Politics
Federal Politics: Trudeau's approval rating is singed as Liberal government battles fires on several fronts – Angus Reid Institute
CPC leads in vote intention, Liberal Party down seven points
March 4, 2020 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his minority Liberal government are bearing the scars of what has been a most bruising start to a federal government’s year.
While the first 60 days of 2019 were defined by a political scandal, the beginning of 2020 has been marked by events at home and abroad that have demanded deft and adroit response.
Unfortunately for Trudeau, the latest public opinion data from the Angus Reid Institute finds the PM’s performance has been lacking in recent weeks, particularly on the energy and climate change front, and this has had a negative impact on his approval numbers.
The most recent quarterly survey of more than 5000 adults shows the improved view of him in the wake of the devastating Iran plane crash that killed 57 Canadians in January has evaporated, after weeks of conflict and lack of resolution around the Coastal GasLink blockades.
The Prime Minister’s approval rating has dropped 10 points, and now sits at 33 per cent, right around where it was for most of 2019.
More Key Findings:
- 34 per cent of Canadians would vote for the Conservative Party of Canada if a new election were held, exactly the proportion of votes that the party received in October, compared to one-quarter (26%) who say they’d vote Liberal
- Trudeau’s approval remains strongest among Canadians under 35 years old. Approval among this group, however, has not held a majority since 2018, and is currently down to 37 per cent
- Each party maintains a significant portion of its voters from 2019. Notably, however, the Liberal Party and Green Party appear to have lost the most support, with one-in-three past voters for each saying they would vote differently now
About ARI
The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) was founded in October 2014 by pollster and sociologist, Dr. Angus Reid. ARI is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation established to advance education by commissioning, conducting and disseminating to the public accessible and impartial statistical data, research and policy analysis on economics, political science, philanthropy, public administration, domestic and international affairs and other socio-economic issues of importance to Canada and its world.
INDEX:
Part 1 – The Canadian Landscape
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Environment, health care are top issues
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Economic optimism increasing
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Half say Canada is on the wrong track
Part 2 – Party Leader Dynamics
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Trudeau’s approval down 10 points
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Leader favourability comparison
Part 3 – Vote Intention
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Significant age and gender divides persist
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The regional picture
Part 1 – The Canadian Landscape
Environment, health are top issues
Amid nationwide protests over the Coastal Gaslink natural gas pipeline in northern British Columbia and the cancellation of a major oil sands mine in northern Alberta, the issue Canadians care about most continues to be the country’s handling of climate change and the environment. More than one-in-three Canadians (36%) choose that issue as one of their primary national concerns.
Exemplifying the tension in Canada, however, issues related to energy, natural resources and pipelines are also chosen as a top issue by one-quarter of Canadians (23%). Finding the balance between environment and industry also has ramifications for the country’s economy, which is considered to be among the most important issues in Canada by one-in-four (24%).
Views of national issues across the country are varied, though there are some notable trends. Health care, for instance, is a top two issue in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Meanwhile, energy and natural resources appear in the top three in all provinces west of Ontario, but none east of Manitoba. Climate change is the most common issue across provinces, appearing in the top three for six of the nine provinces canvassed:
*Because its small population precludes drawing discrete samples over multiple waves, data on this question specific to Prince Edward Island is not released.
Economic optimism increasing
Looking at issues at the individual level, Canadian self-assessments of personal economic circumstances has been steadily rising. The percentage of those saying they are better off now than they were last year at this time has risen to a four-year high, with 23 per cent expressing improvement. Unemployment dropped to 5.5 per cent in January and remains close to the lowest level in 43 years. That said, the number who say they are worse off remains higher, at one-in-three (32%):
Meanwhile, optimism for the next year is also rising. Three-in-ten Canadians (29%) say they anticipate being better off next year than they are now, seven points higher than those who say they will be worse off.
