Im in Ontario but of course this is applicable here too. I’m so tired of the dominant provincial parties having no opposition because the opposition parties haven’t yet figured out how to throw off the weight of 2012-2022 Social Justice insanity and pick a centrist leader again.
Guys: the federal LPC did it and it worked amazingly well!! The US Dems might do it with Jamie Dimon!
The “conservative” or United Conservative or Progressive Conservative or fake-conservative parties, whatever you want to call them, aren’t going to get better on this stuff without a functioning Official Opposition and real threats at the ballot box.
The US has a real problem where people are basically zombie Republicans or Democrats: they've always been a Republican, their parents were Republicans, and they're going to vote whoever's got the (R) beside their name on the ballot irrespective of how awful the person is. You *might* get them to decide to abstain from voting. You're *never* going to get them to vote for the other party!
It feels like there's generally been less of that in Canadian politics. However, there's a stronger *negative* identification issue: people who will NEVER vote for the Conservative, or the NDP. In Alberta politics, that's been a millstone around the necks of the NDP and Liberals for generations. Laurence Decore was an archetypal centrist leader when he faced off against Ralph Klein in 1993, but a lot of Albertans simply could not stomach the idea of voting for anybody associated with the name "Liberal" even if the PCs were coming off a decade of mismanagement and scandal.
Is Alberta just doomed to have mediocre government forever then, because of tribal affiliation for the Conservative brand, and the toxicity of the LPC and NDP brand?
I don’t live in AB but my (maybe too optimistic) response would be that in other jurisdictions, you see new parties appearing that don’t have old baggage and negative affiliation with voters. If the UCP gets bad enough, someone competent will start a centrist or centre-right Alberta-only party and get support for it.
The federal LPC did a fakey sleight-of-hand to fool enough of sap voters. If they stay in power, it will become more visible than it already is that they are the same economy and society destroying dictatorial party detached from citizenry as under the previous shyster.
I don't see how any significant policies would be different, except the spending might be higher under the OLP and different groups of insiders would benefit.
For me, if 29% of Albertans are so unhappy they want to form a different country, it is existential. You don’t get that kind of number by accident. You get it when a significant share of the population feels so alienated from the country that they’re willing to contemplate starting a new one.
Smith doesn't scare me one bit. 29% of a population of voters is a level of disillusionment that should alarm all Canadians, because it means something is deeply broken in how the federation is functioning.”
Given how well separatists actually do in elections, I am not remotely convinced you can take 29% to the bank. 1/3 of Albertans are pissed, and are willing to log a shocking answer on a poll - where the stakes are low. How many of them will actually vote to separate? Maybe 20%? Is this existential? And if it is, is anything Smith is doing successfully addressing the crisis, or is she simply inflaming it? JG
Something is happening to this country and none of it good, I fear. Your questions are important and need to be answered just as my concern that it is too high. What solves the question is a referendum and we are not near that yet. In five years? Maybe. We're just starting to see the damage that ten years of the current bunch inflicted on national unity and Alberta in particular. What needs to happen regardless is to get everyone back at the constitutional table and renegotiate for the 21st century rather than in the 20th century. If that can't be done, I worry about what happens next.
Libertarianism is about the impact of government on individuals, not about how government is chosen or relations between levels of government.
Giving parents choice in education, deregulating individuals and businesses, reducing total tax burden are all libertarian. Voting mechanisms and division of powers between municipalities and provinces are unrelated to libertarian concerns.
Great questions Jen, unfortunately our Premier will never answer any of them as she continues to distract from their poor ability to provide good and ethical governance.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing to have those seeking office in municipal elections to let the electorate know which way they lean politically is it? Too often we find out after the fact that the person elected is actually in training camp for either the NDP or UCP but failed to mention their political and ideological tendencies during the campaign which may or may not have been a deciding factor for the voter. More information for the voter to process before casting a ballot.
