Last week from AB: March 10, 2025

Flips, flops, and decisive decisions.

Alberta

Flips: Danielle Smith

Premier Danielle Smith did something this week that few can manage: her complete flip from Alberta obstinance to Alberta as a functioning member of Team Canada; and it had me fighting for words. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t happened right before a national news spot that was, of course, live.

As many others have pointed out, her “flip” extends only to the written word, and while answering questions, she struggles to maintain the same level of confidence in her previous statements.

what it means

• Many Albertans, even those who voted for Danielle Smith, love their country. I expect the UCP’s internal polling showed the same.

• No one needs to, or is expected to, change their vote over this new attitude; enjoy it while it lasts because if the Liberals win another election, she’ll abandon it like a Leader of the Official Opposition who thought she had support because of what she did for her constituency rather than the colour of sign her name was on.

what’s next

• We’re expecting to head into a federal election any day now and Ms. Smith’s refusal to get on board with a Team Canada approach wasn’t appreciated outside of the province. If she’s going to be stumping for Pierre Poilievre, she needs to be acting like a Canadian or it hurts his own attempt to pivot away from his year-long “Canada sucks” narrative.

Jason Kenney is back

Out of the ashes of burned bridges arose Jason Kenney, suddenly, and with gusto, on the cusp of a federal election, and just in time to start smacking down some Maple MAGAs who are not helping Pierre Poilievre’s chance at being elected.

Did he come back on his own, or at the behest of concerned CPC members who are seeing their double digit lead shrink far more rapidly than it grew?

what it means

• He smells blood in the water federally and sees an opportunity to remind Canadians that he is a federalist who would never sell out his country; there’s plenty of space for him to fill in the void that Trump has caused in the Mr. Poilievre’s anti-Canada campaign.

• He’s going to play attack dog on the Maple maga crowd because Mr. Poilievre spent the last couple of years welcoming them into the CPC tent and is either unable, or unwilling, to do it himself.

• These are just educated guesses; all I know for sure is that he’s back online, stomping on the Maple magas, and there might be more to it, or not; it’s a new development and I’ve yet to decide if it’s particularly meaningful.

Flops: Trump tariffs

The team in the White House was given a strong economic outlook, and a lot of people were hopeful.

Once again, a shoutout to the guys from the states who were at the national in Calgary on election night, who voted for Trump “for the economy.”

I was watching CBC News Network and saw a representative from California who said that since this new administration had absolutely no experienced people, it would take a little bit for them “to learn how trade works”.

He said it as if it was as worrisome as if they were learning the names of the kitchen staff, too, which is incomprehensible to me.

After causing markets to lose somewhere around $800 billion, Trump pulled back again.

what it means

• Trump is an idiot.

what’s next

• Trump has now said he won’t “rule out” causing a recession.

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Flops: The AHS scandal may be on its way out

The craziest thing happened; there was a very bad thing, but the UCP is working to fix it.