Their personal fortunes do not, however, extend to the Canadian economy as a whole. In the face of considerable uncertainty in the resource sector and the unfolding implications of the coronavirus on global trade and the important travel and tourism sector (responsible for approximately 740,000 jobs in 2019), just 13 per cent of Canadians say they think the economy will improve over the next year. Half (51%) say that it will likely worsen:
Half say Canada is on the wrong track
Canadians continue to offer skepticism as to the general direction of the country. Asked whether Canada is on the right or wrong track, half say that they feel the latter is the case (52%) while three-in-ten (29%) say the country is moving in the right direction:
Part 2 – Party Leader Dynamics
Trudeau’s approval down 10 points
The past three months have been a whirlwind for the federal government. It has attempted to deal with enormous international issues such as the fallout of the Iran plane crash that killed 57 Canadians on board, the spread of the coronavirus, and a strained relationship with China, to say nothing of crises at home such as Teck Resources’ withdrawal of its proposed $20 billion dollar mine in northern Alberta, and protesters across the country who shut down railways, bridges and other infrastructure in opposition to the Coastal Gaslink natural gas pipeline in northern B.C.
While Justin Trudeau’s handling of the Iran plane crash was largely praised by Canadians, and led to a boost in his approval to 43 per cent, that positive momentum has been lost as Canadians have been critical of his handling of the Coastal GasLink blockades. 70 per cent of Canadians say Trudeau has done a poor job on that issue, and his approval this quarter is down 10 points, to 33 per cent:
Trudeau’s approval is now back to where it was for most of 2019:
Justin Trudeau’s approval is higher in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. His disapproval reaches 80 per cent in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
*Because its small population precludes drawing discrete samples over multiple waves, data on Prince Edward Island is not released.
Consistent with the Angus Reid Institute’s polling conducted throughout his tenure, Trudeau’s approval remains strongest among Canadians under 35 years old. Approval among this group, however, has not held a majority since 2018, and is currently down to 37 per cent:
Looking at age and gender in combination reveals a pattern that has consistently affected Trudeau’s approval rating: Men of all ages are more likely than women their age to have negative opinions of the Prime Minister. Indeed, eight-in-ten men ages 55 and above disapprove of Trudeau’s performance thus far, the highest of any age and gender group.
Leader favourability comparison
Asked a similar question on the country’s opposition leaders, outgoing opposition leader Andrew Scheer fares even worse than Trudeau.
Having resigned as CPC leader in December, Scheer is holding his position in the interim as the party undergoes the process of selecting new leadership. He prompts unfavourable views of 65 per cent of Canadians. As for the other leaders, Canadians are more likely to hold favourable than unfavourable views of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet. A majority (65%), however, say they are either not sure or have never heard of Interim Green Party leader Jo-Ann Roberts (see detailed tables).
Net favourability scores further reveal the extent of Scheer’s unpopularity, while emphasizing Blanchet’s strong favourability in Quebec:
Part 3 – Vote Intention
Against the backdrop of these views of the party leaders is the undercurrent of tension that flows with a minority situation in Parliament. Three main contenders for CPC leadership say if elected to the party’s top spot, they would force an election. If this happened, how would the parties fare?
While current vote intention for the Conservative Party is unchanged, at exactly the 34 per cent that the party received in October, just one-quarter of Canadians (26%) say they would vote for the Liberals if a new election were held. The New Democratic Party has the support of one-in-five (21%) decided and leaning voters.
While the Liberal Party’s support held consistently around one-in-three Canadians since last summer, there appears to have been considerable drop for it and a subsequent rise in support for the New Democratic Party:
Each party maintains a significant portion of its voters from 2019. Notably, however, the Liberal Party and Green Party appear to have lost the most support, with one-in-three past voters for each saying they would vote differently now.
Fewer than seven-in-ten 2019 Liberal voters say that they’re inclined to vote for the party again today, compared to at least eight-in-ten of those who voted for the CPC, NDP or Bloc Quebecois last October.
