Smith is ready to sell us out, already trying to privatize our healthcare, balls deep in a $600 million (probably more) healthcare scandal she’s refusing to move to a judicial public inquiry, refusing to properly fund northern Albertas schools because she didn’t get the votes she wanted etc etc. She is in no way a “team Canada “ player. She IS a huge part of the problem. And corruption is a huge part of that.
You've only scratched the surface of the harm Smith and her ministers have caused Alberta. She has caused interprovincial relationships to all but disintegrate. She's signed contracts with some nefarious private health and education companies, many based out of the U.S. She and 2 of her Ministers pushed through a contract to restart and expand coal mining in the southwest Rockies. That's along with her refusal to allow a public inquiry in the healthcare scandal. Thankfully the RCMP is doing their own investigation. Hopefully they will uncover and report any illegal actions on the part of Smith and any ministers involved with the firing of AHS boards and procurement of contracts.
This has to be stopped with the federal election and a Carney/Liberal majority government. We have to put a stop to this UCP government in the next provincial election too, if not sooner. The Alberta NDP have to win our next Alberta election.
Here’s the Lieutenant governor’s email to request a public inquiry into the healthcare scandal. LTgov.gov.ab.ca. Honorable Salma Lakhani is the person who can call for one.
Smith needs to call an election to see if she has a mandate from Albertans to pursue her course of action. Does she have the courage to do this? I doubt it
The onus is on Danielle Smith to seek a strong mandate from Albertans if she feels that she is in a position to speak for the entire Province. That means calling an early election as did Doug Ford in Ontario and P.M. Mark Carney in Canada. Without such a mandate, she is on very shaky ground with her antics. Of course, she is not likely to call an early election and will instead simply point to her "overwhelming" level of support in last year's UCP leadership review (you know, the one with a tiny percentage of Albertans able to have a voice in the outcome). She seems reluctant to even call a by-election for the empty seat in Edmonton, so I simply say "No guts, no glory"!
Inspiration vs anger and hope vs fear. Martin Luther King’s stance and call to action in the face of racism was “I have a dream”. It was not…”I have a nightmare” even though he could have easily invoked that sentiment. Inspiration is what will drive the energy for positive change and nation building. Anger is a burden.
It is remarkably striking that the 'alternative' to Carney's vision is coming from the premier of Alberta and not the federal leader of the opposition. And it is not as if Smith is some Poilievre proxy. Hers is a vision that I don't think Poilievre actually shares, but in the absence of articulating his own vision of our relationship with the US, Smith's vision is getting hung around his neck. And that is only further damaging his campaign to be prime minister. His lackluster response to the tariff announcement the other day ("Knock it off!") demonstrates his willingness it seems to let Smith's vision be the Conservative and the conservative vision. Knock it off is a phrase you say to your kids when they're fighting, it is not how you respond to a foreign leader whose policies will threaten a key component of your economy. But he seems completely unwilling to speak truth to his base in a way that both stands up firmly for Canada's sovereignty and economic interests and differentiates himself from Carney. It is, as Yul Brynner so often said, a puzzlement.
To your point: "Knock it off" is the only kind of language his base understands. Poilievre's divisive way of conversing also is so negative and hokey, it is embarassing to even consider him as our Canadian representative on the world stage. I shudder to think how he could connect internationally with other global leaders.
Smith is a little fish in big pond. She can talk the talk with the influencers but the majority of Canadians find her stance and ideology disgusting. She considers selling out Canada not a problem to protect her oil and gas cronies. The way she has governed Alberta and the damage she has inflicted is huge, in the words of her idol. Just think of the damage her ideology and Polievre’s, for that matter, could do to Canada.
Smith has helped the Liberals get a majority! And hopefully elect more Liberals in Alberta. As an aside, Smith needs to call an election in Alberta. She has absolutely no mandate!
The onus? Your article well outlined a particular context that immediately effect/affect us as Canadians.An even bigger context is living in a world shaken by the chaos that has been created. Michael Ignatieff recent post on being a foreign student in the US as he was at Harvard and the recent student from Turkey arrested/deported for her student opinion piece. The EU, Denmark, Greenland, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, and more - The onus is even bigger than Carney, Smith, and Poilievre.But we can only due what we can do - voted greatest Canadian said. “Think globally, act locally.”
