VIDEO: How The Left Plans To Win the 2019 Alberta Election

Recently I attended a Progress Alberta event titled ‘Emergency Town Hall: Why Progressives Can Win in 2019’.  This event had four notable presenters and I was very pleased that they allowed me to record the event.  Personally, I found sessions 3 and 4 (below) on how the left has to respect the United Conservative Party and Jason Kenny to be the most interesting.

The ‘Coles Notes’ version of the night would be:

• Calgary will be the only notable battleground in the 2019 election
• Alberta is far more left than presented in the media
• Jason Kenny is a machine that must not be underestimated
• The left has a natural role in governing that is not understood or accepted by the general public
• Conservatives own the media, including social media
  • I find it amusing that every side thinks the other side controls the media
• The center cannot consistently win elections, which could be extended to ‘people need a common enemy to rally around and that means left or right’

1: Why Progressives Can Win in 2019 Alberta: Alberta is More Progressive Than You Think – 8 mins

2: Electoral Behavior In Alberta & Canada: 13 Week Political Science Class in 18 Minutes:

3: What Progressives Need To Do To Win Alberta in 2019: Don’t Take Jason Kenny Lightly – 15 mins

4: Keeping Political Competitors Off Balance: Stretch Out The Bad News – 26 mins

For the record, I am genuinely in the undecided camp at this point but I know what I want in a Provincial Government.  I want a:

1. fiscally conservative Alberta that balances the budget and that means serious cuts to spending AND increased revenue.  Read our piece on why the Alberta Carbon Tax is likely the right tax at the right time.
2. socially liberal Alberta where we can all “get along”.  I just don’t care if you are black, or gay, or native, or Muslim, or have red hair and I do not mind paying my fair share in taxes for WELL MANAGED (which I do not believe they are now… they need to be fixed), CORE public services like healthcare, education and roads.

I don’t want a:

1. government that scraps the carbon tax based on political ideology even though it is clearly needed, at least temporarily, to pay for core services and then to reduce the ever mounting debt
2. cradle to grave government that intervenes in my life at every turn, like Ontario and Quebec

Do you think the NDP can win a majority in the next election?  While anything is possible a year from now, my prediction is a minority government.