Significant age and gender divides persist
The Conservative Party continues to garner strong support from one of its key voting blocks: male voters. More men in each age group express an intention to vote for the CPC than for any other party, ranging from a six-point lead with 18- to 34-year-olds, to 28 points among those over 55.
The Conservative advantage does not hold among female voters, with support among all female age groups nearly identical with the Liberals. Young women and young men offer considerable support to the NDP as seen in the table below:
The regional picture
Regionally, the Conservative Party remains relatively uncontested in Alberta and Saskatchewan, with voter support levels above 60 per cent in each province. Perhaps more heartening to CPC supporters, however, the party holds a slight advantage in Ontario, which would likely be the key to any future electoral success for the party. The Liberals now trail in every region of the country, though the CPC advantage is within the margin of error in Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick:
*Because its small population precludes drawing discrete samples over multiple waves, data on this question specific to Prince Edward Island is not released.
For detailed results by age, gender, region, education, and other demographics, click here.
To read the full report, including detailed tables and methodology, click here.
Click here to read the full questionnaire used in this report.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Shachi Kurl, Executive Director: 604.908.1693 shachi.kurl@angusreid.org @shachikurl
Dave Korzinski, Research Director: 250.899.0821 dave.korzinski@angusreid.org
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A year ago, it looked like Rachel Notley’s race to lose. Danielle Smith has caught up in high-drama, low-issue battle
But this time, with the two parties neck-and-neck as voting day approaches, the election is not about jobs or pipelines or even party platforms.
It’s about Rachel Notley, leader of the NDP, and Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party.
Issues have surfaced, none of them campaign-defining. The NDP has hammered away on health care. They’ve promised a recruitment strategy for doctors and nurses, and repeatedly raised the spectre of private medicine, which is actually part of the UCP’s handbook. It’s an issue the NDP poll better on than the UCP.
And the UCP have talked extensively about the economy. Former prime minister Stephen Harper even put out a video early in the campaign warning about the economic damage he believes the NDP would do if they were re-elected. The UCP polls well on the economy.
Albertans seem to put Smith and Notley in a dead heat in terms of who they like more: 39 per cent have a positive view of Notley, 38 per cent have a positive view of Smith. The numbers are equally tight for those who dislike Notley (46 per cent) and Smith (47 per cent), per recent Abacus Data polling.
Six months, a year ago, it looked like Notley’s race to lose. The NDP had good polling numbers, and Notley was well-liked. The party out-fundraised their opponents and was flush with cash.
After Jason Kenney quit the UCP, a leadership campaign last summer saw the party’s right edge emerge victorious, with Smith taking the helm in a narrow victory. By the time the UCP held its convention last fall, the party was united to defeat Notley’s NDP.
The latest polling — the bulk of it from Mainstreet Research — shows the United Conservatives with a modest lead. On May 25, the pollster reported 46 per cent of Albertans planned to cast a ballot for the UCP, and 42 per cent for the NDP, with seven per cent still undecided, and the remainder scattered between small parties.
“The fact that the NDP are even close is already an indictment of the Danielle Smith era of the UCP,” said Boessenkool. “There’s no way that any party should be close to a united conservative tent.”
At least part of the reason has been the “bozo eruptions.” In a country where an impropriety or an inelegant comment has been enough to end a political career — and scuppered Smith’s last crack at becoming premier in 2012 — the UCP has largely kept its candidates while dealing with a steady drip of controversy.
“I think these things will affect turnout: they’ll hurt UCP turnout and they’ll boost NDP turnout,” said Boessenkool.
Jennifer Johnson, a nurse and farmer who lives near the central Alberta town of Bentley, was the UCP candidate for Lacombe-Ponoka, at least until audio of her comparing transgender children in the classroom to feces in cookie dough leaked out. She’s still technically on the ballot — it was too late to remove her — but Smith said she won’t sit in caucus.