The onus is on Canadians to decide what kind of future we want for ourselves and our children and grandchildren. The choices are clear. Neither Carney nor Smith have anything further they need to say.
For my part I agree with Carney. In some respects we will have to ally ourselves with Europe, and in some respects we will have to become more independent of others. It's high time we grew up as a nation and became truly independent.
Appeasing a dictator (or would-be dictator) is never a safe option. You may get a few fair years out of it, but there will come Extraction Day, when you realize you've lost your chance at freedom and annexation proceeds. It may seem incredible that such a thing could be done by the US, but all it needs is a glimpse of the cruelty towards immigrants and tourists, the attacks now starting on universities and the disabled, the heartlessness about people's employment... Surely we should expect the worst of such treatment for 'non-citizens'. And the expectation that anyone would be voting, let alone an annexed people ... Forget it!
You really nailed it Lisa. As for Ms.Smith, that taint that followed her home from her meet cute with Ben Shapiro wasn’t Red Bull and bad whiskey, it was the smell of the authoritarian stench you get when you hang out with Ben, Tucker, and the likes of Jordan. No doubt she feels akin to Trumpers as she exhibits authoitarian tendencies herself.
She is doing us all a favour by deepening Carney’s lead. But we Albertans should all be put on the street waving our Canadian flags. The rest of Canada sees all Albertans as traitorous.
Your last point is the critical one Lisa. Where is Poilievre on all of this? If he's aligned with Smith, then there's a clear choice or does he have a plan. Canadians are waiting for someone to realistically and concretely spell out their vision.
Hopefully some of both. Eventually some sort of truce has to settle between the two countries if for no reason than pressure from the titans of industry and the stock market. Smith suggests that central Canada doesn’t care about the west and canola growers would agree. But again a truce is needed across the country to rejig our economy to the benefit of the whole country.
Distancing Canada from the US plays to romantic United Empire Loyalist notions, but is completely unreasonable. The US is and will continue to be the largest and most dynamic economy. Building a firewall will only lock in continued economic stagnation. My fear is that the Liberals will use Trump as a convenient excuse to enact further sure to fail industrial strategy, protect more unproductive industries and further grow scope of the federal government.
This has sadly turned into another non-substantive election based on emotion. Hating Trump in 2025 is like hating anti-vaxxers in the Fall of 2021. The real issue is how to turn around an economy that has been weakened by ten years of Liberal rule, and to unite the country after ten years of Liberal division.
Distancing Canada from the US is becoming an independent nation. The American empire is just as much an anachronism as the old British empire. It's telling that you have to resort to a fantasy ("an economy that has been weakened by ten years of Liberal rule") to justify a state of continued dependence.
Canada is an independent nation regardless of its trading relationships. Limiting trade under the guise of sovereignty simply plays to the interests of oligopolists (ex. Canadian banks and telecoms) looking to limit competition and abuse domestic customers.
That’s a very biased source to select data from. The right loves to slag the so-called MSM while relying upon “usually reliable sources” like the Fraser Folks.
Smith is ready to sell us out, already trying to privatize our healthcare, balls deep in a $600 million (probably more) healthcare scandal she’s refusing to move to a judicial public inquiry, refusing to properly fund northern Albertas schools because she didn’t get the votes she wanted etc etc. She is in no way a “team Canada “ player. She IS a huge part of the problem. And corruption is a huge part of that.
You've only scratched the surface of the harm Smith and her ministers have caused Alberta. She has caused interprovincial relationships to all but disintegrate. She's signed contracts with some nefarious private health and education companies, many based out of the U.S. She and 2 of her Ministers pushed through a contract to restart and expand coal mining in the southwest Rockies. That's along with her refusal to allow a public inquiry in the healthcare scandal. Thankfully the RCMP is doing their own investigation. Hopefully they will uncover and report any illegal actions on the part of Smith and any ministers involved with the firing of AHS boards and procurement of contracts.