I voted in less than 5 minutes in advance voting so didn’t personally see any of the delays you mentioned. Also disappointed with the designs but worth noting there is a disclaimer that these are only samples and are subject to further design and adjustments after the voting is done. Also worth noting Quebecs overtly political license plate of “I remember”, which they’ve had for a long time. While undoubtedly there are political reasons for the license plate change, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. Something can have political reasons and other reasons at the same time. A rebrand is a nice idea as the province grows and evolves- see Calgary’s new slogan and branding on its signs at the city entries. Strong and free is a little on the nose but it’s more culture building and appropriate than “wild rose country”. How many Albertans could even tell you what a wild rose is or pick it out in a park. A license plate change has a huge impact on culture, we spend hours a week staring at them and they are on the wall each time you go to the registry. If someone doesn’t like it, they cannot for a hockey or veterans plate. On that note, if license plates don’t have an impact then why are people paying extra to showcase their alignment with the Flames, Oilers, or Veterans. Canadas culture as a nation is fragmented and slipping, it important to continue doing things that creates a collective vision for who we are. Wildrose country doesn’t cut it and it’s important for Canadians to remember that strong and free is part of our anthem and history as a country. Considering we have done so many things to make us weak and less free.
I will be holding onto my plain old license plate as long as possible for mostly aesthetic reasons. Good to know the politicians are spending the time we pay them for on bad graphic design. sigh.
I worked as a DRO in this election in a small town in Calgary's near vicinity . Not sure what the fuss is about but I saw no signs of the system trying to suppress anyone's vote. The forms we used were there to allow us to update voter info should it have changed ( almost exclusively address changes). If the voters' supplied info matched the list he was given a ballot. Heaven forbid that we should be required to show eligibility to vote.
Canada Post would have delivered the voting cards if they were not on strike. Any election worker could have handed out the forms to fill out when in line. This was not the UCP's fault. I thought the party affiliation was helpful, but I needed this for the school trustees as no information was provided. Having said that, I did vote "independent" in both mayor and council.... The plates? Yes, I recall Rod Love lobbying the government to change them for his client. I expect the bigger issue is people deliberately obscuring their plates with opaque covers, bike racks etc, but I digress. This is a simple decision and allows people to get involved. It is a big nothing burger and my only complaint is I wanted "strong and free" in Latin and maybe Mt. Assiniboine for a background.
Problems were widespread throughout the province, and not limited to particular municipalities. The system worked just fine in 2021, what need was there for such significant changes?
The same reason why TD was fined 3 billion dollars. Fraud is widespread in Canada, and democracy is important and deserves scrutiny. If Canada Post was not on strike, it would have been an experience like a Federal election (which we may get to test my theory after the budget is tabled and the government falls).
It took 30 minutes to vote midday, the line up just got longer as the day went on. I watched as the electors had to fill out everyone's names and address on a carbon copy form (it was either 3 or 4 papers thick). My hand cramps just thinking about how physically painful that must have been, especially as majority of the electors are older and those shifts are long on election day.
This was a botched election - the attestation form caused considerable, albeit not universal, delays.
As these things go there will be no accountability for this, only finger pointing.
From "La Belle Province" to "Je Me Souviens", from "Wild Rose Country" to "Proud and Free", who cares? As a separatist my license will read "Wild Rose Country". Like the country part.
Based on the very limited ability of those working at the polling stations I assumed they were striking teachers finding a day's wage. The association with parties hurt good candidates, but the outcome in Calgary more clearly reflects voters' preference.
Im in Ontario but of course this is applicable here too. I’m so tired of the dominant provincial parties having no opposition because the opposition parties haven’t yet figured out how to throw off the weight of 2012-2022 Social Justice insanity and pick a centrist leader again.
Guys: the federal LPC did it and it worked amazingly well!! The US Dems might do it with Jamie Dimon!
The “conservative” or United Conservative or Progressive Conservative or fake-conservative parties, whatever you want to call them, aren’t going to get better on this stuff without a functioning Official Opposition and real threats at the ballot box.
