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    Post Right-wingers win Canada's Alberta province

    Source

    The UCP won 63 of the 87 seats of the legislature, provisional results say.

    Leader Jason Kenney, a former federal cabinet minister, will be the next premier of Alberta.

    The win could reverberate beyond Alberta, setting the party on a collision course with PM Justin Trudeau's Liberals over climate change.

    Mr Kenney has vowed to do away with a provincial carbon levy and to join four other provinces - including Ontario, Canada's most populous province - in fighting the federal government in court over its carbon tax.

    The government recently imposed carbon taxes on four of Canada's 10 provinces - Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick - for failing to introduce their own plans for tackling climate change.

    The UPC leader said he would also challenge proposed federal legislation to overhaul how major infrastructure and energy projects are reviewed and hold a referendum in Alberta on equalisation payments - a federal payout system to even out fiscal disparities among provinces - unless new pipelines are built.

    Mr Trudeau offered congratulations to Mr Kenney on Wednesday, saying in a statement that he looks forward to addressing "issues of importance to Albertans and all Canadians" including "taking decisive action on climate change while getting our natural resources to market".

    The UCP's victory ends four years in power for the NDP, whose 2015 victory rocked one of Canada's most conservative provinces.

    The 28-day election campaign in Canada's fourth most populous province centred around its uneasy economic future and its beleaguered energy sector.

    In his victory speech, the premier-designate promised quick relief for Albertans.

    "Alberta is open for business," he said. "Albertans have elected a government obsessed with getting Albertans back to work."

    Voters in the country's oil heartland are worried about the state of the economy amid slumping commodity prices.

    "For Alberta voters, the election was driven almost entirely by economic concerns; specifically, the province's deep-seated anxiety about its oil and gas industry and the inability to increase the amount of oil it can get to market," said national non-profit pollster Angus Reid.

    Thousands of jobs were lost following the global oil price crash in 2014-15 - economic doldrums inherited by the NDP, which was seeking a second mandate.

    There is widespread frustration at the lack of progress on building new oil export pipelines.

    Mr Kenney campaigned as a champion of the oil sector, promising to fund a "war room" to defend Canada's energy resources at home and abroad.

    The campaign also served as a test with Alberta voters for Mr Kenney and his newly formed UCP, founded in 2017 with the merger of two right-leaning provincial political parties.

    The one-time federal politician, who was one of the most prominent ministers serving under former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, came to Alberta to unite fractured right-leaning political parties.

    But Mr Kenney was often knocked off message during the campaign as controversial or offensive views expressed by some candidates came to light. Two candidates eventually resigned.

    His 2017 UPC leadership campaign has also come under scrutiny amid allegations his camp colluded with a "kamikaze" candidate to discredit his main rival.
    What do you think of this my Canadian friends? Expected or unexpected?

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by zenkai View Post
    What do you think of this my Canadian friends? Expected or unexpected?
    Alberta is a majority conservative province. The NDP only won last time because the previous Conservative party splintered into two parties and both were incompetent.

    We'll see how long it lasts this time. Historically, the entire economic wisdom of the Conservatives can be summed up as: "Duuuuuhhhhhh, let's sell some oil." They'll probably fuck it up again because padding the pockets of oil industry executives is more important than diversifying your economy.

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    It's Alberta, conservatives and right wingers winning there is like Republicans winning Alabama.

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    This isn't really news worthy I can see how if your outside of the country but most prairie provinces are hard locked conservative.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ivanstone View Post
    Alberta is a majority conservative province. The NDP only won last time because the previous Conservative party splintered into two parties and both were incompetent.

    We'll see how long it lasts this time. Historically, the entire economic wisdom of the Conservatives can be summed up as: "Duuuuuhhhhhh, let's sell some oil." They'll probably fuck it up again because padding the pockets of oil industry executives is more important than diversifying your economy.
    This right here. Not sure how Jason Kenney is going to make oil sell more than $11 a barrel but fuck diversifying your economy and fuck the environment I guess.

  6. #6
    Scarab Lord Frontenac's Avatar
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    There's nothing to see here. Move on!

    Seriously, Alberta voting conservative is as surprising as fishes living in water. Or an Irish policeman in movies. Or old British ladies munching on cucumber sandwiches and tea after bowling green.Or a Star Wars fan complaining how bad The Last Jedi is after his twentieth viewing in theater. Or cats getting stoned on catnip. Or the sun setting in the west...
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  7. #7
    We don't call it the Texas of Canada for nothin'.

