the person who says ‘I told you so,’ but in this case I’m going to take a bit of guilty pleasure out of it. For years, many of my PC-supporting friends would tell me again and again that because of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, Alberta was forever protected from future deficits. “Dave, you silly lefty,” they would tell me, “deficits are illegal in Alberta. Period.” I would of course respond with “it’s nothing a quick legislative amendment can’t change,” and we’d quickly go back to drinking our beer. Minister Evans introduced amendments to the Fiscal Responsibility Act in April 2009.

Aside from a significant downturn in resource revenue, our provincial leaders haven’t exactly been diligent in the area of smart planning. The lost revenue from the cancellation of approximately $1 billion dollars in Health Care Premiums and the 5-month long Alcohol Tax, as well as the continued support of the Carbon Capture Scheme (CCS), are the kind of decisions that have and will continue to contribute to the loss of billions of dollars of revenue.

As I wrote in my review of the 2009 Alberta Budget, before politicians and pundits begin talking about slashing spending and cutting services, let's please keep some perspective on economic growth:

Alberta's economy has depended on revenue from cyclically priced resource commodities for decades and has seen much worse economic times. After years of unsustainable growth, no one should be surprised that Alberta's economy has slowed down and now is facing a 1.8% contraction. With +$50 barrels of oil and 2% projected economic growth next year, Alberta is in a much better position than it was during previous economic recession. Let's please try to keep some historical perspective in mind when we're talking about these tough economic times.

Graham Thomson has an excellent column about Alberta’s record high deficit in today’s Edmonton Journal that should be recommended reading for those wanting more insight into Alberta’s fiscal situation.

where's stelmo?

Perhaps he's on summer vacation, or maybe he has entered a Bill 44 induced vow of silence, but if there is one comment I have consistently heard from my politically interested friends over the summer months, and more recently from other bloggers, it has been: Where is Premier Ed Stelmach?

Over the summer, a number of important issues have emerged that are shaping Alberta, but Premier Stelmach has been absent from the important debates that have been occurring at BBQs and picnics across the province. Among the conversations I've been having, here are a couple of issues where people have noticed Stelmach's absence:

Children's Services

Resisting the calls for her resignation after public controversy from within the Department of Children's Services and the recent conviction of a director of child services, Premier Stelmach remains silent as Children's Services Minister Janis Tarchuk remains in her job. In a recent article by Kevin Libin, Keith Brownsey pointed out:

“Where’s the responsibility from the Minister for the actions in her department? That’s the key to the parliamentary system,” Mr. Brownsey says. “At the federal level this Minister would have been gone and in any other province she would be gone. But not here in Alberta.”

Stelmach had no trouble firing an annoying backbencher when he became a slight inconvenience, so why is our Premier MIA when it comes to the integrity of government and the accountability of Cabinet Ministers?

Health Care

As Alberta Health Services (AHS) President/CEO Dr. Stephen Duckett continues his plans to reform and confront a $1 billion deficit in government health care spending, Stelmach remains silent.

The recent decision to close beds at the Alberta Hospital is meeting fierce opposition from Doctors, who fear that mentally ill patients will simply end up living on the streets of Edmonton. When Edmonton Journal journalist Archie McLean asked an AHS spokesperson about the government's decision, he was rebuffed and was told that even though taxpayers pay 100% of the AHS budget and that it is administered by a government appointed board, it is a separate entity from the government. As the elected government, led by Premier Stelmach, is essentially responsible for AHS, isn't every AHS decision a government decision?

Agriculture

The Camrose Canadian, a Sun Media newspaper, recently called out Stelmach for not showing enough public support for Alberta's Pork Industry, which has taken a hit since the 'Swine Flu' hit headlines. This is quite the shocking critique for our first Premier from rural Alberta in 36 years:

Civic, provincial and federal representatives will line up with producers and the general public to get their fill of porcine heaven, but Stelmach has declined his invitation. Perhaps the two dimensional premier should take a page from his predecessor’s playbook, show a little leadership for a change, and saddle up to the grill.

Calgary-Glenmore by-election

After calling a by-election in Calgary-Glenmore, bloggers and news media have pointed out that Stelmach is nowhere to be seen. Even PC candidate Diane Colley-Urquhart didn't mentioned Stelmach once in a recent 10 minute interview with CTV Calgary.

Recent polls have shown that Stelmach's approval ratings among Calgarians sits around a low 34%, twelve points below his 46% disapproval rating among Calgarians. During the 2007 by-election in Calgary-Elbow, PC candidate Brian Heninger reacted to a similarly hostile atmosphere by threatening to choke Stelmach. It is unknown whether Colley-Urquhart will adopt a similar tactic.

edmonton's bike plan worth voting for.

