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Alberta Politics

Gus Haynes said:
Notable to me that the NDP are getting some endorsements from prominent former Conservative politicians.

Former PC MLA and Cabinet Minister Doug Griffiths: https://rdnewsnow.com/2023/05/19/former-pc-cabinet-minister-endorses-two-ndp-candidates/

Former Lougheed Staffer and Harper Conservative MP Lee Richardson: https://www.policymagazine.ca/the-leap-alberta-conservative-lee-richardson-on-why-hes-voting-ndp/

Former Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk: https://rdnewsnow.com/2023/05/19/fo...-endorses-cypress-medicine-hat-ndp-candidate/
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Lukaszuk's endorsement, among others, is of questionable value. This is a guy who never seemed to get over the fact that the PC party failed to elect him leader in 2014. This is also the same chap who racked up $20,000 of roaming charges on his government tablet while overseas, claimed he'd learned his lesson and proceeded to rack up thousands more.

calgaryherald.com

Lukaszuk rang up thousands more on phone bill, after $20,000

Mere months after racking up a $20,000 monthly bill on his government-issued tablet during a personal vacation, Tory MLA and then deputy premier Thomas…
calgaryherald.com calgaryherald.com
 
TravellingChris said:
Lukaszuk's endorsement, among others, is of questionable value. This is a guy who never seemed to get over the fact that the PC party failed to elect him leader in 2014. This is also the same chap who racked up $20,000 of roaming charges on his government tablet while overseas, claimed he'd learned his lesson and proceeded to rack up thousands more.
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you might be right that endorsements Being might be of questionable value.

what won’t be of questionable value are those disenfranchised progressive conservative albertans who will loan their votes to what they perceive to be an ethical ndp party with an experienced leader rather than casting a ballot for an ethically challenged danielle smith and a take back alberta controlled ucp party.

those of us who are fiscally conservative and socially progressive were at home in a big tent party that furthered both of those. when forced to choose just one of those, many of us are simply not prepared to sacrifice our social and moral compass.

how many of “us” are there? I guess we’ll see on the evening of the 29th but I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. the fact that the ndp has continued to consult with the likes of todd hirsch and david dodge on economic matters actually makes it easier to vote than just staying home or spoiling a ballot.
 
kcantor said:
you might be right that endorsements Being might be of questionable value.

what won’t be of questionable value are those disenfranchised progressive conservative albertans who will loan their votes to what they perceive to be an ethical ndp party with an experienced leader rather than casting a ballot for an ethically challenged danielle smith and a take back alberta controlled ucp party.

those of us who are fiscally conservative and socially progressive were at home in a big tent party that furthered both of those. when forced to choose just one of those, many of us are simply not prepared to sacrifice our social and moral compass.

how many of “us” are there? I guess we’ll see on the evening of the 29th but I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. the fact that the ndp has continued to consult with the likes of todd hirsch and david dodge on economic matters actually makes it easier to vote than just staying home or spoiling a ballot.
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The problem is that there IS an alternative for people like yourself who claim to be politically "homeless" since the creation of the UCP. It's the Alberta Party. Remember, this is the party that attracted people like former PC cabinet minister Stephen Mandel, PC MLA Rick Fraser and NDP MLA Karen McPherson--all moderates. The Alberta Party is/was intended to be the "replacement" big tent party after the demise of the PC party.

The "problem" is the fact that the Alberta Party has gone absolutely nowhere. Even with a high-profile leader like Mandel the party didn't even make a dent. There now seem to be only two viable options in the province in terms of forming a government--left of centre and (fairly) hard right. The middle ground has become no-man's-land.

Yes, there may be many former PC voters who will be voting strategically for the NDP (in Edmonton, I'm not sure that even matters). But they won't get the fiscal responsibility that they claim to value: the NDP, after all, is a party that intends to raise the corporate tax rate by 37.5% if elected.
 
TravellingChris said:
The problem is that there IS an alternative for people like yourself who claim to be politically "homeless" since the creation of the UCP. It's the Alberta Party. Remember, this is the party that attracted people like former PC cabinet minister Stephen Mandel, PC MLA Rick Fraser and NDP MLA Karen McPherson--all moderates. The Alberta Party is/was intended to be the "replacement" big tent party after the demise of the PC party.

The "problem" is the fact that the Alberta Party has gone absolutely nowhere. Even with a high-profile leader like Mandel the party didn't even make a dent. There now seem to be only two viable options in the province in terms of forming a government--left of centre and (fairly) hard right. The middle ground has become no-man's-land.

Yes, there may be many former PC voters who will be voting strategically for the NDP (in Edmonton, I'm not sure that even matters). But they won't get the fiscal responsibility that they claim to value: the NDP, after all, is a party that intends to raise the corporate tax rate by 37.5% if elected.
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I am getting really tired about all of the misleading misinformation recently about this supposedly scary corporate tax increase. The actual increase proposed is from 8% to 11% - to put that in context most Alberta individuals pay 10% (although some pay up to 15%), so the corporate tax rate would just be slightly more than what most individuals pay. Also it would only apply to larger companies, not most small businesses.

My understanding is, and someone please correct me if I am wrong, this rate will still be lower than most other provinces. So I doubt businesses will be fleeing Alberta to move to other provinces with rates already higher than 11%, as some have claimed. Although interestingly many of those provinces with the higher corporate tax rates, also seem to have lower unemployment rates than Alberta currently. Go figure.
 
