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Rachel Notley is Alberta’s real progressive conservative

Peter Lougheed was Alberta’s 10th premier, the creator of its Heritage Savings Trust Fund, and the architect of a four-decade political dynasty that would see his Alberta Progressive Conservatives win 12 consecutive elections, most of them in a walk. He went to war with Pierre Trudeau, helped defeat the National Energy Program, and fought effectively for Alberta’s place in Confederation. And if he was alive today, he’d probably be voting for Rachel Notley’s NDP.

To read more of this story first reported by Canada’s National Observer, click here.

This content is made available to Winnipeg Free Press readers as part of an agreement with Canada’s National Observer that sees our two trusted news brands collaborate to better cover Canada. Questions about Observer content can be directed to dana@nationalobserver.com.

Lightfoot’s passing, then and now

There are many reasons why Gordon Lightfoot touched my Canadian heart in song. He touched all of us. And there are some personal reasons why I give credit to the late Gordon Lightfoot for giving me professional advice that changed the trajectory of my career and my life.

Provincial election, but national repercussions

Alberta's upcoming election is important for the rest of Canada and for Manitoba and Saskatchewan — as part of the so-called “West” — as well. Whoever takes the helm of the province will drive the discourse on federalism for the foreseeable future.

George Soros and an old conspiracy charge

Few individuals changed the world like Henry Ford. By 1930, four of out of every five American families owned a car, thanks primarily to his genius. But Ford could be stubborn, irrational and disdainful of experts and the criticism he received in the press.

Leaders need to lead

What’s in a name? A lot

According to a recent study, the average woman in Manitoba earns 71 cents for every dollar a man earns. Racialized and Indigenous women earn even less, at 58 cents and 59 cents, respectively. For most women, this is not surprising. When we work comparable jobs to our male counterparts, we’re not valued equally.

Maybe not the campaign many expected

For more than a year, Manitoba’s New Democratic Party has held a huge lead over the governing Progressive Conservatives in public opinion polls. In Winnipeg, where the majority of ridings are located, the NDP have led the Tories by as much as 33 points.

Not with a bang, but with a shrug

After scorching the home team on Thursday by telling you the Winnipeg Jets were playing without a work ethic, I promised myself to keep my hands off the team for awhile. Then Thursday night happened.

Will Trudeau step aside?

One tragedy of politics is our leaders are often either unwilling or unable to leave on their own terms. One need look no further than our own province to see this. Former premier Greg Selinger survived a party rebellion that hoped to remove him as NDP leader, but badly lost the next election. And former premier Brian Pallister never had a chance to lose in an election after his own caucus compelled him to step aside.

Danielle Smith vs. Danielle Smith

On the eve of an election that will be determined by the votes — and voters — in Calgary, Danielle Smith just made a very big bet. Wearing a Calgary Flames jersey, the Alberta premier and United Conservative Party leader announced $330 million in provincial funding for a new hockey arena, one that’s been the subject of starts and stops for many years. “It’s a big amount of money,” Smith said. “We wanted to make sure that it could be debated during the election, and we’d hoped we’d be able to get a mandate from the people of Calgary to go ahead with it.”

In other words: re-elect us or we’ll shoot this arena.

To read more of this story first reported by Canada’s National Observer, click here.

This content is made available to Winnipeg Free Press readers as part of an agreement with Canada’s National Observer that sees our two trusted news brands collaborate to better cover Canada. Questions about Observer content can be directed to dana@nationalobserver.com.