💯
Tribal political identity plays into it as well.
The US has a real problem where people are basically zombie Republicans or Democrats: they've always been a Republican, their parents were Republicans, and they're going to vote whoever's got the (R) beside their name on the ballot irrespective of how awful the person is. You *might* get them to decide to abstain from voting. You're *never* going to get them to vote for the other party!
It feels like there's generally been less of that in Canadian politics. However, there's a stronger *negative* identification issue: people who will NEVER vote for the Conservative, or the NDP. In Alberta politics, that's been a millstone around the necks of the NDP and Liberals for generations. Laurence Decore was an archetypal centrist leader when he faced off against Ralph Klein in 1993, but a lot of Albertans simply could not stomach the idea of voting for anybody associated with the name "Liberal" even if the PCs were coming off a decade of mismanagement and scandal.
Is Alberta just doomed to have mediocre government forever then, because of tribal affiliation for the Conservative brand, and the toxicity of the LPC and NDP brand?
I don’t live in AB but my (maybe too optimistic) response would be that in other jurisdictions, you see new parties appearing that don’t have old baggage and negative affiliation with voters. If the UCP gets bad enough, someone competent will start a centrist or centre-right Alberta-only party and get support for it.
The federal LPC did a fakey sleight-of-hand to fool enough of sap voters. If they stay in power, it will become more visible than it already is that they are the same economy and society destroying dictatorial party detached from citizenry as under the previous shyster.
Doug Ford essentially is the Ontario Liberal Party leader.
Spends like it, but the only beneficiaries are his donors.
I don't see how any significant policies would be different, except the spending might be higher under the OLP and different groups of insiders would benefit.
The reality is that the days of Conservatives being fiscally responsible are over. They were actually over decades ago.
Amazing how Smith is so good at making things more ideological, less efficient and more expensive, all in response to issues nobody cared about.
If only she invested that same energy into measles, funding education, diversifying the economy and delivering health care.
For me, if 29% of Albertans are so unhappy they want to form a different country, it is existential. You don’t get that kind of number by accident. You get it when a significant share of the population feels so alienated from the country that they’re willing to contemplate starting a new one.
Smith doesn't scare me one bit. 29% of a population of voters is a level of disillusionment that should alarm all Canadians, because it means something is deeply broken in how the federation is functioning.”
https://leger360.com/in-the-news-alberta-separatism/https://leger360.com/in-the-news-alberta-separatism/
Given how well separatists actually do in elections, I am not remotely convinced you can take 29% to the bank. 1/3 of Albertans are pissed, and are willing to log a shocking answer on a poll - where the stakes are low. How many of them will actually vote to separate? Maybe 20%? Is this existential? And if it is, is anything Smith is doing successfully addressing the crisis, or is she simply inflaming it? JG
Something is happening to this country and none of it good, I fear. Your questions are important and need to be answered just as my concern that it is too high. What solves the question is a referendum and we are not near that yet. In five years? Maybe. We're just starting to see the damage that ten years of the current bunch inflicted on national unity and Alberta in particular. What needs to happen regardless is to get everyone back at the constitutional table and renegotiate for the 21st century rather than in the 20th century. If that can't be done, I worry about what happens next.
Libertarianism is about the impact of government on individuals, not about how government is chosen or relations between levels of government.
Giving parents choice in education, deregulating individuals and businesses, reducing total tax burden are all libertarian. Voting mechanisms and division of powers between municipalities and provinces are unrelated to libertarian concerns.
Centralizing power/influence of government is all about the impact to individuals.
Great questions Jen, unfortunately our Premier will never answer any of them as she continues to distract from their poor ability to provide good and ethical governance.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing to have those seeking office in municipal elections to let the electorate know which way they lean politically is it? Too often we find out after the fact that the person elected is actually in training camp for either the NDP or UCP but failed to mention their political and ideological tendencies during the campaign which may or may not have been a deciding factor for the voter. More information for the voter to process before casting a ballot.
