Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by troutman

If they feel they can win a majority (they always get the rural vote) they can short circuit the recall stuff and get a new mandate.

They are somehow ahead in the polls:

https://338canada.com/alberta/

https://canadianpolling.ca/AB-2023

NDP volunteers are contacting supporters to get ready.

I was contacted this week as well, I was a bit surprised to be asked about putting in a lawn sign but I’ll have an NDP sign on my lawn for the first time ever.

[puffnstuff]

Guess what your MLA probably calls you if you phone them and voice your displeasure with their use of the NWC.
Oh wait you dont have to guess because theres audio of it.

https://bsky.app/profile/thebreakdow.../3m5rckitbp22v

[Fuzz]

LOL. Tell us how you really feel about your constituents. Maybe this job isn't for you.

[malcolmk14]

Originally Posted by puffnstuff

Guess what your MLA probably calls you if you phone them and voice your displeasure with their use of the NWC.
Oh wait you dont have to guess because theres audio of it.

https://bsky.app/profile/thebreakdow.../3m5rckitbp22v

Good lord.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by troutman

If they feel they can win a majority (they always get the rural vote) they can short circuit the recall stuff and get a new mandate.

They are somehow ahead in the polls:

https://338canada.com/alberta/

https://canadianpolling.ca/AB-2023

NDP volunteers are contacting supporters to get ready.

If Smith is reading the room at all, I can see why she think an election now might make sense as opposed to waiting.

1) It would stop the numerous recalls against her party and force them to reorganize a year after the election
2) It would start the election before the new Alberta Party to Progressive Conservative Party can build momentum and take away support from her Conservatives
3) It would get the election going before the new riding map is implemented (Rural loses 1 riding, Cities gain 3)
4) It would get the election moving before more information about the CorruptCare scandals can be released by the Auditor General that they are trying to get rid of

The UCP has a huge pile of ticking time bombs that will work against them but an election could buy them some time to keep the grifts going.

It would be difficult to support both the NDP and new PC party... I think we could do it.

[Deegee]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Ya? What does "not supporting the UCP look like to you"? Is it where you defend all their policies, actions, and people, but vote for a 3rd party who has no chance of winning your riding, helping the UCP to take it?

I think we all know someone like this in real life. it really doesn't matter what they say, they're voting for the UCP anyway and they just have no rational way of supporting the party initiatives outside of Liberals bad.

[puffnstuff]

https://www.iask.ca/news/efc36f595bd...caucus-members

Alberta’s United Conservative Party has filed a lawsuit against two of its former MLAs, alleging they have conspired to damage the party’s reputation by using the Progressive Conservative name.

Peter Guthrie and Scott Sinclair, both named as defendants, have been trying to start a provincial party under the PC banner since being expelled from the UCP caucus earlier this year. The PC Party governed Alberta for 43 consecutive years before merging with the Wildrose Party to form the UCP in 2017.

The United Conservative Association, which operates the UCP, filed a statement of claim on Nov. 7 in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. The association says it still has ownership over the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta name and it cannot be legally appropriated.

“The United Conservative Association has suffered damages – including harm to its goodwill and reputation – as a result of the Defendants passing-off on the PCAA name and associated goodwill,” states the court document.

[Fuzz]

Let the record show that the UCP has no goodwill and reputation to be harmed.

[bizaro86]

Man. If we had Nenshi's "moved toward the centre" NDP and a "moved toward the centre/not crazy" PC party as the two choices in Alberta that would be something. There might be two viable choices and no chance of someone insane ending up premier.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by puffnstuff

https://www.iask.ca/news/efc36f595bd...caucus-members

Alberta’s United Conservative Party has filed a lawsuit against two of its former MLAs, alleging they have conspired to damage the party’s reputation by using the Progressive Conservative name.

Peter Guthrie and Scott Sinclair, both named as defendants, have been trying to start a provincial party under the PC banner since being expelled from the UCP caucus earlier this year. The PC Party governed Alberta for 43 consecutive years before merging with the Wildrose Party to form the UCP in 2017.

The United Conservative Association, which operates the UCP, filed a statement of claim on Nov. 7 in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. The association says it still has ownership over the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta name and it cannot be legally appropriated.

“The United Conservative Association has suffered damages – including harm to its goodwill and reputation – as a result of the Defendants passing-off on the PCAA name and associated goodwill,” states the court document.

“Neither of these MLAs were ever even members of PC Alberta" - Enter Thomas Lukaszuk, former member of PC Alberta?

I get that the UCP are claiming dibs on the name but I thought Guthrie identified early on that they did not maintain the ownership, likely because they never thought someone would try and revive the old party.

I wonder how much of a wrench the "Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta" or the "Wildrose Loyalty Coalition" throws into this court case? They were established in 2020 and 2023, respectively, and no one cared or started legal action. (I didn't even know the second one existed until just now)

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Wolven

I get that the UCP are claiming dibs on the name but I thought Guthrie identified early on that they did not maintain the ownership, likely because they never thought someone would try and revive the old party.

