Latest news with #UnitedConservativeParty
Calgary Herald
9 hours ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Braid: Focus on separatism is all about keeping UCP in power
Separatism is no threat to Alberta, or the federal government, or Canada itself. Article content But it is an enormous threat to Premier Danielle Smith and her United Conservative Party. Article content Article content A provincewide vote of, say five per cent, would bleed support from the UCP and bring the NDP back to power. Article content That threat drives major elements of UCP policy, from removing books in schools to making nine demands for change from Ottawa. Article content Article content The UCP often governs 4.9 million Albertans for the benefit of a faction within the party. Article content Article content At an event with federal Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland on Thursday, Smith said Prime Minister Mark Carney should take separatism seriously. It's the fed's fault, after all. Article content 'If Ottawa wants to work with me to cause that (separatist) sentiment to subside, then we need to materially address the nine bad laws that have created that negative investment climate,' she said. Article content 'If they make the changes that we're requesting, then I suspect they can take the air out of that movement.' Article content Knocking a few points off a tiny separatist party's support is a weak rationale for moving the feds to action. Article content There isn't much of a market in Ottawa, or anywhere else, for the plaintive cries from Alberta the Oppressed. Article content On Friday, the government closed the books on fiscal 2024-25 with an astonishing surplus of $8.2 billion. Article content Article content Originally, the finance department had forecast a surplus of 'only' $355 million (one that every other province would love to have). Article content Article content That surplus grew madly because of lush revenue in major categories, especially oil and gas. Article content In 2023-24, the Alberta surplus was $4.3 billion; the year before that, it hit $11.6 billion. The only other province to book a surplus in 2024-25 was New Brunswick, with $41 million.
CBC
18 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
'Rurban' ridings on the minds of Albertans as electoral boundary meetings conclude
During a Thursday afternoon meeting earlier this month in Brooks, Alta., Justice Dallas Miller, chair of Alberta's new electoral boundaries commission, outlined the central challenge facing the panel. As Alberta's population now nears five million, most of it concentrated in its urban centres, the commission must decide how to redraw the electoral map ahead of the next provincial election. "The population growth, as you know, has not been spread evenly across the province," Miller told attendees, according to transcripts released from the hearing. "We have some challenges, and are hearing from municipalities and areas where there has been huge growth, on how we deal with that growth." The question of where new lines should be drawn has long been a point of debate in Alberta politics, with disagreement around what's fair for both growing urban centres and vast rural areas. The commission held public hearings in late May and throughout June in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer and other communities. They wrapped up earlier this week. Where lines get drawn Like Canada's other Prairie provinces, there has been a notably stark urban-rural divide in Alberta in recent provincial elections. The United Conservative Party has dominated in the rural parts of the province, but performed less impressively in the province's two major cities. Electoral boundaries are significant, of course, as they determine which grouping of voters elects each member of the Legislative Assembly to the Alberta Legislature. Every eight to 10 years, a five-member commission is appointed to decide where these lines go. This time around, the province is adding two new ridings, increasing the total number of seats in the legislature from 87 to 89. But one other change may have a longer-term impact, in that the commission is no longer required to align ridings with municipal boundaries. That could open the door to more mixed rural-urban ridings. Distinct perspectives and the rural-urban split Lisa Young, a political science professor at the University of Calgary, said electoral boundaries are intended to try to keep "communities of interest" together — that is, people who might share the same concerns or perspectives because of where they live. "One of the most significant cleavages in contemporary politics is between rural and urban dwellers. Their concerns tend to be different and they often have different perspectives on politics," Young wrote in an email. "It's difficult to make an argument that an electoral district that combines urban and rural really captures communities of interest because of these differences." Under mixed rural-urban ridings, Young said rural dwellers would worry that their votes and their distinct perspectives on political issues would be drowned out by urban dwellers. By the same token, urban dwellers might have the same concerns if they were the smaller group in a mixed district, she said. Keith Archer, who served on a previous Alberta commission and was chief electoral officer in B.C., previously told CBC News that the move was one of the more interesting things to watch in this review. Up until now, it has been clear that electoral districts in the city of Calgary, for instance, should be 100 per cent aligned with the boundaries of the city, he said. "You can imagine, that you could try to have fewer urban electoral districts by having an electoral district that is partly made up of, let's say … the central-eastern part of the city, and extend out into the Chestermere area," Archer said. "You'd have kind of a rural part of the constituency, coupled with an urban part of the constituency … as a way of trying to adjust whether a constituency is principally an urban or a rural district. It'll