“(They’re) focusing on the UCP’s record on the economy, and really sowing equal doubt in the minds of voters about ‘do you want to go back to to a Rachel Notley-led government,’” Myatt said.
For most of her career in media and politics, Smith has operated on something of the political fringe; the libertarian wing of Alberta politics. As recently as June 2021, Smith argued in a position paper that out-of-pocket payments would be necessary to sustain the health-care system, and in October 2021, suggested selling off several Alberta hospitals. Those positions have been repeated ad nauseam by her NDP opponents, and Smith has had to swear, repeatedly, she doesn’t stand by her previous comments.
Additionally, she promoted hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, as a “100 per cent” effective treatment for COVID-19, and herself took Ivermectin — an anti-parasitic drug — when she came down with COVID-19, picking up the drug on the same day the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta said it should never be prescribed to treat the viral infection.
Trussler compared Smith’s actions to those of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the SNC-Lavalin affair. “In the whole scheme of things, it is a threat to democracy to interfere with the administration of justice,” Trussler wrote.
Again, the report didn’t seem to move voters. At least part of the explanation, said Menzies, is that everyone knew the report was coming and anticipated it wouldn’t exonerate Smith. It was already baked in with voters, Menzies said.
The UCP mentions in its campaign advertising that Notley once said Alberta risked being Canada’s “embarrassing cousin” if it didn’t get its environmental record under control. And that Sarah Hoffman, former NDP deputy premier, once called Wildrose supporters “sewer rats.” Campaign literature in Edmonton details “anti-police” NDP candidates, too, but none of it seems to have broken into the popular discourse.
“I think voters kind of look past the noise now,” said Menzies.
On May 18, Rachel Notley and Danielle Smith faced off in a one-on-one leaders debate. It was just hours after Trussler had released her report. The UCP had crowed victory, as Trussler also said that she could find no evidence that Smith had contacted Crown prosecutors directly regarding COVID prosecutions, a central allegation the CBC had been reporting that the NDP had seized on.
“Ms. Notley, the NDP and the CBC lied for months saying I was calling Crown prosecutors and my staff were calling Crown prosecutors and it wasn’t true, and that is what the ethics commissioner found,” Smith responded.
For Smith, the debate was a strong showing. Perhaps her best day on the campaign.
“The NDP has had a full campaign of draws and the UCP has had a full campaign of losses, with one draw,” said Boessenkool.
Anecdotal evidence from those working the doors around the province for the NDP suggests voters do care about some of the scandals.
There have been some high-profile defections from conservative camps, who aren’t voting blue this time.
There’s no way that any party should be close to a united conservative tent
Doug Griffiths, who served as a cabinet minister under former Progressive Conservative premier Ed Stelmach, said he’d be giving his vote to the New Democrat in Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville, a suburban and rural riding east of Edmonton.
“I don’t believe the UCP party is conservative anymore,” Griffiths said in a video. “They are conspiratorial, they are feeding anger. They are anti-science, anti-truth, anti-fact.”
“I’m a lifelong conservative both federally and provincially, and this is a big change for me to abandon my party, but I simply cannot any longer tolerate this,” Foster told the Calgary Herald.
“The vast majority of conservatives who are nervous about Danielle are ultimately going to wind up supporting her,” Myatt predicted.
The tight popular vote polling doesn’t break down cleanly in terms of seat count, which are weighted towards Calgary and small-town Alberta — conservative heartlands. There are 87 seats in the Alberta legislature, 20 of them in Edmonton, 26 in Calgary and 41 in the rest of the province.
On Monday, it may come down to who can get people out the door and to the polling stations.
“The only thing left to do is to motivate and mobilize your supporters to get to the polls,” said Leah Ward, Notley’s former communications director, now with Wellington Advocacy. “There’s very little persuading left to do.”
• Email: tdawson@postmedia.com | Twitter:
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An election in Alberta will be a test of a premier who has said that she models her politics after those of prominent right-wing U.S. politicians.