TravellingChris said:
The problem is that there IS an alternative for people like yourself who claim to be politically "homeless" since the creation of the UCP. It's the Alberta Party. Remember, this is the party that attracted people like former PC cabinet minister Stephen Mandel, PC MLA Rick Fraser and NDP MLA Karen McPherson--all moderates. The Alberta Party is/was intended to be the "replacement" big tent party after the demise of the PC party.

The "problem" is the fact that the Alberta Party has gone absolutely nowhere. Even with a high-profile leader like Mandel the party didn't even make a dent. There now seem to be only two viable options in the province in terms of forming a government--left of centre and (fairly) hard right. The middle ground has become no-man's-land.

Yes, there may be many former PC voters who will be voting strategically for the NDP (in Edmonton, I'm not sure that even matters). But they won't get the fiscal responsibility that they claim to value: the NDP, after all, is a party that intends to raise the corporate tax rate by 37.5% if elected.
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i voted for the alberta party in the last election hoping the funding that should have followed that along with receiving a decent number of votes (which they did get) would give them a stronger base and presence this time around. they have some good candidates and supporters (some of whom i consider friends) and a decent leader (again) in addition to a good platform but they haven’t built the base and they’re not running a candidate in my riding so the option isn’t there (as it isn’t in too many ridings i’m afraid).

as for the business tax argument, i think it’s largely a straw man discussion. firstly, it doesn’t apply to small business. secondly, it doesn’t apply if you’re not profitable. thirdly, it’s only being raised to a level that is still the lowest in the country. fourthly, things like accelerated depreciation and the personal tax rate for employees are probably more impactful than overall marginal business tax rates.
 
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kcantor said:
as for the business tax argument, i think it’s largely a straw man discussion. firstly, it doesn’t apply to small business. secondly, it doesn’t apply if you’re not profitable. thirdly, it’s only being raised to a level that is still the lowest in the country. fourthly, things like accelerated depreciation and the personal tax rate for employees are probably more impactful than overall marginal business tax rates.
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It's almost as if we shouldn't let bogus crocodile tears from the UCP about unfair tax hikes against so-called "job creators" get in the way of logic and reason.
 
David A said:
I am getting really tired about all of the misleading misinformation recently about this supposedly scary corporate tax increase. The actual increase proposed is from 8% to 11% - to put that in context most Alberta individuals pay 10% (although some pay up to 15%), so the corporate tax rate would just be slightly more than what most individuals pay. Also it would only apply to larger companies, not most small businesses.

My understanding is, and someone please correct me if I am wrong, this rate will still be lower than most other provinces. So I doubt businesses will be fleeing Alberta to move to other provinces with rates already higher than 11%, as some have claimed. Although interestingly many of those provinces with the higher corporate tax rates, also seem to have lower unemployment rates than Alberta currently. Go figure.
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The problem with the corporate tax increase is that the majority of people who are cheering for it aren't the ones who will be paying it, at least not directly. This is one of the core flaws with the NDP and left-of-centre parties generally: they pit one segment of society against another and whip up an "us vs. them" mentality: "That group of people isn't paying their share! Jack up THEIR taxes!" Leftists always need a bogeyman: the financially successful, investors, entrepreneurs and businesses are all favourite targets. It's easier to demonize another group as free riders whose "free lunch" will be coming to an end rather than being direct with the public and pointing out that in order to afford much of what a left-wing party wants to accomplish, virtually EVERYBODY will need to pay more. (Of course, corporate tax rises will hit the average person eventually as businesses do raise their prices to cope with increases in taxes as well as other costs.)

As to your second point, you're only seeing half the issue. Yes, many businesses will probably not relocate to other provinces if the NDP's corporate tax rise goes into effect--it can be very expensive to move fixed operations, key staff may be reluctant to relocate, etc. However, there are other risks. When taxes (and other costs) go up, businesses which may have wanted to expand (opening a new location, adding more staff or another shift, expanding into a new line) may decide that it no longer makes financial sense to do so. The other risk is that operations which were marginal financially prior to the tax rise (or other cost increase) become no longer viable. My employer, for example, not long ago decided to shut down one of its branches due to a combination of factors (local tax increase, rent increase, and a couple of other factors). I am not contending that a corporate tax increase would be the ONLY factor a company would take into consideration when deciding whether to scale back operations or halt a previously-planned expansion, but it would certainly be one of them.
 
kcantor said:
i voted for the alberta party in the last election hoping the funding that should have followed that along with receiving a decent number of votes (which they did get) would give them a stronger base and presence this time around. they have some good candidates and supporters (some of whom i consider friends) and a decent leader (again) in addition to a good platform but they haven’t built the base and they’re not running a candidate in my riding so the option isn’t there (as it isn’t in too many ridings i’m afraid).

as for the business tax argument, i think it’s largely a straw man discussion. firstly, it doesn’t apply to small business. secondly, it doesn’t apply if you’re not profitable. thirdly, it’s only being raised to a level that is still the lowest in the country. fourthly, things like accelerated depreciation and the personal tax rate for employees are probably more impactful than overall marginal business tax rates.
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1660381277000957952
 
Alberta seemed to be doing fine when the corporate tax rate was at 12%, and I don’t recall too many businesses flocking here because Kenney cut it to 8%.
 
Disappointing, but unsurprising. Conservative Christian groups have been telling their followers who to vote for since, well forever. Nothing new under the sun in the province that elected Bible Bill.
 
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