[DrCaleb]

He'd do a better job than our last 2 Premiers though.

[HyperionTheEvil]

Well its nice to see the the people of Alberta can eventually understand that for the last years they've essentially screwed by the PC's and the oil sector. I mean for decades people from Alberta have been telling everyone else that it wasn't the oil that made the province wealthy but 'good management ' and 'small government'. Well if the PC's were so brilliant they had years to prepare for the day when oil crashed but what they did do was let energy companies loot the province of its resources and now Alberta has little if anything to show for it.

I think Albertans are now just realizing that energy companies are not their friends and on a very basic level simply don't give a shit about the people of Alberta as long as they can make a buck. And for those years they've had the PC's in their back pocket letting them getting way with just about anything.

Now is the time not just for royalty revue and an all out increase in the corporate tx rate AND a royalty increase and i think you can expect both.

[Freakinoldguy]

It'll definitely be an interesting 4 years in Alberta. Saskatchewan goes right and Alberta goes left. Role reversal?

My guess though is that since the Alberta NDP are probably more right wing than even the Ontario Liberals this Orange victory won't radically change the way the Province does business because even the NDP can't be stupid enough not to realise they got voted in to punish the Conservatives and not because they were inducted to form a new ideology in Conservative Alberta.

If they don't understand that simple fact and temper their policies to reflect Alberta's values, chances of re election are slim and they'd better make socialist hay while they can because politics is a fickle mistress.

[HyperionTheEvil]

'Alberta's values'?

Seems to me that those 'values' have mot served the province all that well, after its those same values are the core of the PC and WRP. If the people just wanted the same thing with a new face they would have voted for the WRP and carried on. But they did vote NDP, knowing who they were and what they stand for. No i think the people of Alberta have given a solid mandate for the government to make sure that All Albertans share in the profits of the resource sector. To ensure that energy companies pay their fair share of taxes which they never have, to have the privilege to work with the assets that belong to every single person in Alberta

[martin14]

HyperionTheEvil HyperionTheEvil:

'Alberta's values'?

Seems to me that those 'values' have mot served the province all that well, after its those same values are the core of the PC and WRP. If the people just wanted the same thing with a new face they would have voted for the WRP and carried on. But they did vote NDP, knowing who they were and what they stand for. No i think the people of Alberta have given a solid mandate for the government to make sure that All Albertans share in the profits of the resource sector. To ensure that energy companies pay their fair share of taxes which they never have, to have the privilege to work with the assets that belong to every single person in Alberta

Gee I though it would be only andy and BF who would be dumb enough that this was some kind of pro lefty
it's happening LGBUTOIUULJLJRIGREENRAINBOW real honest to God Socialist revolution,

and not just kicking the PC really hard, right in the nuts.

Guess there are more.

[2Cdo]

martin14 martin14:

HyperionTheEvil HyperionTheEvil:

'Alberta's values'?

Seems to me that those 'values' have mot served the province all that well, after its those same values are the core of the PC and WRP. If the people just wanted the same thing with a new face they would have voted for the WRP and carried on. But they did vote NDP, knowing who they were and what they stand for. No i think the people of Alberta have given a solid mandate for the government to make sure that All Albertans share in the profits of the resource sector. To ensure that energy companies pay their fair share of taxes which they never have, to have the privilege to work with the assets that belong to every single person in Alberta

Gee I though it would be only andy and BF who would be dumb enough that this was some kind of pro lefty
it's happening LGBUTOIUULJLJRIGREENRAINBOW real honest to God Socialist revolution,

and not just kicking the PC really hard, right in the nuts.

Guess there are more.

Not worth any effort confronting his sheer stupidity. The NDP will be gone in 4 years and hopefully the damage can be repaired without much fuss.

[JaredMilne]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

It'll definitely be an interesting 4 years in Alberta. Saskatchewan goes right and Alberta goes left. Role reversal?

My guess though is that since the Alberta NDP are probably more right wing than even the Ontario Liberals this Orange victory won't radically change the way the Province does business because even the NDP can't be stupid enough not to realise they got voted in to punish the Conservatives and not because they were inducted to form a new ideology in Conservative Alberta.

If they don't understand that simple fact and temper their policies to reflect Alberta's values, chances of re election are slim and they'd better make socialist hay while they can because politics is a fickle mistress.

Alberta's values, huh?

Would those be the values of Ernest Manning, who in a June 11, 1943 speech, now accessible at the Glenbow Archives of Alberta, stated that so long as he and his colleagues had anything to do with the government of the province, they would see to it that Alberta would continue to "lead the world in the great fight to secure for every man, woman and child complete and permanent freedom from fear and worry, and from social and economic insecurity?"*

Would those be the values of Peter Lougheed, who raised royalty rates, opposed the Keystone pipeline, and said that a personal and corporate income tax hike might be necessary, and said that as the owner of the oilsands, we the people should be able to adjust the royalty rates as needed?

Would those be the values of Ralph Klein, who notoriously started putting spending money again in the latter half of his term after he balanced the provincial budget?

Would those be the values of Danielle Smith, who said that she believes in climate change?

Would those be the values of the Wildrose Alliance, who supported many of the same kinds of upgrading more of our resources locally that Notley has,, still supports participating in the electricity market to reduce price fluctuations, and and continued to talk about things like tax incentives for increasing our resources' value prior to sale, and focus on other petrochemical opportunities?

