Municipal Politics

[David A]

This could end up being a good race, with several candidates having past or current experience on city council and putting forth somewhat different ideas.

I like Sohi's recent comments and policy on local business growth and development. I hadn't expected it, but shows he gets this is a problem, which is a good sign.

I think Krushell and Oshry are very capable and competent too with a good mix of private and public sector experience, although I think they will have to work hard to raise their profile in this race.

 

[ChazYEG]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau bumps elbows with Jason Kenney at Calgary meeting | Globalnews.ca

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney sat down for a face-to-face meeting following months of phone calls and online meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

globalnews.ca

thee PM comes to meet the Premier in Alberta and he goes to Calgary, instead of coming to the capital of the province (ant then goes to meet with that city's mayor). It is starting to become RIDICULOUS!

 

[TAS]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau bumps elbows with Jason Kenney at Calgary meeting | Globalnews.ca

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney sat down for a face-to-face meeting following months of phone calls and online meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

globalnews.ca

thee PM comes to meet the Premier in Alberta and he goes to Calgary, instead of coming to the capital of the province (ant then goes to meet with that city's mayor). It is starting to become RIDICULOUS!

I would say there were probably no flights into EIA, but the PM has his own jet.
I think, in part, this might have had something to do with the province finally releasing its share of funding for the $5.5B section of the Green Line lrt project of which the federal government is a major contributor. That project can now proceed.

 

[David A]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau bumps elbows with Jason Kenney at Calgary meeting | Globalnews.ca

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney sat down for a face-to-face meeting following months of phone calls and online meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

globalnews.ca

thee PM comes to meet the Premier in Alberta and he goes to Calgary, instead of coming to the capital of the province (ant then goes to meet with that city's mayor). It is starting to become RIDICULOUS!

I think with the resumption of more travel, we will probably see much more of politicians over this summer, particularly those anticipating an election.

If current polling figures prevail, I can see a few seats in Edmonton and Calgary being crucial to whether the current Federal government gets a majority or not.

Many Federal politicians seem to schedule visits to Calgary around Stampede time and go elsewhere at other times in the summer.

 

[IanO]

Just listening to Mr. Sohi/his campaign and they shared this chart for comparison.

 

[TAS]

Sohi is clear front runner - even before he started sharing his platform. I know many Iveson people working for him.

Speaking of Iveson, it seems he or somebody is wondering how he might do running in Edmonton Centre in next federal election.

My friend received a phone call asking who he supports for PM next election, then party, then which of the candidates in Edmonton Centre he would support and Iveson's name was mentioned I believe under the Liberal banner.

 

[Guy 1]

Sohi is clear front runner - even before he started sharing his platform. I know many Iveson people working for him.

Speaking of Iveson, it seems he or somebody is wondering how he might do running in Edmonton Centre in next federal election.

My friend received a phone call asking who he supports for PM next election, then party, then which of the candidates in Edmonton Centre he would support and Iveson's name was mentioned I believe under the Liberal banner.

Man, you'd think he might want a little break from public life?

 

[David A]

I think he needs a break from public life to gain some perspective about what it is like for an ordinary citizen or business person to deal with government. Also, going to Ottawa is not necessarily great for someone with a still young family.

However, I suppose from the perspective of the Federal Liberals he would be a great candidate with name recognition, a fairly good reputation and government experience. Perhaps the poll is being done to encourage him to run.

 

[CaptainBL]

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...say-proponents

Not sure if this is the right thread for this but I will post it anyway. Article about the Calgary-Banff railway proposal and the boosting interest it is getting from the city, the province and the fed. Great for Calgary but I wish there were rainmakers or leaders in Edmonton with enough vision to boost a grand idea of this caliber. And I don't mean exactly like Calgary gets rail, Edmonton should get rail, but having the vision for such a grand idea is something that just seems to get pushed and marketed so much more in Calgary than Edmonton. And it of course it helps that the provincial government is involved in everything and anything Calgary recently (company relocation announcements, airline routes, downtown investments, meetings with Trudeau in Calgary, and more), but its just a shame that grand ideas like this don't seem to happen in Edmonton to a similar or more extent. Especially since we already have Via to Jasper, and how many people even know that? Rarely have I seen Via Edmonton-Jasper marketed as a tourist draw.

Has there been anyone slated in this upcoming election so far that has communicated a true vision of where they see Edmonton and want to take Edmonton into the future?

 

[TAS]

Cheryll Watson is the only one I'm aware of that highlights Calgary as an election issue - not as a rival, but a partner.

From her platform outlined on her website https://www.cheryllwatson.ca/platform

"As a first area of focus, I will Formalize an Economic Corridor Partnership with Calgary.

