Alberta Election 2023: The Dubious Led By The Fatuous To The Incurious

There are three overriding issues in the May 29 Alberta provincial election. First, healthcare. Second, the destruction of the province’s economic lifeline, namely energy, by the Trudeau government. Third, the culture wars that have one of the two principal parties openly advocating the notion that men can have babies (among other lunatic notions). Ralph Klein is spinning somewhere in the afterworld.

So you’d have thought that last Thursday’s leaders debate would have been dominated by these concerns of Albertans. After all, with polls so tight even a small win on policy could be key. But premier Danielle Smith and former premier Rachel Notley had other ideas. There were few if any haymakers thrown— and even those were largely bloodless.

Their priorities seemed to be, first, healthcare.  Second, a report released that day that said Smith had broken ethics rules by discussing the legal problems of an anti-Covid activist. Third, what a disaster the other leader and her party had been when given the reins of government in the past. Those wishing to hear Smith deconstruct the global climate industry or Notley on why Alberta must adopt Justin Trudeau’s transition plans for energy workers were left wanting more. A lot more. 

First, on healthcare. Both Smith and Notley launched a blizzard of new policy proposals to address failures and tossed bouquets to the frontline healthcare workers— those not fired for saying no to what we now understand were inadequate and maybe even dangerous vaccines. The premier says wait times are going to normalize by next year, because she’s creating new clinics. The NDP leader said that was so much bushwah. She would normalize wait times by tossing jiliions at her base unions who’d fumbled the pandemic rollout.

At least they discussed it. On the second front about energy you’d have expected Smith to tell Trudeau to STFU about Net Zero, which “comes with a range of feel-good slogans like, ‘clean, cheap, reliable energy’ and, ‘be a good global citizen’, but the underlying policy is the same: ‘your taxes can change the weather’. Politicians prey on this kind of thinking.” @ellymelly

But one had the impression Smith’s consultants had red starred any Trudeau bashing, because the Edmonton media gets pissy about any hint of Alberta impertinence, and the Wine Moms of the province listen to them. (This is the same Go-Safe strategy that cost Smith’s predecessor the high ground on Covid and eventually cost him his job.) 

So, after an exchange of consumption/ tax initiatives, the two women sparred about other issues. The Culture War happening in the province— as it is everywhere else— was not among them. The fever that causes Calgary’s ridiculous mayor to cancel Victoria Day fireworks because they upset doggies and folks. Anyone waiting for Smith to ask Notley whether she believes men can have babies was ignored.

Notley hinted that Smith was in league with white supremacists wanting to ban books and worse by breaking ethics laws. But Smith stuck to her woman-in-a-blue-suit thoroughness on policy proposals, and that seemed to deny her indiscretions on Covid madness any oxygen.

On education, Notley was predictably deferential to her friends in the teachers unions, but Smith never asked why they kept Alberta children at home for so long when the facts showed they were in little danger— unless a doctor shoved a breathing tube down their throat. Masks? You mean people wore masks in the Covid years? Who knew? Smith wasn’t pushing the issue.

On the subject of boys using girls’ washrooms, Smith’s consultants also placed a no-go sign. Perhaps the biggest keruffle came when a random voter asked the two women to find common ground on an issue. Notley played Glinda The Good Witch, going along on the Kumbaya theme by praising film industry incentives. Smith, The Wicked Witch of the West,  applied a road grater to the proposal and applauded her own policies. (For which the Ottawa chattering classes accused her of being heartless.) 

In their summations the women professed their love for the province. They promised to do better than they had in their previous incarnations. Neither addressed how they’d both shown up wearing the same blue wardrobe. They probably also wondered (silently) why they had no autocue, causing voters to see as much of the tops of their heads as their practiced smiles. 

Advance polling has now begun with the election results coming next Monday. Polls indicate that it will be close, with urban Calgary the swing factor (Edmonton being NDP and the rural area UCP.) But voters will go to the polls with most of the water-cooler topics viewed as too toxic by consultants and thus beyond debate. 

Because that’s where democracy lies these days. Politicians defer to the consultant class and the polling industry. The goal is to get elected— and stay elected— without attaching themselves to any issue deemed controversial. If they need to know what is defined as “controversial” the remnants of Legacy Media will bring them up to speed. Things like hockey arenas and

Hell of a way to run a railroad, no?

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Bruce Dowbiggin @dowbboy is the editor of Not The Public Broadcaster  A two-time winner of the Gemini Award as Canada's top television sports broadcaster, he’s a regular contributor to Sirius XM Canada Talks Ch. 167. Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years In NHL History, his new book with his son Evan, was voted the seventh-best professional hockey book of all time by bookauthority.org . His 2004 book Money Players was voted sixth best on the same list, and is available via http://brucedowbigginbooks.ca/book-personalaccount.aspx