be interesting whether the commission takes up that opportunity." Participants weigh in Whether Alberta should create more electoral boundaries which mix urban and rural caught the attention of many attendees at this past month's hearings. Craig Burrows-Johnson, who spoke at the Pincher Creek hearing, has lived in both rural Alberta and Calgary. At his hearing, he argued against "so-called 'rurban' ridings." He said he thought rural MLAs should be working on rural issues, including agriculture, small-town revival, surface rights, orphan wells, among others. On the other hand, he thought urban MLAs should focus on problems and opportunities in urban centres. "The MLAs that represent those voters need to concentrate on their issues," he said. "If you spread their zone of responsibility… they're simply not as effective." Dan Hein, who lives in Medicine Hat, Alta., said he decided to attend a meeting in Brooks after reading in meeting transcripts that most of the hearing participants were against "rurban" ridings. He argued that establishing such ridings could lead to fewer representatives being stuck in an "echo chamber" around various matters. "If a representative has to hear from a whole bunch of different viewpoints, he will probably be more rational and reasonable," Hein said. "And I think that'll improve their ability to represent people on a provincial level." Challenging work ahead Alberta's Electoral Boundaries Commission Act states that most ridings must have populations no more than 25 per cent above or below the average size. However, should they meet certain conditions, there is an exception that allows up to four electoral districts to have populations up to 50 per cent below the provincial average. Nine constituencies in Alberta are currently more than 25 per cent above the average size: Calgary-Buffalo, Calgary-Foothills, Calgary-North East, Calgary-Shaw, Calgary-South East, Edmonton-Ellerslie, Edmonton-South, Edmonton-South West, and Airdrie-Cochrane. "There's a possibility of really significant adjustments to electoral boundaries and a shift from the current balance between urban and rural municipalities in favour of urban municipalities," Archer, the former commission member, previously said. "But that runs counter to the support base of the current government. So I expect that the electoral boundaries commission will certainly get an earful in their public hearings, both before the interim report is issued, and before the final report is." The commission, chaired by Justice Miller and made up of members appointed by both government and opposition parties, is expected to release an interim report in October. A final report is expected by March 2026.
CBC
a day ago
- Politics
- CBC
Premier Smith says Albertans' desire for leaving Canada has never been higher
Social Sharing Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the public desire in her province to quit Canada has never been higher. Speaking Thursday to reporters in Calgary, Smith said Albertans feel deeply frustrated and angry with Ottawa. She cited a separatist candidate who garnered almost 18 per cent of the vote in a byelection in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding earlier this week. "I've never seen such a high level of separatist sentiment," she said. Smith said the byelection result was record-breaking in terms of separatist support, but a 1982 byelection in the same Alberta riding saw a separatist candidate win with more than 40 per cent of the vote. She said the fact that her United Conservative Party candidate won Monday's byelection means the public wants her to work with Prime Minister Mark Carney's government. Asked what her government could do to quell separatist desire, Smith said it was Ottawa's responsibility — as it was following that 1982 byelection. "A couple of years later, after (then-prime minister) Brian Mulroney got rid of the National Energy Program, the sentiment evaporated," she said. "This is really in Ottawa's hands." The present-day equivalent to that program — which introduced price controls and hiked the federal share of tax revenue from oil production — is several laws that Smith said stifle energy production and investment in Alberta. In recent months, she has called for Carney to abolish several federal policies and programs, including a proposed emissions cap, net-zero electricity grid regulations and the West Coast tanker ban. "If Ottawa wants to work with me to cause that [separatist] sentiment to subside, then we need to materially address the nine bad laws that have created that negative investment climate," she said. "If they make the changes that we're requesting, then I suspect they can take the air out of that movement." Speaking alongside Smith was federal Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland. Asked what she thought of Smith's assessment, Freeland said she hopes Albertans will see recently passed legislation to speed up the approval process of major projects as a sign that Canada has reached a "turning point." "I think we are on a really good path recognizing we need to be united," Freeland said. "We need to find ways to build Canada. "With that approach of positive intent — a shared recognition of the challenges Canada is facing, Alberta is facing — I really think that we are at the beginning of a new chapter where we're going to get a lot more done a lot faster." Smith said Ottawa's legislation, which passed in the Senate Thursday, gave her hope that change was happening. Earlier this week, Smith announced a 15-member panel that would tour the province this summer to gather ideas on how Alberta can fight federal overreach. It's an endeavour that former premier Jason Kenney did in 2019. Smith has said her panel is using Kenney's as a jumping-off point. Smith's panel will discuss creating a provincial pension plan, police force and tax collection agency. The panel is also polling Albertans on creating its own immigration permit system that would cut off non-approved immigrants from accessing provincially funded services like health care and education.