The News
Voters in Alberta, the epicenter of conservative politics in Canada, will select a new provincial government on Monday.
Albertans will vote for local representatives in the provincial legislature and the party that wins the most seats will form the government, with its leader becoming premier.
The election pits the United Conservative Party, led by the current premier, Danielle Smith, against a leftist party, the New Democratic Party, led by Rachel Notley, a lawyer.
Before the pandemic, the governing United Conservative Party appeared to have a firm hold on power. But last year, large and angry demonstrations against pandemic restrictions and against vaccine mandates helped spark a trucker convoy in the province that eventually spread, paralyzing Ottawa, Canada’s capital, and blocking vital cross-border crossings.
A small group of social conservatives within the United Conservatives ousted their leader, Jason Kenney, ending his premiership, after the government refused to lift pandemic measures.
The party replaced him with Ms. Smith, a far-right former radio talk show host and newspaper columnist prone to incendiary comments; she compared people who were vaccinated against Covid-19 to supporters of Hitler.
The Background
Ms. Smith likes to extol right-wing U.S. politicians, for example, calling Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a Republican running for president, her hero.
She also has floated ideas that most Canadians would never support, like charging fees for public health care.
Ms. Smith now finds herself, analysts say, far to the right of many conservative loyalists, turning what should been a near-certain victory for her party into a close race that has provided an opening for their opponents, the New Democratic Party, a leftist party.
“This would not be a close race if anyone other than Danielle Smith was leading the U.C.P.,” said Janet Brown, who runs a polling firm based in Calgary, Alberta’s largest city.
Ms. Notley is seeking to steer the labor-backed New Democrats to a second upset victory in the province in recent years.
In 2015, she led the New Democrats to power for the first time in Alberta’s history, thanks in part to a fracturing of the conservative movement into two feuding parties.
The stunning win broke a string of conservative governments dating to the Great Depression. But her victory coincided with a collapse in oil prices that cratered the province’s economy. Ms. Notley’s approval ratings plunged and the United Conservatives took over in 2019.
Ms. Smith’s support is largely based in the province’s rural areas, surveys show, while Ms. Notley’s path to victory on Tuesday will likely be through Alberta’s urban centers, including its two largest cities, Edmonton and Calgary.
Edmonton, the provincial capital and a city with a large union presence, is likely to back the New Democrats.
That could make Calgary, which is generally more conservative leaning, a deciding factor. Calgary also has a growing ethnic population, particularly immigrants from South Asia, and Ms. Smith’s is unpopular with many of those voters because of some of her extreme statements.
Why It Matters
If Ms. Smith’s brand of conservatism fails to return her party to office in Canada’s most conservative province, the federal Conservative Party of Canada may need to reconsider its strategy as it prepares to take on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party in the next national elections.
The federal conservatives also replaced the party’s leader during the pandemic with a combative right-wing politician, Pierre Poilievre, who welcomed truck convoy protesters to Ottawa, the capital, with coffee and doughnuts. Mr. Poilievre shares Ms. Smith’s penchant for promoting provocative positions.
Even a narrow victory for Ms. Smith could actually be a loss, if it means fewer conservative seats in the provincial legislature, said Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary.
In that scenario, Ms. Smith could find her position as premier and party leader tenuous and many of the policies she promotes could be cast aside, he said.
“If she loses, she’s gone,” he said. “If she wins, I think she’s still gone.”
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Alberta’s United Conservative Party jumped out to a lead over the NDP in early returns Monday in what was forecast to be a tight race in the provincial election.
Danielle Smith’s UCP was holding strong in its traditional rural strongholds while Rachel Notley’s NDP was faring well in Edmonton, where it won all but one seat in 2019.
Early results were still mixed in the key battleground of Calgary, with about 10 per cent of polls reporting, according to Elections Alberta.
Here are the incoming results by riding:
9 p.m.