This has to be stopped with the federal election and a Carney/Liberal majority government. We have to put a stop to this UCP government in the next provincial election too, if not sooner. The Alberta NDP have to win our next Alberta election.
We the Albertan's don't trust Dani. Why would be have her in power if she puts keeps giving us the third finger
Email our Lieutenant governor Salma Lakhani at LTgov.ab.ca. We need a full inquiry and she can call it.
I bunged that email up, sorry folks. It’s LTgov@gov.ab.ca.
That address doesn’t work
It worked for me, it was listed online?
Here’s the Lieutenant governor’s email to request a public inquiry into the healthcare scandal. LTgov.gov.ab.ca. Honorable Salma Lakhani is the person who can call for one.
She crossed the floor. Then she crossed the border. .. And has crossed the line.
Absolutely. I am in the process of emailing Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor to get the Public Inquiry going, it’s past time. Will share when done.
Yes .. Gotta keep paying attention to the issues and not get distracted by the noise
Exactly. Thank you Sunflowers.
Here is the email for Alberta’s Lieutenant Governors office. She can call a public inquiry if enough of us follow through. LTgov@gov.ab.ca.
I bunged the email, sorry. It’s LTgov@gov.ab.ca.
Sounds like a trump response to me.
?
Sorry. It was your first post I was responding to.
Reply to Bobsuruncle
Carney is Churchill to Pp's Chamberlain and Smith is Eva Braun.
They are all contestants on The Apprentice - Executive Branch Edition
Never watched it. But do know YOU'RE FIRED! Is exactly right.
Smith needs to call an election to see if she has a mandate from Albertans to pursue her course of action. Does she have the courage to do this? I doubt it
The onus is on Danielle Smith to seek a strong mandate from Albertans if she feels that she is in a position to speak for the entire Province. That means calling an early election as did Doug Ford in Ontario and P.M. Mark Carney in Canada. Without such a mandate, she is on very shaky ground with her antics. Of course, she is not likely to call an early election and will instead simply point to her "overwhelming" level of support in last year's UCP leadership review (you know, the one with a tiny percentage of Albertans able to have a voice in the outcome). She seems reluctant to even call a by-election for the empty seat in Edmonton, so I simply say "No guts, no glory"!
Inspiration vs anger and hope vs fear. Martin Luther King’s stance and call to action in the face of racism was “I have a dream”. It was not…”I have a nightmare” even though he could have easily invoked that sentiment. Inspiration is what will drive the energy for positive change and nation building. Anger is a burden.
It is remarkably striking that the 'alternative' to Carney's vision is coming from the premier of Alberta and not the federal leader of the opposition. And it is not as if Smith is some Poilievre proxy. Hers is a vision that I don't think Poilievre actually shares, but in the absence of articulating his own vision of our relationship with the US, Smith's vision is getting hung around his neck. And that is only further damaging his campaign to be prime minister. His lackluster response to the tariff announcement the other day ("Knock it off!") demonstrates his willingness it seems to let Smith's vision be the Conservative and the conservative vision. Knock it off is a phrase you say to your kids when they're fighting, it is not how you respond to a foreign leader whose policies will threaten a key component of your economy. But he seems completely unwilling to speak truth to his base in a way that both stands up firmly for Canada's sovereignty and economic interests and differentiates himself from Carney. It is, as Yul Brynner so often said, a puzzlement.
To your point: "Knock it off" is the only kind of language his base understands. Poilievre's divisive way of conversing also is so negative and hokey, it is embarassing to even consider him as our Canadian representative on the world stage. I shudder to think how he could connect internationally with other global leaders.
Smith is a little fish in big pond. She can talk the talk with the influencers but the majority of Canadians find her stance and ideology disgusting. She considers selling out Canada not a problem to protect her oil and gas cronies. The way she has governed Alberta and the damage she has inflicted is huge, in the words of her idol. Just think of the damage her ideology and Polievre’s, for that matter, could do to Canada.
Smith has helped the Liberals get a majority! And hopefully elect more Liberals in Alberta. As an aside, Smith needs to call an election in Alberta. She has absolutely no mandate!
