In a sign that maybe the world won’t go to hell in a handbasket just yet, a slate of liberal candidates just swept into office in Alberta, Canada. See:
In Blow to Tar Sands Industry, Liberal Party Sweeps Alberta Elections
Alberta, heart of Canada’s oil industry, elects socialist-leaning government
I don’t think this election will have any discernible impact on our XL Pipeline debate, unfortunately. We’ll see.
Pinch Me! Am I dreaming? Canada’s ‘Most Conservative’ Province Elects an NDP Majority
Notley’s campaign has made possible an Alberta that is more like the rest of Canada — more humane, more inclusive, more respectful, more democratic, and therefore more prone to healthy changes of government from time to time.
The hard work for the NDP will start today — or, at least, tomorrow, when the hangovers wear off.
Yes, Notley has an inexperienced caucus, some members of which never imagined they would be MLAs when they agreed to run. But, seriously people, how could they do worse than the experienced clowns that made up the last PC government?
Yes, once they recover from yesterday’s shock, the right-wing opposition will go wild. It is not unreasonable to assume that some elements of the business community will go as far as trying to sabotage the economy, as happened when Bob Rae was premier of Ontario.
Yes, the right-wing press will start by telling us immediately this election result really means Albertans want more conservatism, which it manifestly does not.
Yes, some of Notley’s strongest supporters will be disappointed and bitter when the realities of politics, which is the art of the possible after all, mean they cannot have their wish list instantly fulfilled.
And, yes, even though it’s springtime in Alberta, it’ll probably snow today.
Well, it’s still Canada.
WOW!!!
This would be like Alabama or Mississippi voting in people like Bernie Sander’s!
No.
No, it’s not.
THAT, could never happen.
We can thank Rush and (DUMB)FUX “news” for that!!!
Reich-Wing “MORANS!!!”, who couldn’t tell a Socialist from a soda-cracker, will still hate Socialism and Socialists, because, at heart they’re anti-social, and hate everyone who’s not related to them – with special emphasis on browner folks, and those who aren’t THEIR brand of Christian.
An important thing to remember is that in Canada, the provinces own the rights to natural resources. The feds could approve pipelines all they want, but if Alberta decides to reduce production in the tar sands, there won’t be an oil to fill it. So this is a pretty big deal.
That said, the new NDP government will get much of its revenue from oil, just as previous Alberta governments did. They’re not going to throw away all that cash and replace it with taxes overnight. But there’s a good chance that a sane, forward thinking-policy will finally take over in Canada, and thank something for that – we’ve waited a long damn time to see something like this.
Another real positive is that the federal election is coming this fall, and Alberta is the stronghold for our current government, pack of right-wing goons that they are. So maybe we’ll see a shift back to the left in Canada as a whole, soon, and start undoing some of the damage that’s been done.
Great news eh!
This is good, and let’s hope it presages some wider trends in Canadian politics, not just the Liberals on the federal level, but maybe some changes in places like BC, where the provincial Liberal party – which has been in power for years now – is acting far too much like conservatives.
One thing that Americans might not know about Alberta is that, although Calgary and much of the province is typically conservative, Edmonton is far more liberal.