Very simply, I would like visitors to comment with observations, thoughts, concerns, or questions about the recent election in Alberta? Take as much space as you want. Share.
Was it a vote for, or against? Was it an aberration, or consistent with the spirit of the province? Was it a vote for (or against) a party, or a leader, or a local candidate? Who voted? Who stayed home? Who held their nose as they voted? Who was elated by their vote?
What have I missed with my questions?
As long as you are profane, and don’t defame anyone, I will post your comment.
I want to hear from you. And tell readers a little about yourself, just so we know where you’re coming from (not your name and email address, but some general descriptors, such as age, region, gender — whatever).
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Dave, I appreciate your comments. They give me food for thought. I will post this evening about ‘hating’ the N.D.P.
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A few things jumped out at me about this election.
None of the parties promised major spending cuts as a way to balance the budget, and all of them except the Wild Rose promised new taxes. Far from being angered by the new taxes in general and flocking to the Wild Rose, Albertans seemed to be more angered by the perception that business in general and the oil industry in particular weren’t paying their fair share. There was some backlash to the proposed health care premium, but in general Albertans seemed at least resigned, if not resolved, to higher taxes as the price for good government services and a balanced budget. That is both amazing and uplifting! I have a ton more respect for my fellow Albertans in the way they’re approaching this budget crisis.
The overwhelming response I heard on the street and the doors from people who had decided to vote NDP for the first time was that they respected and trusted Rachel Notley. I don’t know the last time, if ever, that a debate yielded a decided winner and decided so many votes. The premier-elect is going to have a hard job trying to live up to the expectations she has created.
Albertans seem to care more about parties and leaders than local candidates. I was on the fence about proportional representation before this election. I thought we needed electoral reform but proportional representation has many problems of its own and I thought we could come up with a better system that preserves local candidates. It’s clear, however, that voters don’t care nearly as much about their local candidate and her/his qualifications as they do about parties and their leaders. If that is how voters vote, their system should reflect that. So after this election I’m reluctantly throwing my full support behind proportional representation. It may not be the best electoral system, but it appears to be the best suited to the way Albertans vote.
The last thing is what I noticed in the last few days of the campaign and the first couple after the campaign. There is a significant proportion of the population that HATES the NDP. I remember there being a furor over the lake of fire stuff from the Wildrose in 2012, but that always struck me as fear(and probably mostly unfounded fear) rather than hatred. It’s surprising to me just how much some people seem to hate the NDP and it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out on social media, the mainstream media, and the next election. I suspect the NDP will be watched much more carefully than any other government in Alberta ever has been. I also suspect that whoever emerges as their most credible threat in the 2019 election will have a very large contingent of motivated volunteers to draw from. However, we saw at the end of the campaign that Albertans either ignored or disliked being told how to vote by various media outlets, federal politicians, and prominent community and business leaders so I wonder if this base of NDP hate will be able to affect the general electorate.
Thanks for all the great blogs, I hope you’ll continue to lend your insight over the coming years.
Dave Z.
2nd generation Albertan
Farmboy, living in Edmonton
Tradesman employed in the oil industry(union proud)
Husband and father of three great kids.
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RT @dkingofABC: Alta election ’15 — What’s your take on the outcome? Comment, share. http://t.co/RTIisPHha2 #abpoli #pcaa #abndp #abparty #…