    I can't wait to watch the UCP here though, it's gonna be a fantastic dumpster fire.
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  8. #8
    This was about as predictable as gravity. Alberta is a hellhole.
    @thwart <- don't click this and learn his shame
    Newsflash: 2016 Thwart would hate 2019 Thwart! Definitely don't click this either!

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    I Don't Work Here Endus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zenkai View Post
    What do you think of this my Canadian friends? Expected or unexpected?
    This is like the Republicans winning Texas.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...eral_elections

    Since the '71 election, the Conservatives (whether the current Conservative Party or their predecessors, the PCs) have won every single election but the last. Before that, it was the Social Credit Party (right-wing Christian party) that won every election back to 1935.

    So yeah, Alberta being right-wing is totally expected.


  10. #10
    The Forgettable Forgettable's Avatar
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    UCP was predicted to win by a large margin, and they did. Because of our terrible first past the post system, it basically came down to NDP vs. UCP.

    I voted NDP because I think NDP (smear campaigns & identity politics leftists) is less awful than UCP (cartoon supervillian Trump-esque bullshit right-wingers), but I would have voted for the Alberta Party (socially progressive / fiscally conservative) if they had had a real shot at winning.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Endus View Post
    This is like the Republicans winning Texas.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...eral_elections

    Since the '71 election, the Conservatives (whether the current Conservative Party or their predecessors, the PCs) have won every single election but the last. Before that, it was the Social Credit Party (right-wing Christian party) that won every election back to 1935.

    So yeah, Alberta being right-wing is totally expected.
    I see. The headline sure sounded dramatic when I read it not understanding the underlying circumstances. Thanks for the clarification.

  12. #12
    Fluffy Kitten xChurch's Avatar
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    It's annoying because it will probably cause gas prices to go up where I live, but it's not a surprise they won.

  13. #13
    This is generally what happens when most of your constituents are cows and oilfields.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Forgettable View Post
    UCP was predicted to win by a large margin, and they did. Because of our terrible first past the post system, it basically came down to NDP vs. UCP.

    I voted NDP because I think NDP (smear campaigns & identity politics leftists) is less awful than UCP (cartoon supervillian Trump-esque bullshit right-wingers), but I would have voted for the Alberta Party (socially progressive / fiscally conservative) if they had had a real shot at winning.
    If there is anything that the Liberal government really pissed me off about, its not going through with electoral change. I live in an area that has voted Conservative of some stripe for as long as I can remember. There is almost no point in voting in my area if you don't vote Conservative.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Endus View Post
    This is like the Republicans winning Texas.
    If anything, Texas is much more left-wing than Alberta. Texas needs voter suppression to hold back the blue hordes. Evidently the oil industry did something to the Alberta water supply to turn them conservative.

  16. #16
    The Forgettable Forgettable's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yetanothernewbie View Post
    If there is anything that the Liberal government really pissed me off about, its not going through with electoral change. I live in an area that has voted Conservative of some stripe for as long as I can remember. There is almost no point in voting in my area if you don't vote Conservative.
    Yea, pretty frustrating considering that's what they campaigned on.

  17. #17
    Mechagnome MildCore's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zenkai View Post
    What do you think of this my Canadian friends? Expected or unexpected?
    Expected. Lining up with world trends isn't it?
    We're all just a bunch of nut-cases or people egging on nut-cases or people trying to rationalize with nut-cases or people accidentally trying to rationalize with eggers and we all decided for ourselves who each other are. I've returned to deciding that we're all just a bunch of nut-cases.

  18. #18
    I just assumed Alberta was always conservative

  19. #19
    The Unstoppable Force Ghostpanther's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ivanstone View Post
    If anything, Texas is much more left-wing than Alberta. Texas needs voter suppression to hold back the blue hordes. Evidently the oil industry did something to the Alberta water supply to turn them conservative.
    Lol! I have a friend who lives in Alberta who is originally from Nova Scotia. He said he is a social liberal, but a conservative when it comes to finances. Which pretty much fits him from my experience with hm. He likes it there. But of course, misses his family, whom all live in NS. He moved to Alberta for one reason. Jobs. He has a degree in accounting and gets paid much better there then he would in NS. He also said the taxes are lower. Which sort of explains why some from California are moving to Texas.
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  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Heladys View Post
    This was about as predictable as gravity. Alberta is a hellhole.
    Calgary is frequently ranked as one of the most livable cities in the world.

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