Project Alberta

January 02, 2008
An unholy alliance?
By Werner Patels

Animals, it is said, are oftentimes smarter than people: when they make a mistake, such as bumping their head in a certain spot or on a certain object, they will not repeat that mistake and be extra careful around that location or object in future. One only needs to observe a dog or cat to see that this is actually true. Why, then, are people dumber than a dog or a cat when it comes to repeating mistakes already made?

Western Canada has always been unhappy with its position within the Canadian confederation. Albertans and other Westerners will tell any outsider who actually cares enough to listen that they have always been ignored by the federal government in Ottawa, and whenever Ottawa actually did cast a glance their way, it was never for anything good. It was, therefore, only a matter of time before a Western protest party would form to address those issues — and thus the Reform Party of Canada was born in 1987, and in 1989 the party elected its first Member of Parliament. Throughout the early 1990s support for the party grew not only in the West but also in other parts of the country. Although the party's first leader, Preston Manning, claimed to be neither left nor right but a populist, even he had to concede at last that his was not only a populist protest party but also a (very) conservative one.

In 1993, when Canadians had had enough of what was then the federal Conservative Party ("Progressive Conservative Party of Canada" or "PC"), mostly because of the dwindling popularity of the PC prime minister Brian Mulroney, the PC party was reduced to only two seats in the House of Commons, while the Liberal Party won a majority. Preston Manning's Reform Party won 52 seats, achieving third-party status in the House. As embarrassing as the outcome was for the PC Tories, it marked the official milestone in time that began a period of thirteen years in the political wilderness for all conservatives in Canada. For Canadian voters were now faced with two conservative parties, and this split produced one majority win for the Liberals after another all the way up to 2003 when the PC and Reform Party (then known as the Canadian Alliance) finally merged to create the current Conservative Party of Canada. But it was not until January 2006 that Stephen Harper, then-leader of the Conservative Party, won a minority government and replaced the Liberals as the governing party for the first time in thirteen years.

In Alberta, too, a right-wing protest party was created in 2003, the Alberta Alliance. It was essentially a carbon copy of the now-defunct Reform/Canadian Alliance party and was set up because the governing Progressive Conservatives in Alberta under premier Ralph Klein were considered not conservative enough. The party got its first seat in the Legislative Assembly in 2004 when PC Tory Gary Masyk crossed the floor and decided to sit as an Alliance member instead. The current party leader, Paul Hinman, was elected in the 2004 provincial election and has served as the sole Alliance MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) since then. Continued....

Werner,

I am disappointed. I thought you were a blogger who conducted thorough research before posting your anaylsis.

I fail to see why you are commenting on the Wildrose Party's policies. They are not part of the merger resolutions being presented to the members.

The Alberta Alliance's policies remain intact; in full.

If you or your readers require more information in this regard please feel free to contact me.

Regards,
Jane Morgan
CFO

Alberta Alliance Party
#3, 1303 - 44 Ave NE
Calgary, AB T2E 6L5

Toll free: 1-888-262-1888
Phone: (403) 769-0992
Fax: 1-866-620-4791

CTV poll finds merger won't have any effect
By Werner Patels

A viewers' poll by CFCN, CTV's Calgary affiliate, has found that the merger between the Alberta Alliance and the Wildrose Party won't have any effect:



During its 5pm newscast, CTV/CFCN also put an excerpt from my recent editorial on the air:

Gives Conservatives a strong alternative
527 votes (37 %)
A completely new party is needed
179 votes (13 %)
Won't have any effect in the next election
716 votes (50 %)

Funny how more than one spin can be put on something. I see the results optimistically. 37% thumbs up for a party that hasn't even been born yet? Almost four out of 10 Albertans already willing to give the new guys a shot?

Without a platform or even an official logo?

Sweet start, I'd say.

CTV poll finds merger won't have any effect
By Werner Patels

Curious; he has time to post that but not my response.....

One thing Werner does not seem to be aware of is that conservative Albertans historicly have had a very strong tendency to vote in a block.


If the Wildrose Alliance party managed to split the conservative vote enough to take the pc's out of power in one election, the Wild Alliance would have every opportunity of forming a government after the next one.

See any Socreds elected lately? It took two election cycles to take them from the unbeatable government with 50 percent + majority to virtually zip. Albertans are not kind to has been governments, and the PC's will be no exception.

Maybe I am way out in right field here, but to me it is a little surprising that Werner wouldn't endorse this alternative to the PC's. Especially after he wrote this just one month ago!

http://www.wernerpatels.com/canuck_colu ... ct-is.html

I can't figure out how he can claim uniting the alternatives to the PC's he doesn't support would be a bad idea?

Odd...given this is the best chance we've had in over a generation to actually create the menu for ourselves...

"Ourselves" - meaning "a group of individuals"

Therein lies the problem. Some folks don't like the idea of having others involved in deciding what goes on the plate.

I agree it is confusing.... he posts here, so I have asked him for clarification here:
http://www.projectalberta.com/board/vie ... ght=#48025

You post on his blog? Better chance of getting an answer, there....