An arena. A family doctor. A tax cut. A side of beef in every pot. (No chicken here: it’s Alberta).
Albertans are being presented with competing sets of promises from the two main parties, which are madly outbidding one another even as the province’s projected revenues quietly decline.
An election is, after all, a time to talk about policy.
But deciding how to vote involves more than simply selecting the more palatable (or less unpalatable) set of policy platforms. And this is a good thing.
The world is a tricky and unpredictable place, and is becoming more so. Of the seven Alberta premiers since Ralph Klein, three have had to manage significant crises: Redford had the flood of 2013, Notley had the Fort Mac fire and Jason Kenney was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the oceans warmer than they have ever been and viruses transferring more frequently from animals to humans, it’s entirely possible — if not probable — that our next Premier will spend some of her term focused on disaster management.
So voters might well consider adding the question “who do I want to see in charge if disaster strikes” to their considerations as they choose how to vote.
It’s reasonable to ask party leaders how they would respond if another pandemic occurred, and whose advice they would seek. It’s prudent to ask party leaders what values they bring to disaster management. And it’s wise for voters to ask themselves which party leader they think is best equipped to lead in a time of crisis.
Because, sadly, disaster management is part of the job description for Premiers now, and leadership matters most in times of crisis.
Recent polling shows that, among the critical undecided voters, Rachel Notley is FAR more trusted than Danielle Smith.
https://davidcoletto.substack.com/p/d739b538-3811-494a-b81b-7261675cea6b
That said, nobody’s been thinking of the next natural disaster—including me. Most everybody’s more worried about what’s happening to the economy, our jobs, our paycheques, our mortgage bills, our grocery bills, our electricity bills, our doctors’ waiting lists…. Heck, make your own list. What did I leave out?
Money and inflation are top-of-mind for a LOT of Albertans, and rightfully so. Behind that is the provincial economy. Albertans are, slowly and reluctantly, realizing that the Good Old Days of oil booms and buy-anything governments are over. We’re gonna have to talk about all this sooner rather than later—and that means talking about taxes. Oh Gawd….
I see no reason to believe Danielle Smith will be more competent at managing the economy than she is at passing constitutional legislation. Her schtick is performance art, not responsible government. God help us—neither Smith nor her Take Back Alberta party will—if there’s any kind of natural disaster.
Rachel Notley is the clear choice. You may not like her label, but face it—Notley’s NDP is a center-right party that Peter Lougheed would have approved.
Rex, what you write is very true.... Who has the best command of conspiracy theories? Obviously.... Danielle Smith!
OK seriously, Lisa, you ask the key question... When disaster strikes, who can we rely on to save us???... or at least ..The Last of Us???