From the Edmonton Journal:

Instead of nearly $300 million, the proposal that will be put forward to the transportation and public works committee next Tuesday will recommend that between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent of the city's annual capital budget be allocated to the plan, a number that will fluctuate year to year and amount to millions of dollars less.

As I wrote in a response to bicycle conspiracist Kerry Diotte, these types of plans should be geared towards average Edmontonians, who would ride their bikes to work a little more often if they felt they weren't going to get plowed over by a motorist or sideswiped by a crazy cyclist.

As a long-term growth strategy for Edmonton it's smart, it's healthy, and it could even possibly cut down the ridiculous amount of traffic congestion that is increasingly jamming our roads.

Join me by emailing or phoning your City Councillors to urge them not to sacrifice Edmonton's Bicycle Transportation Plan when it is voted on by the Transportation & Public Works Committee on Tuesday August 25. The Bike Plan is a key component of the Transportation Master Plan that Councillors are set to vote for on September 14.

well, it's good for afghanistan...

On voter turnout in Afghanistan's 2009 election:

Given the fifty per cent turnout rates of 2005, and the much worse security environment and disillusionment in 2009, any turnout rate between forty and forty-five per cent in 2009 would seem to be quite good...

Voter turnout in Alberta's 2008 Provincial Eleciton: 40.6%

(ht @archiemc for the New Yorker link)

social media guide to the calgary-glenmore by-election.

As was announced earlier this week, and covered by bloggers elsewhere, a by-election has been called for September 14, 2009 to fill the vacant Calgary-Glenmore seat Alberta's Legislative Assembly. The vacancy was created when Deputy Premier Ron Stevens resigned and accepted a Judicial appointment last May. In preparation for the impending by-election, candidates have been hitting the pavement in the months since Stevens' resignation, but how have they been doing on the social media front?

At this point, it appears that the two candidates most active on the social media front are PC candidate Diane Colley-Urquhart and Liberal candidate Avalon Roberts. Both of these candidates are using websites, writing blogs, and are active on Twitter and Facebook. NDP candidate Eric Carpendale doesn't appear to have a website, but he has recently started a Twitter account and has a support group on Facebook. While Wildrose Alliance candidate Paul Hinman's current web presence appears to be limited to his website, it is chalk full of the message "Send Ed a Message" (even in the url).

At midpoint in the by-election, I will take a look at how each the candidates have been using social media to engage voters and catch the attention of both the old and new media.

Eric Carpendale (NDP)
Facebook / Twitter

Diane Colley-Urquhart (PC)
Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Paul Hinman (WRA)
Website

Avalon Roberts (LIB)
Website/Blog / Facebook / Flickr / Twitter / YouTube

Len Skowronski (SC)
Bio on official Social Credit website

If I have missed anything, please feel free to email me or write a comment below. Thanks!

Related Post:
Alberta Politics Online

the left in alberta: comfortably marginalized?

A couple of weeks ago, I focused on the buzz around the right-wing Wildrose Alliance leadership contest, and candidate Danielle Smith in particular. This post focuses on Alberta's opposition parties on "the left" - the Alberta Liberals and the Alberta NDP. As I have already written posts dealing specifically with the state of the Liberal and NDP parties, I have decided to take a look at the state of the institutional "political left" that they claim to represent.

Some people may argue that the centrist-left Liberals shouldn't be included in the same category as the pseudo-socialist left-wing NDP (and vice-versa), but it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the two parties and the challenges and character flaws that they both face.

Since the 2008 provincial election, the Democratic Renewal Project, a group consisting of both NDP and Liberal members, has been calling for something to change. While I don't agree with their solution - a temporary electoral coalition between the two parties that would push for proportional representation in our elections - I do respect that they are willing to break from traditional party lines and publicly call for change.

While the DRP holds hope that the two opposition parties can work together for positive change, I strongly believe that certain MLAs and individuals in the establishments of the two parties are too comfortable in the dysfunctionality of the current situation to work towards a real solution. In effect, I am becoming more convinced that as neither party in their past or current existences have proven that they are able to effectively bring political change to Alberta, their destruction is necessary for political change to take place. As long as the two parties are limited by their own partisan blinders to winning a combined total of 9 to 20 of the 83 seats in the Assembly, they will remain a tiny opposition.

