Hot Flashes: Leadership races galore
This Week in AB
Another UCP Cabinet Minister announces leadership bid
Leaving Saskatchewan for the Alberta Advantage in 2016 seems to have worked out well for Rebecca Schulz, MLA from Calgary-Shaw and most recently Minister of Children's Services, who officially launched her campaign to become Alberta's next premier June 14.
Schulz has some interesting names supporting her bid, including former Saskatchewan Premier, and UCP darling, Brad Wall as well as former interim CPC leader Rona Ambrose (the link is from 2017 and has a seemingly prescient conclusion).
Schulz joins former Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney (Calgary-North East), former Minister of Culture and Status of Women Leela Aheer (Chestermere-Strathmore), former Finance Minister Travis Toews (Grande Prairie-Wapiti), former UCP caucus member Todd Loewen (Central-Peace-Notley), former Wildrose leader Brian Jean (Fort Mc Murray-Lac La Biche), former Wildrose leader Danielle Smith (campaigning for both leadership and the candidacy in Livingston-MacLeod), and former Mayor of Amisk, Bill Rock.
The UCP also released important dates for the race including:
July 20th deadline for $150,000 entry fee and $25,000 good behaviour bond;
August 21st deadline for membership sales to vote for the next premier, and;
October 6 for the pronouncement of the winner.
But wait! There could be more!
If the leadership race doesn't seem crowded enough yet, CPC MP Michelle Rempel-Garner (Calgary-Nose Hill) sent out a tweet thread on Wednesday saying she has been encouraged to seek the leadership. She also stepped back from her recent role as Campaign Chair on Patrick Brown's CPC leadership campaign making it seem a lot less like a "consideration" for a run and more like preparation.
“Nothing official, but it looks to me as if the UCP may get their white knight, after all.”
Rempel-Garner also posted a video to Facebook ("Meta") on Thursday asking followers to fill out a survey regarding a possible run for leadership (still not official).
That didn't stop some of us from being ridiculously excited about the potential for a hotly contested leadership race, and others losing their freaking minds because current events are happening.
I don't know why I would have to explain that competitive leadership races are very exciting for poligeeks.
Even our resident go-to for all the details about Alberta politics -- the always meticulous and rarely-maligned-by-the-political-acumen-challenged Dave Cournoyer -- noted that while the race is "no Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth... it’s bound to be entertaining to watch."
And not one self-styled "feminist" trolled him for it.
Shocker.
As most poligeeks know, competitive races are full of intrigue and political strategy -- which means there's tonnes of analysis available on the communications, political manoeuvers, potential plot twists -- the adrenaline surges every time I even think about it!
Did I mention "competitive" enough times? Good.
Alberta Liberals are having a race, too
As governments across the country collectively decide to stop worrying so much about Covid, 2022 is shaping up to be rife with leadership races.
The Alberta Liberal Party opened up nominations for their own leadership race on June 13 and will declare their new leader on September 24.
Alberta healthcare in state of prolonged crisis
The pandemic hasn't been easy for any province but the Alberta government's decisions seem to be hitting us particularly hard.
From ambulance shortages to lack of staff leading to longer emergency room wait times, operating room closures, and a lack of beds, with family doctors relocating out of province as the cherry on top, our medical professionals have been sounding the alarm throughout the pandemic.
As of June 15, 2022, the Alberta government removed the last of its mandatory COVID rules: self-isolation when COVID positive.
Not going to work or school with COVID is now just a "recommendation" which surely won't help the situation in Alberta's medical facilities.
“Politics should not have a role in healthcare.
Not which healthcare tagline will get you the most votes.”
Speaking of Doctors...
Dr. Verna Yiu, the CEO of Alberta Health Services whose contract was suddenly terminated earlier this year, has been appointed Interim Provost and Vice President (Academic) at the University of Alberta.
While there is little doubt in my mind that Dr. Yiu's availability was uniquely serendipitous, and sought after, it also feels like a resolute flipping of the proverbial bird in the Alberta governing party's general direction.
UCP still pushing for provincial police force Shandro says
In an opinion piece this week, Justice Minister Tyler Shandro says the province is still pushing forward with plans for a provincial police force.
Shandro claims there will be no cost increase to municipalities (research says otherwise), and that this is what Alberta wants. Albertans don't want it.
The Fair Deal Panel consultations found roughly 35 per cent support for a provincial police force (and they toured the province looking to shore up that support).
Other sources said even less support transitioning to a provincial police force: nine per cent.
In 2020, I talked with Dr. Melanee Thomas, former PC MLA Doug Griffiths (who completed consultations on this exact question in early 2000's) and Dr. Herb Emery who spent just over two decades researching the same.
It doesn't make fiscal sense, even if it would give Albertans some false sense of control.
I hate to think that Kenney is still Premier so that he can shove another awful decision down our throats but his caucus voted to let him remain even though a clear majority of Albertans wanted him gone months ago.
October 6 cannot come soon enough.
Canada and beyond
Is there something in the air in 2022?
Observers who cast their nets widely may recall that both the Ontario NDP, and Liberal parties will be launching provincial leadership races after their respective leaders resigned on the eve of June 2nd after a record low of 43 per cent of voters turned out to give Doug Ford and his PC party another majority government.
BC Liberals completed their race in February, the Saskatchewan NDP will choose a new leader on June 26, Newfoundland's PC Party will be announcing a race "soon", Nova Scotia Liberals will declare the winner of their leadership race on July 9th, and PEI NDP elected a new leader April 2.
New Brunswick goes to the polls in September and Quebec in October, which, if the present tells us anything at all, could spur a few more leadership races to add to the list.
New online resource: hate groups and movements in Canada
It's called Hatepedia (hatepedia.ca) and it includes encyclopedic entries of known symbols and memes, as well as their usage by different identified hate groups in Canada.
The project was made possible by the Holocaust Education Centre and includes a hate symbol list, hate meme database, and lesson plans and toolkits for educating students and interested adults about online hate.
Final thoughts
“Weird how Jason Kenney has zero control over gas and oil prices unlike how Rachel Notley used to.”