Orange you glad about Alberta? Or are you Blue?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/05/2015 (3816 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It is safe to say people interested in politics and most of Alberta woke up this morning a little bewildered.

There are jokes about hell really freezing over, since Edmonton enjoyed a May snowstorm overnight.

And there are no end of questions about what this all means, what impact it may have on the federal election, and what happens now. The markets are in a bit of turmoil because markets don’t like change usually. Manitoba NDP staffers who have already been sharpening their resumes in the wake of the leadership drama, are likely to preparing to make a beeline for the new jobs opening in Alberta.

And on the Hill, the Alberta election result was all the talk as the parties gathered for the regular Wednesday morning caucus meetings. 

In the NDP caucus room, bleary-eyed as many were from a late night of partying, the mood was nothing short of jubilant as thoughts and dreams turn to what this means for them come October. 

Tom Mulcair – who it should be noted premier-elect Rachel Notley kept her distance from during the campaign – is predicting the orange wave is coming nationally too.

"They said the NDP would never break through in Quebec. They said the NDP would never win in Alberta. Canadians want change. Change is with the NDP."

Then MPs Andrew Cash, Charlie Angus and Megan Leslie led them in a rendition of "Four Strong Winds" which prompted MP Nathan Cullen to post on Facebook "the Conservatives are across the hall meeting. We made sure they heard us."

The Conservatives were a little less, er, smiley, about the turn of events that ended a Tory political dynasty in Alberta. 

"Well I had some questions if the sun was going to rise this morning," said Manitoba Conservative MP Steven Fletcher, on his way into the Conservative caucus meeting. 

"And when it did, there was an orange tinge to it.  Very disconcerting."

Justice Minister Peter Mackay joked the Tory caucus room was “more like a morgue.”

“Someone said it was like it’s Albertastan now.”

But MacKay insists the Conservatives have lived with NDP governments elsewhere, including in his own province of Nova Scotia.

“We’ve had an NDP government in our province, and at the end of the day, look, partisan politics aside, we have to work with our provincial partners, whatever their political stripe. And you know, that will be the case in Alberta. You heard the Prime Minister. He called Premier-elect and – Notley and so you know, it’s going to be business as usual.”