Here's the thing about Alberta-we have never been as dogmatically attached to hard-right policies as either some of our biggest critics or our biggest boosters have said we are. We have raised the royalty rates; we have created self-governing communities for the Metis; we have subsidized the oilpatch and other local industries; we have had prominent political leaders define spurious Christianity as faith that tries to impose its solutions on people who do not want them.**

In that respect, we have much more in common with our fellow Canadians than we do anyone south or west of the border. Yes, we lean to the right, but we are also happy to abandon ideology and hew back to the centre when necessary. That's something we share with Quebec, for instance, with the cuts that guys like René Lévesque, Lucien Bouchard and Philippe Couillard have been taking to get la belle province's finances in order.

When necessary, Quebec moves right, and Alberta moves left.

Just like Canada.

* Quoted in Geo Takach, Will The Real Alberta Please Stand Up?, University of Alberta Press, 2010. Page 74.

* Preston Manning, The New Canada. Macmillan Canada, 1992. Pages 99-100.

[Guy_Fawkes]

bootlegga bootlegga:

If that were the case, I'd take Ralphie's advice to "Shoot, shovel and shut up!"

It was Ralph's gutlessness that ultimately led to last night's loss to the NDP.

If he hadn't brought in the flat tax, promised to get rid of health care premiums, handed out Ralph Bucks and worst of all, raided the Heritage Trust Fund for $15+ billion, the government wouldn't have been in the financial pickle it was.

Pull the other one!

Allison Redford, put the province in a tailspin and Prentice called an election early because he wanted 4 years instead of 1 to push through his budget and thought his reelection was a slam dunk.

[Freakinoldguy]

HyperionTheEvil HyperionTheEvil:

'Alberta's values'?

Seems to me that those 'values' have mot served the province all that well, after its those same values are the core of the PC and WRP. If the people just wanted the same thing with a new face they would have voted for the WRP and carried on. But they did vote NDP, knowing who they were and what they stand for. No i think the people of Alberta have given a solid mandate for the government to make sure that All Albertans share in the profits of the resource sector. To ensure that energy companies pay their fair share of taxes which they never have, to have the privilege to work with the assets that belong to every single person in Alberta

Yup, after over 40 years most of Alberta suddenly changed their political values and became dyed in the wool socialists. I guess punishing the PC and WRP had nothing to with the NDP victory.

But to be fair if the Federal Conservatives only got in because the left split the vote the same claim can be made for the NDP in Alberta.

Here's the Alberta NDP's pre election promises so, I guess we'll see just how many of them they actually keep and if they do which ones will drive their #1 industry next door.

$1:

1. A Resource Owners’ Rights Commission to review the royalties oil companies pay to the province with any amount earned above the current rates going into savings.

2. A boost in the corporate tax rate to 12 per cent from 10 per cent and an increase in the minimum wage to $15 and hour by 2018.

3. More tax brackets on high earners than the Tories are proposing: A 12 per cent tax rate on income between $125,000 to $150,000; 13 per cent on income between $150,000 to $200,000; 14 per cent between $200,000 and $300,000 and 15 per cent over $300,000. The NDP also plans to roll back the Tory health levy.

4. The creation of 2,000 long-term care spaces over four years.

5. A ban both corporate and union donations to political parties.

My guess is that if the NDP carries through on all those promises and the oil prices stay low, Alberta will be receiving transfer payments making the Alberta NDP's first term, their last.

[Jabberwalker]

You know, the Federal Tory tactic of making Trudeau look like a clown may backfire on them if all of those soft Tory, sometimes Liberal voters consider the NDP to be a viable alternative. No matter what, the Liberals lose but those old Liberal votes are more likely to move a bit to the left than a bit to the right, if they are not afraid of the NDP. This may really spell trouble for the current government, who keeps power by "divide and conquer" ... the same way that the Liberals kept their power during the Chretien years.

[Freakinoldguy]

Guy_Fawkes Guy_Fawkes:

bootlegga bootlegga:

If that were the case, I'd take Ralphie's advice to "Shoot, shovel and shut up!"

It was Ralph's gutlessness that ultimately led to last night's loss to the NDP.

If he hadn't brought in the flat tax, promised to get rid of health care premiums, handed out Ralph Bucks and worst of all, raided the Heritage Trust Fund for $15+ billion, the government wouldn't have been in the financial pickle it was.

Pull the other one!

Allison Redford, put the province in a tailspin and Prentice called an election early because he wanted 4 years instead of 1 to push through his budget and thought his reelection was a slam dunk.

Given the results of this election and the last one in BC I'd say Jim Prentice ranks right up there with the NDP's Adrian Dix when it comes to political suicide.

[Jabberwalker]

... and Pauline Marois (now that was cocky)

[Delwin]

Hell has truly frozen over. But I guess tens of thousands of unemployed roughnecks will do that. All of a sudden a social safety net makes sense. We are all opportunists at heart.

[Unsound]

Delwin Delwin:

We are all opportunists at heart.

Truth

[andyt]

Delwin Delwin:

Hell has truly frozen over. But I guess tens of thousands of unemployed roughnecks will do that. All of a sudden a social safety net makes sense. We are all opportunists at heart.

You're not saying there's a bit of hypocrisy at play here, are you?