I haven't seen much evidence that the left as a movement has pride in Alberta. From a historical/political myth-building context, it appears that the political left doesn't fit naturally in the narrative of Alberta's story. As Mark Lisac wrote in his book 'Alberta Politics Uncovered: Taking Back our Province' there are a large number of mainstream Albertans who self-identify as 'conservatives.' The left has allowed itself to be defined by Alberta's narrative - the mythical land of rodeos, cowboys, red meat, and oil rigs - an image which urban academics, labour unions and environmental activists don't easily fit into.

There are many reasons why the left continues to electorally and politically spin its wheels in Alberta, including lack of broad organizational capacity, self-interested party "leaders," and an bizarre defeatist martyr complex, but many Albertans involved in opposition politics simply don't show pride in their province. If I were a leader of an opposition party in Alberta (yes, I'm gawking too), I would constantly wrap myself in Alberta’s flag. At every opportunity, I would talk about how proud I am to be an Albertan - proud of our history, proud our beautiful province, and proud of what our future holds. I would talk about how strong our province is, the strength of Albertans hard working character, and I would emphasize the reality that Alberta isn't going to realize its full potential if we allow the same tired politicians to control our Legislative Assembly.

Instead of being defined by its criticism of the governing PCs, Alberta's opposition parties on the left should prove to Albertans that they stand for something that is more than a reaction to the actions of the governing party (or the other opposition party). By continuing to chase the flavour of the week, both opposition parties are allowing themselves to be marginalized by Alberta's cultural and political narratives.

Days after the PCs steamrolled over the Liberals and NDP in the March 2008 election, I offered some advice to the two opposition parties:

Party archetypes in both camps really need to put aside their biases and prejudices and take a serious and objective look at why their parties are not connecting with Albertans.

A year later, I am convinced that the party archetypes in both parties are continuing down the same road that has led to their sequestration to the opposition benches. At the moment, it's difficult to see much hope for Alberta's Liberals and NDP. I continue to hear from a growing number of disgruntled politically moderate Albertans displeased with the governing PCs and unimpressed with the opposition parties which leads me to believe that Alberta's political left better start standing for something real or be destroyed. Failing to do either is killing democracy in this province.

gone fringing.

If you're in Edmonton this week, make sure to check out my favorite summer festival - the Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival - which is happening until August 23.

I saw my first show, 'Songs from the Ave', on Friday night at the BYOV A (the Avenue Theatre). It was well worth the trip to 118th Avenue from the Strathcona Fringe grounds, so check it out if you have the time! (and stop by the Carrot afterward for a coffee). I've also written a review of 'Songs from the Ave' that will appear in this week's SEE Magazine annual amazing complete review of every Fringe show.

help build your smart city.

Ever since attending the 2009 ICLEI World Congress in Edmonton in June, I've been continually amazed at some of the positive change, innovative thinking, and idea sharing that is happening between municipalities across the globe.

While Canada's provincial and federal leaders of all political stripes are failing to address some of the biggest growth issues of a generation - both on the environment and energy fronts - many of our municipal leaders are pioneering new ideas for implementing sustainability and smart growth strategies. Dealing with urban growth is difficult in cities where past politicians have embraced urban sprawl and bad urban renewal ideas. In Edmonton, City Council recently made a smart decision by voting for the phased closure of the City Centre Airport, which will create opportunities for future increased densification in the City core (a difficult and well-thought out decision for some Councillors).

Important civic issues have awakened the citizenship in a growing number of Albertans who are taking action and forming groups like ChangeCamp Edmonton and Civic Camp Calgary to participate in shaping the future of their communities and politics in a non-partisan way.

Using the Internet, websites like CityWiki and Cities Exchange (ht Rurban Fringe) are providing forums for great information sharing about urban growth strategies. There have also been some exciting positive debates about open data and open source government in Calgary and Vancouver that will create more transparency and broaden the ways that citizens can interact with their municipal governments. It's really encouraging to watch our cities move forward in a positive direction on many issues. When I look at how much has been accomplished thus far, I become more hopeful for what can be accomplished in the future!

Draft A City That Thinks LIke the Web

View more documents from Mark Surman.

kowalski: swann did consult mason on electoral boundaries commission appointments.

Following up on one of last week's silly summer news stories, Speaker Ken Kowalski responded to Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason in a letter yesterday. In the letter, Kowalski denied Mason's request to halt the two Official Opposition appointments to the Electoral Boundaries Commission, stating that in his opinion, Liberal leader David Swann did consult with Mason prior to the announcement of the appointments.