Braid: Despite the wild and angry campaign, Alberta will settle down
Albertans haven’t gone crazy, OK? We’re still just regular Canadians who want decent, competent government and a team that can win a Stanley Cup.
Despite all appearances, this campaign was never about which side was more dangerous. It was about capturing the reasonable middle where most Albertans park their politics. Both parties tried to do that by demonizing the other, while offering policies and solutions well within the bounds of reason.
5:36 p.m.
Memorable quotes from the campaign trail
Candidates for both the United Conservative Party and New Democrats have been campaigning over the last four weeks for their party to form the next Alberta government.
Here are some memorable quotes from the campaign:
“(The NDP) devastated the Alberta economy. They created policies that drove investment out, drove jobs out, and we had to reverse all of that,” UCP Leader Danielle Smith said on May 1, the day the writ was dropped. “The choice in this election couldn’t be clearer. It’s a choice between a UCP government that will cut your taxes and make life more affordable or an NDP government that will make you pay more across the board.”
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“I am satisfied Mr. Pawlowski intended to incite the audience to continue the blockade — intended to incite protesters to commit mischief,” Justice Gordon Krinke said in Lethbridge on May 2, when he found Calgary pastor Artur Pawlowski guilty of charges related to his role in protests against COVID-19 public health measures. In a leaked phone call between Smith and Pawlowski, before his trial, Smith told Pawlowski the charges against him were politically motivated and she would make inquiries on his behalf and report back.
“(Smith) has a policy of not speaking publicly on matters before the courts, except when she’s talking to the person who’s before the courts about how she’s going to interfere with the matter before the courts,” Notley said when asked to comment on Smith’s no comment on the Pawlowski case. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard from her. OK, maybe it’s not the most ridiculous, because there’s a lot of ridiculous.”
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“(Judicial independence) is a fundamental pillar of our democracy. The premier breached this principle by discussing the accused’s case,” ethics commissioner Marguerite Trussler said in her report released May 18 into Smith’s actions as premier when she called her justice minister about Pawlowski’s case.
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“I’ve asked the ethics commissioner to give advice,” Smith said May 19. “I am a non-lawyer. As premier, I do need to be able to get advice from my top official, my top legal adviser. If she has recommendations on how to do that better next time, I will absolutely accept them.”
— The Canadian Press
5:30 p.m.
Special measures in place to enable voting for electors affected by wildfires
Alberta’s 2023 election campaign has taken place alongside a record-breaking spring for wildfires in Alberta. Ten communities were under evacuation orders Monday.
Elections Alberta has set up alternate voting locations for those displaced. Evacuation has been added as an eligible reason to vote by special ballot and mobile voting stations have been placed in evacuation centres.
— The Canadian Press
10:55 a.m.
Calgary region had 7 of the top 10 busiest advance polling stations in Alberta last week
Electors in Calgary and area were among the most eager to get to the polls.
Of the 10 busiest polling stations in the province during the advance polling period last week, seven were in Calgary, Elections Alberta said on Monday.
And of those seven, four were in the southern half of Calgary and another was located south of the city.
Generally speaking, more Alberta voters chose to cast their ballot during the advance voting period than ever before.
“For the second election in a row we have seen record-breaking voter turnout during advance voting days,” said Chief Electoral Officer Glen Resler in a statement issued Monday morning. “In 2019, we saw 700,476 ballots cast during the five days of advance voting, this year we have welcomed 758,550 to the polls so far.”
Here were the 10 busiest polling stations during the advance voting period, May 23-27, according to Elections Alberta:
- ED 83 (St. Albert): St. Albert Centre
- ED 81 (Sherwood Park): Sherwood Park Mall
- ED 01 (Calgary-Acadia): Southcentre Mall
- ED 14 (Calgary-Hays): McKenzie Towne Church
- ED 08 (Calgary-Edgemont): Foothills Alliance Church
- ED 65 (Highwood): Okotoks Centennial Hall
- ED 02 (Calgary-Beddington): Huntington Hills Community Hall and Sportsplex
- ED 33 (Edmonton-Gold Bar): Bonnie Doon Centre
- ED 47 (Airdrie-Cochrane): Frank Wills Memorial Hall
- ED 23 (Calgary-Shaw): Cardel Rec South
10:35 a.m.