To enable this I will:

Invigorate the restart of the Alberta Innovation Corridor partnership:

a. Support the collaborative work of our municipal innovation agencies: Innovate Edmonton and Platform Calgary and of our community innovation ecosystem groups: the Edmonton Regional Innovation Network and the Calgary Innovation Coalition.
b. Expand the partnership to include our most promising industries: life sciences, energy, manufacturing, agribusiness, financial services, creative industries and aerospace and
logistics.

Reaffirm and ratify key partnership principles:

a. A strategic and partnered approach to economic development, foreign direct investment and intergovernmental relations activities.
b. Coordinated, equitable investment and effort in new programs and services focused on increasing the success of local businesses.
c. Collaborative sponsorship and activations at key North American and global economic events and summits."

 

[TAS]

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...say-proponents

From the article, I found this quote interesting from the CEO of Invest Alberta (and Kenny's campaign manager).

"Right now, over two million people a year are skipping Calgary when they land to go to Banff, just going straight out on Stoney Trail,” he said

Are those people still not spending money somewhere in Alberta though such as Canmore or Banff? But let's divert them to Calgary- which will take business away from somewhere else in Alberta for the benefit of Calgary, no?

To me, it illustrates the very Calgary centric view of this government and it's crown corporation Invest Alberta.

 

[CaptainBL]

From the article, I found this quote interesting from the CEO of Invest Alberta (and Kenny's campaign manager).

"Right now, over two million people a year are skipping Calgary when they land to go to Banff, just going straight out on Stoney Trail,” he said

Are those people still not spending money somewhere in Alberta though such as Canmore or Banff? But let's divert them to Calgary- which will take business away from somewhere else in Alberta for the benefit of Calgary, no?

To me, it illustrates the very Calgary centric view of this government and it's crown corporation Invest Alberta.

The provincial government has all but come out and explicitly said they are here for Calgary. In my opinion, it is the most Calgary centric government since the Klein government. Its quite a shame.

 

[kcantor]

The provincial government has all but come out and explicitly said they are here for Calgary. In my opinion, it is the most Calgary centric government since the Klein government. Its quite a shame.

kenney is worse for edmonton than klein. klein only really cared for calgary and edmonton never mattered much to him but all of alberta did and we were part of that. kenney seems to have a spiteful vendetta against anything and everything edmonton and doesn’t even attempt to hide it. in his mind we’re alberta’s version of justin trudeau - to be defeated at all costs.

 

[David A]

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...say-proponents

Not sure if this is the right thread for this but I will post it anyway. Article about the Calgary-Banff railway proposal and the boosting interest it is getting from the city, the province and the fed. Great for Calgary but I wish there were rainmakers or leaders in Edmonton with enough vision to boost a grand idea of this caliber. And I don't mean exactly like Calgary gets rail, Edmonton should get rail, but having the vision for such a grand idea is something that just seems to get pushed and marketed so much more in Calgary than Edmonton. And it of course it helps that the provincial government is involved in everything and anything Calgary recently (company relocation announcements, airline routes, downtown investments, meetings with Trudeau in Calgary, and more), but its just a shame that grand ideas like this don't seem to happen in Edmonton to a similar or more extent. Especially since we already have Via to Jasper, and how many people even know that? Rarely have I seen Via Edmonton-Jasper marketed as a tourist draw.

Has there been anyone slated in this upcoming election so far that has communicated a true vision of where they see Edmonton and want to take Edmonton into the future?

Relevant? Yes, it does bring up some municipal issues related to Edmonton.

First of all, lest we forget, we already have rail service to Jasper and have had for years. However, the VIA rail station is not well located, so it provides little boost to our economy and is inconvenient for both local travelers and tourists.

Lesson one - if you want to encourage more rail use, make it more convenient. Lesson two - if you want a more positive image and promote more tourism, make it more convenient.

I have yet to find any local politician or city councilor in Edmonton who pays more that lip service to tourism development or really "gets" it. This is one reason our image still sucks. Could at least one current mayoral candidate prove me wrong? That is my challenge to all of them!

Fortunately, Calgary still has us to learn from our mistakes and try to do things better.

 

[David A]

kenney is worse for edmonton than klein. klein only really cared for calgary and edmonton never mattered much to him but all of alberta did and we were part of that. kenney seems to have a spiteful vendetta against anything and everything edmonton and doesn’t even attempt to hide it. in his mind we’re alberta’s version of justin trudeau - to be defeated at all costs.

It is sort of different, Klein was a former Calgary mayor who lived most of his life there and so was very emotionally attached to promote his home city. Of course, the city Kenney spent most of his career in was Otttawa, so no such attachment to Calgary.

However Kenney realizes, Edmonton does not support him and likely never will, whereas he believes he still has chance still in Calgary (although I am not that sure that will work out for him).