Ahem, cough, Don Iveson, former Edmonton mayor, cough, cough.
I voted in less than 5 minutes in advance voting so didn’t personally see any of the delays you mentioned. Also disappointed with the designs but worth noting there is a disclaimer that these are only samples and are subject to further design and adjustments after the voting is done. Also worth noting Quebecs overtly political license plate of “I remember”, which they’ve had for a long time. While undoubtedly there are political reasons for the license plate change, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. Something can have political reasons and other reasons at the same time. A rebrand is a nice idea as the province grows and evolves- see Calgary’s new slogan and branding on its signs at the city entries. Strong and free is a little on the nose but it’s more culture building and appropriate than “wild rose country”. How many Albertans could even tell you what a wild rose is or pick it out in a park. A license plate change has a huge impact on culture, we spend hours a week staring at them and they are on the wall each time you go to the registry. If someone doesn’t like it, they cannot for a hockey or veterans plate. On that note, if license plates don’t have an impact then why are people paying extra to showcase their alignment with the Flames, Oilers, or Veterans. Canadas culture as a nation is fragmented and slipping, it important to continue doing things that creates a collective vision for who we are. Wildrose country doesn’t cut it and it’s important for Canadians to remember that strong and free is part of our anthem and history as a country. Considering we have done so many things to make us weak and less free.
Smith is astoundingly good at failing to implement good ideas while successfully implementing bad ideas.
I will be holding onto my plain old license plate as long as possible for mostly aesthetic reasons. Good to know the politicians are spending the time we pay them for on bad graphic design. sigh.
I worked as a DRO in this election in a small town in Calgary's near vicinity . Not sure what the fuss is about but I saw no signs of the system trying to suppress anyone's vote. The forms we used were there to allow us to update voter info should it have changed ( almost exclusively address changes). If the voters' supplied info matched the list he was given a ballot. Heaven forbid that we should be required to show eligibility to vote.
Canada Post would have delivered the voting cards if they were not on strike. Any election worker could have handed out the forms to fill out when in line. This was not the UCP's fault. I thought the party affiliation was helpful, but I needed this for the school trustees as no information was provided. Having said that, I did vote "independent" in both mayor and council.... The plates? Yes, I recall Rod Love lobbying the government to change them for his client. I expect the bigger issue is people deliberately obscuring their plates with opaque covers, bike racks etc, but I digress. This is a simple decision and allows people to get involved. It is a big nothing burger and my only complaint is I wanted "strong and free" in Latin and maybe Mt. Assiniboine for a background.
Problems were widespread throughout the province, and not limited to particular municipalities. The system worked just fine in 2021, what need was there for such significant changes?
The same reason why TD was fined 3 billion dollars. Fraud is widespread in Canada, and democracy is important and deserves scrutiny. If Canada Post was not on strike, it would have been an experience like a Federal election (which we may get to test my theory after the budget is tabled and the government falls).
Keep digging down that rabbit hole.
Go back to the yellow plate. Always liked that one.
I have a 1968 plate on my MGB, and the green and white is darn nice too (though probably looks good against british racing green).
It took 30 minutes to vote midday, the line up just got longer as the day went on. I watched as the electors had to fill out everyone's names and address on a carbon copy form (it was either 3 or 4 papers thick). My hand cramps just thinking about how physically painful that must have been, especially as majority of the electors are older and those shifts are long on election day.
This was a botched election - the attestation form caused considerable, albeit not universal, delays.
As these things go there will be no accountability for this, only finger pointing.
The enshitification of public services continues.
Amazing piece - Thank you
From "La Belle Province" to "Je Me Souviens", from "Wild Rose Country" to "Proud and Free", who cares? As a separatist my license will read "Wild Rose Country". Like the country part.
Based on the very limited ability of those working at the polling stations I assumed they were striking teachers finding a day's wage. The association with parties hurt good candidates, but the outcome in Calgary more clearly reflects voters' preference.
Few want to hear any incidents from 10 years ago. Times change.