Related:

- You can listen to the podcast of last Thursday's The World Tonight on AM770 where Rob Breakenridge and I discussed the Electoral Boundaries Commission issue. Brian Mason calls in around the 10 minute and 58 second point in the podcast.
- Wikipedia: Jumping the Shark

looking for inspiration in all the wrong places.

It's been a busy week, so expect regularly scheduled blogging to resume at some point after Thursday.

Until then, take a read of Laurence Martin's recent Globe & Mail column on which blames young people for his generation of politicians being uninspirational, and Amanda Henry's excellent reaction at The First Drop.

My thought: Writing about youth apathy is easy, but in general, at what point in history have younger generations not been apathetic to the politics of their parents' generation?

UPDATE: David Eaves and Alison Loat have also provided two excellent responses to Martin's column.

hit [publish] and run.

The Edmonton Journal's Graham Thomson has written a column on the dubious legacy left by the now defunct Tiny Perfect Blog, "Anonymous blogger spews vitriol, then runs: Pro-NDP 'Tiny Perfect Blog' became epitome of what its favoured party fights: intolerance and hypocrisy."

The anonymous Tiny Perfect Blog gained a lot of attention because of its Perez Hilton-style political gossip and malicious hit and run partisan attacks, but it shut down just as quickly as it appeared. While none of the people I speak to know for certain who the author of this blog was (though they have their suspicions), my former MLA, Rachel Notley knows. But she's not telling.

Notley says she knows the author, but won't reveal a name-- "I had nothing to do with that blog, truly... I'm not going to engage in a discussion about who else might have because my knowledge of that I gained in association with their confidence. But I will tell you without hesitation, I had nothing to do with that and I don't agree with what was on it."

I was also quoted in Thomson's column, stating the position I've held since I stopped blogging anonymously over two years ago:

Cournoyer says even though there is a tradition of anonymous political writers going back hundreds of years, bloggers today aren't in danger of getting their heads chopped off by an angry king. "We're not living in China or Iran," he says. "We don't have to fear repercussions. The police aren't going to come busting down their door if you're actually contributing to political dialogue."

welcome to the irrelevant show.

I was originally going to call this post "Newsflash: Brian Mason is outraged!" but I thought that would just be playing into the oversensationalization of this non-issue of a mid-summer news story.

Related to my recent posts about the appointment of Justice Ernie Walter as Chairperson of Alberta's Electoral Boundaries Commission and the appointment of four Commission members by Premier Ed Stelmach and Liberal Official Opposition leader David Swann, the leader of the 2 MLA NDP caucus is outraged over Swann's recommended appointments to the Commission.

In duelling media releases from the NDP and Liberals, NDP leader Brian Mason was outraged that Swann didn't choose the two people Mason recommended. Mason claims that Swann didn't consult him enough about the choices, even though the two leaders met to discuss the appointments and Mason signed a letter to Swann with recommendations.

According to the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act:

(b) 2 persons, who are not members of the Legislative Assembly, appointed by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on the nomination of the Leader of Her Majesty’s loyal opposition in consultation with the leaders of the other opposition parties represented in the Legislative Assembly,

The Act doesn't specify what 'consultation' needs to entail, but the history of childish tension between the Liberals and NDP would have led me to be encouraged that the two leaders had even met to discuss this issue. Alas, the media release and predictable outrage from Mason has likely undermined any good will in the 11 MLA opposition benches.

Next Post: An issue that actually matters.

UPDATE: Tune in! I will be on air with Calgary AM770s Rob Breakenridge disucssing this issue at 8:35pm tonight.

UPDATE (August 7, 2009): You can now listen to the podcast of last night's The World Tonight on AM770 where Rob Breakenridge and I discuss the Electoral Boundaries Commission issue. NDP leader Brian Mason calls in around the 10 minute and 58 second point in the podcast.

who will stand up for edmonton?

In June 2009, the private Royal Glenora Club (located in Edmonton-Centre), received $1,000,000 in Federal stimulus funds, which Edmonton-Centre MP Laurie 'Red Dawn' Hawn claimed "will ensure that this 50-year-old facility can continue to thrive...."

A cornerstone of the festival circuit, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival was recently denied Federal funding through the same grant that gave over $350,000 and over $250,000 to folk festivals in Calgary and Winnipeg.

It was reported by the Edmonton Journal that Hawn 'deliberately didn't lobby for Edmonton festivals.'

As a constituent in Edmonton-Centre, I would like my reprentatives to stand up for and lobby for Edmonton festivals.

UPDATE: Liberal candidate Mary MacDonald has responded to Hawn.