Voters in Medicine Hat, Alta. line up to cast their ballots. The provincial government’s legislation outlawing vouching risks disenfranchising many eligible voters.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Canadians should watch events in Alberta very carefully because voter ID laws are often the first step of many in restricting the voting rights of eligible citizens. They spread and escalate quickly.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith introduces legislation addressing agreements between the federal government and provincial entities in Edmonton on April 10, 2024.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s anti-trans policies are likely meant to satisfy her base, but her government will now have to go head-to-head with the evidence in future legal battles.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks about reforms in Alberta health care in Edmonton in November 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Catalonia and post-Brexit U.K. illustrate the dangers of separatism and divisive rhetoric. Both Alberta and Ottawa must act to address western alienation and prevent a catastrophic scenario.
Crowds attend Family Day at the Calgary Stampede in Calgary in July 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Ongoing research suggests the average Albertan is far less conservative than it appears, especially on social issues like health care and inclusion.
A pumpjack draws out oil and gas from a well head near Calgary in October 2022. There are thousands of inactive oil and gas wells in the province that have not been properly decommissioned.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
The Alberta government is failing to ensure environmental liabilities are adequately accounted for and that progress is being made to address the province’s massive tailings ponds.
Danielle Smith celebrates after being chosen as the new leader of the United Conservative Party and next Alberta premier in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Danielle Smith’s win in the UCP leadership race follows the populist playbook. Will her time in office be a brief interlude, or the start of a significant challenge to national unity?
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Minister of Finance Jason Nixon, then Minister of Environment and Parks, chat before the throne speech is delivered in Edmonton in May 2019.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
A sales tax — a tax that’s stable, easy to administer and costs less to collect than income taxes — would stabilize Alberta’s volatile roller-coaster economy.
The oilsands have driven Alberta’s economy and finances for the past two decades.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Four companies contribute about 20 per cent of Alberta’s total revenue, giving them an enormous amount of control over the province’s finances and, by extension, politics.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks in response to the results of the United Conservative Party leadership review in Calgary on May 18, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dave Chidley
Alberta premiers can become era-defining personalities or quickly cast aside. Jason Kenney’s fall from grace is a vivid illustration of the volatility of the province’s political landscape.