Perhaps that is why she seems to be spending most of her time in the US. She crossed the floor and she's crossed the line.
The onus? Your article well outlined a particular context that immediately effect/affect us as Canadians.An even bigger context is living in a world shaken by the chaos that has been created. Michael Ignatieff recent post on being a foreign student in the US as he was at Harvard and the recent student from Turkey arrested/deported for her student opinion piece. The EU, Denmark, Greenland, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, and more - The onus is even bigger than Carney, Smith, and Poilievre.But we can only due what we can do - voted greatest Canadian said. “Think globally, act locally.”
The onus is on Canadians to decide what kind of future we want for ourselves and our children and grandchildren. The choices are clear. Neither Carney nor Smith have anything further they need to say.
For my part I agree with Carney. In some respects we will have to ally ourselves with Europe, and in some respects we will have to become more independent of others. It's high time we grew up as a nation and became truly independent.
Appeasing a dictator (or would-be dictator) is never a safe option. You may get a few fair years out of it, but there will come Extraction Day, when you realize you've lost your chance at freedom and annexation proceeds. It may seem incredible that such a thing could be done by the US, but all it needs is a glimpse of the cruelty towards immigrants and tourists, the attacks now starting on universities and the disabled, the heartlessness about people's employment... Surely we should expect the worst of such treatment for 'non-citizens'. And the expectation that anyone would be voting, let alone an annexed people ... Forget it!
You really nailed it Lisa. As for Ms.Smith, that taint that followed her home from her meet cute with Ben Shapiro wasn’t Red Bull and bad whiskey, it was the smell of the authoritarian stench you get when you hang out with Ben, Tucker, and the likes of Jordan. No doubt she feels akin to Trumpers as she exhibits authoitarian tendencies herself.
She is doing us all a favour by deepening Carney’s lead. But we Albertans should all be put on the street waving our Canadian flags. The rest of Canada sees all Albertans as traitorous.
Really? Source is..
Your last point is the critical one Lisa. Where is Poilievre on all of this? If he's aligned with Smith, then there's a clear choice or does he have a plan. Canadians are waiting for someone to realistically and concretely spell out their vision.
Or simply ignore him. To wait for him to say anything meaningful is a waste of time.
Hopefully some of both. Eventually some sort of truce has to settle between the two countries if for no reason than pressure from the titans of industry and the stock market. Smith suggests that central Canada doesn’t care about the west and canola growers would agree. But again a truce is needed across the country to rejig our economy to the benefit of the whole country.
Charlie Angus has a Substack that’s worth reading.
Distancing Canada from the US plays to romantic United Empire Loyalist notions, but is completely unreasonable. The US is and will continue to be the largest and most dynamic economy. Building a firewall will only lock in continued economic stagnation. My fear is that the Liberals will use Trump as a convenient excuse to enact further sure to fail industrial strategy, protect more unproductive industries and further grow scope of the federal government.
This has sadly turned into another non-substantive election based on emotion. Hating Trump in 2025 is like hating anti-vaxxers in the Fall of 2021. The real issue is how to turn around an economy that has been weakened by ten years of Liberal rule, and to unite the country after ten years of Liberal division.
Distancing Canada from the US is becoming an independent nation. The American empire is just as much an anachronism as the old British empire. It's telling that you have to resort to a fantasy ("an economy that has been weakened by ten years of Liberal rule") to justify a state of continued dependence.
Canada is an independent nation regardless of its trading relationships. Limiting trade under the guise of sovereignty simply plays to the interests of oligopolists (ex. Canadian banks and telecoms) looking to limit competition and abuse domestic customers.
Do you dispute this data?
https://kingsvilletimes.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-23-at-8.40.27-PM-e1721783794269.png
I cannot indeed dispute your data because I can't see it.
Here it is at a different location :
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/were-getting-poorer-gdp-per-capita-in-canada-and-oecd-2002-2060.pdf
That’s a very biased source to select data from. The right loves to slag the so-called MSM while relying upon “usually reliable sources” like the Fraser Folks.
Interesting article but wish you had addressed Smith’s proposal to actually separate from Canada and join the US.