Update April 3. The city and workers have agreed a new contract based on the tentative agreement. Socialist Alternative still says the workers could have won a better contract, by using their power. Edmonton city workers from Civic Service Union 52 (CSU 52) were ready to take strike action on March 14 after rejecting the […]
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Just over a year ago, the NDP was in front of the United Conservative Party (UCP) in every opinion poll, with an average lead of over 10 percent. Yet on May 29, the UCP won a majority of the votes (52.6 percent), and seats in the poll that matters: Alberta’s election. In 2020 and 2021 […]
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After a few years of turmoil, Alberta faces a dangerously close election on May 29. The reversal of the deep hatred for the United Conservative Party (UCP) that gripped the province is astonishing. Replacing Premier Jason Kenney (the hated elitist) with Premier Danielle Smith (quietly, a former corporate lobbyist, but loudly, a reactionary right-populist) meant […]
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The new leader of the misnamed United Conservative Party and the new premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, has been propelled to power by insurgent right populism in the party. The leadership race revealed a deep split in the party, where Smith won by just 53.8 percent on the sixth count of the votes, compared to […]
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Jason Kenney has announced his resignation as Premier of Alberta and leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP). This after 48.6 percent, nearly half, of the party voted against him. Kenney consistently has been one of Canada’s most unpopular premiers. Yet, just a week after he announced his resignation, a new poll had the UCP […]
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Growing militarism is a major threat to the stability of the world, endangering everyone’s safety, but especially the safety of people living in countries dominated by imperialist powers — and the statistics show that growing military budgets contribute significantly to climate change. Increasing Military Budgets In the new cold war with China, there is increased […]
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Alberta’s largest unions have released a joint statement calling for an immediate circuit-breaker lockdown in order to deal with the Omicron wave of the COVID pandemic. The province is presently setting records of between 4,700 and 6,800 new cases every day. On the second day back to school in Edmonton, schools were short 737 teachers […]
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Albertans went to the polls on October 18, electing new mayors in the two big cities: Jyoti Gondek in Calgary and Amarjeet Sohi in Edmonton. In both cities, voters elected fairly liberal, progressive city councils, most strikingly in Edmonton, where three right-wing councillors lost their seats. Of the nine city council candidates that the Edmonton […]
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Hospitals in Alberta are experiencing unprecedented demand for intensive care. During the week of September 12 to 18, the average number of COVID-19 intensive care unit admissions has been over 23 per day. Alberta has 10 percent of Canada’s population, but nearly half of all active COVID cases, with Albertans dying at more than three […]
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“The twenty year occupation of Afghanistan by US and allied forces has been a disaster for those living in the country. At least a quarter of a million people, both combatants and civilians, have been killed, probably many more. Corruption is rife from the head of government down through the police, the army and courts. […]
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