That's my understanding, can't make a new party with that name but nothing stops you from renaming a current party

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

I was contacted this week as well, I was a bit surprised to be asked about putting in a lawn sign but I’ll have an NDP sign on my lawn for the first time ever.

Yeah I got a text about that too and for volunteering. Are they expecting an early election or preparing for by-elections? My MLA is NDP anyway, so I don't know what is happening around my area.

[Dion]

I bumped into Premier Smith at the theatre here in High River. She was here with her 3 thugs/bodyguards to see the new Springsteen movie. You couldn't get near her to ask any questions.

[Looch City]

Should've accidentally thrown your drink/popcorn/feces at her.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Dion

I bumped into Premier Smith at the theatre here in High River. She was here with her 3 thugs/bodyguards to see the new Springsteen movie. You couldn't get near her to ask any questions.

Did you consider shouting out your questions from a distance?

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Man. If we had Nenshi's "moved toward the centre" NDP and a "moved toward the centre/not crazy" PC party as the two choices in Alberta that would be something. There might be two viable choices and no chance of someone insane ending up premier.

Or they would split the vote

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Dion

I bumped into Premier Smith at the theatre here in High River. She was here with her 3 thugs/bodyguards to see the new Springsteen movie. You couldn't get near her to ask any questions.

Springsteen would support the teachers.

[Fuzz]

What in the actual ####....

As a supporter of public health care, Cheung said he objects to a policy that requires him to work in one of Alberta’s private, for-profit chartered surgical facilities, or CSFs.

• Anesthesiologists in Calgary are being scheduled by senior Alberta health managers, in response to government directives, to work in CSFs, sometimes against their will.
  
• Anesthesiologists, and in some cases surgeons, have been preferentially assigned to work in chartered surgical facilities over public hospitals, including in response to political influence exerted by CSF owners.
  
• The government has ignored repeated warnings, based on data, that the rapid expansion of surgeries in CSFs has been increasing wait times in public hospitals for critical surgeries including lung, prostate and colorectal cancer, and children’s organ transplants.
  
• The government refused to pause the expansion of private surgeries despite being shown evidence they were neither saving money nor significantly reducing wait times. Instead, the government continues to take money out of the public system to fund the expansion of private surgeries.

“So part of it is ideology, part of it is that no matter what you said to them, they didn’t believe it. They didn’t care.”

That is what the new review found. Low-acuity, high-volume day surgeries conducted in CSFs now make up more than 20 per cent of insured surgical procedures in Alberta, and up to 30 per cent in urban centres.

Meanwhile, wait times for nearly all critical cancer and other surgeries are far outside acceptable wait-time standards.

As the CSFs ramped up surgeries to meet contracted volumes, schedulers struggled to balance the necessity of staffing public hospitals for critical surgeries, including emergency trauma surgeries.

Manns confirmed this.

The schedulers “would try to allocate anesthesiology out to the CSFs — after they had filled the need for acute care,” he said.

But then the CSFs fell behind on their contractual surgery volumes.

“It came to a head where the CSFs complained,” the former senior AHS executive said.

“They complained to AHS, they complained to the department heads, and as they typically do, they complained directly to the government, and then the government put their thumb on AHS.”

Two former executives said the schedulers were directed by government officials to provide more resources to the CSFs.

https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/11/17/A...-Push-Failing/

The fear was always that medical professionals would abandon the public system leaving it short staffed, the reality is the government has strapped rockets to the process to make sure it happens. And oh look, just as everyone warned, necessary patient care would be de-prioritized for private clinic profits. ####ing shocking stuff.

Thanks for voting for this, because it's exactly what she said she'd do. And now she's doing it. Maybe you will give a #### when it affects your family, but probably not, because then you'd have to admit you are a simpleton who voted for this for decades.

[Alpha_Q]

Originally Posted by Dion

I bumped into Premier Smith at the theatre here in High River. She was here with her 3 thugs/bodyguards to see the new Springsteen movie. You couldn't get near her to ask any questions.

I was at the Starbuck's that's close ro the AB legislature about a year ago. Smith was in line behind me. I always pick a different name when I order, and that day I was Clint. The guy who wrote my name on the cup used all caps, and he squished the L and I together somewhat awkwardly, let's say.
They had a new guy in, I think he was from South America, and when he read what he thought was my name out loud, the whole place went silent. Smith reached out and grabbed it without batting an eye.

[woob]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Thanks for voting for this, because it's exactly what she said she'd do. And now she's doing it. Maybe you will give a #### when it affects your family, but probably not, because then you'd have to admit you are a simpleton who voted for this for decades.

Yeah but Fuzz, the NDP were going to raise corporate taxes!!!1111oneeee11