Global News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Global News
Immigration, pensions, taxes: A look at Alberta Next panel survey questions
The Alberta Next panel, chaired by Premier Danielle Smith, is holding town halls this summer to get feedback on how the province should stand up to Ottawa while building a 'strong and sovereign Alberta within Canada.' Smith has promised a referendum next year on some of the ideas put forward to the panel. The premier is leading the 15-member panel, which includes three United Conservative Party legislature members: Brandon Lunty, Glenn van Dijken and the party's newest MLA, Tara Sawyer, who won a byelection Monday. Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz is on the panel along with two oil and gas executives and Business Council of Alberta president Adam Legge. Other members are retired judge Bruce McDonald, physician and emergency doctor Dr. Akin Osakuade and University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe. 0:35 Danielle Smith launches Alberta Next panel tour to engage residents across province Following 10 town halls, scheduled to begin in July and end in late September, Smith said the panel would recommend ideas and policy proposals for a referendum. Story continues below advertisement The panel's website launched on Tuesday with surveys on six issues. Before taking each survey, participants must watch a short video. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Here are some of the questions: 'Should the provincial government refuse to provide provincial programs to non-citizens and non-permanent residents living in Alberta unless they have been granted an Alberta government-approved immigration permit?' 'Should Alberta take a lead role in working with other provinces to pressure the federal government to amend the Canadian constitution to empower and better protect provincial rights?' 'Do you agree that the current federal transfer and equalization system is unfair to Alberta?' 'Do you think Alberta should work with other provinces to transfer a larger share of overall taxes from Ottawa to the provinces?' 'What aspect do you like most about an Alberta Police Service?' 'What concerns you most about shifting from the RCMP to an Alberta Police Service?' Story continues below advertisement 'What potential benefit do you like most about Alberta opting to leave the CPP and create its own Pension Plan?' 'Which risk of opting out of CPP to start an Alberta Pension Plan are you most concerned about?' This survey had problems displaying questions on the website Tuesday afternoon, but a video beforehand asks Albertans if they would support creating a provincial revenue agency. It says doing so would require hiring 5,000 staff, cost Alberta at least $750 million per year, and require residents to file provincial and federal taxes separately — but it would also create jobs and give Alberta more of a say over its tax regime.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
United Conservative Party wins Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection
The unofficial results are in and the United Conservative Party received 61 per cent of the byelection vote in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding. The Alberta NDP finished with 20 per cent, the Republican Party of Alberta had 18 per cent and the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition took about one per cent. Official results will be announced July 3. Many political analysts were curious if the Republican Party of Alberta would receive more votes, as they focused on Alberta secession during a time when discontent with Ottawa is high. 'The results of this byelection in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills could not be more disastrous for the Republican Party of Alberta. To have come in third behind the NDP is not something that even their most ardent supporters could ever have imagined,' said Matthew Solberg with New West Public Affairs. 'I would expect them to go off into the wilderness at this point.' Cameron Davies, Republican Party of Alberta candidate and leader, sees the 2,705 votes as laying a foundation for future support. 'It took a step of courage for people to step away from their traditional voting habits and patterns and say the status quo isn't working,' said Davies. 'My message to them is that we are still here and fighting, and we aren't going away any time soon. This is just the beginning.' The unofficial results are in and the United Conservative Party received 61 per cent of the byelection vote in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding. The unofficial results are in and the United Conservative Party received 61 per cent of the byelection vote in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding. On Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith said she hopes to quell the separatist movement and conservative vote splitting with a stronger relationship with Ottawa. 'The sentiment that you're seeing was created in Ottawa by 10 years of terrible policy. I think it can also be dialed down by Ottawa by undoing 10 years of terrible policy and allowing us to get back to investing and allowing us to be able to chart our own course as a province in our areas of jurisdiction,' said Smith. 'I think that the jury is very much still out on the future of that movement, but I'm very hopeful that we'll be able to address these concerns so that sentiment subsides.'
