Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP) leader, Danielle Smith, has been playing to her conservative populist base since her 2022 election. She campaigned for the Alberta Sovereignty Act, which authorizes provincial institutions to not enforce federal laws that “attack Alberta’s interests.” She introduced privatized healthcare, suspended funding for renewable energy projects, signed an agreement with the […]
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With a stroke of the pen, Carney illuminated his party’s position on the growing climate disaster. His signature on the MOU erased any illusions (not that Socialist Alternative had any) that the Liberal Party is serious about reducing emissions and averting climate catastrophe. It made clear where its allegiances lie: with big business and big […]
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Unfortunately Alberta’s unions retreated and now are running a much weaker campaign trying to recall some UCP members of the legislature. This is a crucial struggle for the Canadian labour movement, to defend the democratic right to strike. Now is a time for unions in Alberta and Canada to act — words will not defeat […]
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Once again, Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP) finds itself mired in controversy and is again sowing class divisions and distractions. Many see this as politics as usual, continuing a pattern of working-class attacks, cronyism, and corruption. But for others, this moment marks a breaking point, amplifying resentment and resistance. Separatist distractions Following the Liberal’s federal […]
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The town of Jasper has been consumed by fire, with 30 percent of its buildings (homes, hotels, and businesses) destroyed. Parts of this majestic park are now ash. The conditions were terrifying. A wall of flames up to 100 metres high ripped through the town. Emergency responders without breathing apparatus had to withdraw as the […]
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One year ago, after the defeat of the NDP in the Alberta general election, Socialist Alternative warned about the Alberta NDP’s fatal strategy of trying to appeal to conservatives or “to be a party for all Albertans.” This strategy failed in the 2023 general election and Danielle Smith, despite her controversial policies, became the premier. […]
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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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While Alberta’s deeply divided election rolls on, the province is suffering from fire and smoke. A dry winter and a hot spring have left much of the province tinder dry. The fires, that started in early May, by May 21 have already burnt over 940,000 hectares of land. This is more than any year since […]
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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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