Alberta votes in the strangest — and closest — election in its political history
Whoever wins the Alberta election on Monday, it will be one of the strangest campaigns ever fought in the province, with plenty of drama but few policy issues, and the real possibility of the closest outcome in Alberta political history.
In 2015, when the NDP won, it was the reversal of 40 years of conservative rule, aided by vote-splitting and a voting public whose patience was at an end. In 2019, when the United Conservatives won, it was a massive victory, featuring a re-energized right-wing movement looking to revitalize the province’s economy.
It’s about Rachel Notley, leader of the NDP, and Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, writes Tyler Dawson.
5 a.m.
Alberta arrives at election day following bitter campaign
Albertans head to the polls Monday to elect their next government, wrapping up a divisive four-week campaign that’s seen each leading party pitch their vision for the province while taking aim at the opposing leader’s record.
Voters are set to decide whether they’ll re-elect Danielle Smith’s United Conservatives, or return to an NDP government headed by Rachel Notley, in a battle between premiers past and present.
Alberta election: Everything you need to know before you vote
Albertans go to the polls on May 29 — today.
While there are plenty of promises and policies from the parties to wade through, it’s also important to brush up on voting information.
Before you cast your ballot, here’s what you need to know.
Promises made: Where the NDP and UCP stand on top issues in Alberta election campaign
With Alberta’s election hitting the home stretch, what have the leading political parties in the province done or promised to do if elected today?
Both the UCP and the NDP have been making promises for weeks on major issues leading up to the official campaign, which began in May.
Here are some highlights, which don’t reflect the entirety of the platforms.
Profiles of main party leaders Danielle Smith and Rachel Notley
UCP Leader Danielle Smith
Succeeding Jason Kenney, Smith comes from roots in the socially conservative Wildrose Party. She has been premier since October 2022 after she won the UCP’s leadership race.
Smith, 52, who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Calgary with a major in English and a minor in economics, started her career in media. First as an extra in the Vancouver film and television industry and then as a journalist on radio, television and in print. While working as a radio broadcaster in March 2020, Smith tweeted and later deleted claims that the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine is a cure for COVID-19.
Smith was a lobbyist for the Alberta Enterprise Group, encouraging capital investment and big business in Alberta. She introduced the Alberta Sovereignty Act to prevent the enforcement of “federal rules deemed harmful to Alberta’s interests.” The act passed but only with significant changes to remove the legislation-rewriting powers the original measure would have given Smith and her cabinet.
Since 2017, Smith and her husband, David Moretta, have owned and operated the Dining Car at High River station, a converted rail car in High River.
NDP Leader Rachel Notley
Notley, 59, became premier of Alberta in 2015, ending 44 years of Progressive Conservative Party rule in the Western Canadian province. She lost re-election in 2019 to Kenney.
The daughter of former Alberta New Democratic Party leader Grant Notley, Rachel Notley was a labour advocate and lawyer before entering politics. She specialised in workers’ rights and health and safety. She advocated for the rights of special-needs children with the organisation Moms on the Move.
The campaign has taken place alongside a record-breaking spring for wildfires in Alberta. Ten communities were under evacuation orders Monday.
Elections Alberta has set up alternate voting locations for those displaced. Evacuation has been added as an eligible reason to vote by special ballot and mobile voting stations have been placed in evacuation centres.
Incident Command Centres are working to have special ballots delivered to fire fighters and emergency crews.
war demonstration before she was ten years old.
While premier, Notley gave Canada its first $15 minimum wage, stabilised funding for healthcare, restricted money in elections and increased taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Her government introduced harm-reduction measures targeting the opioid and fentanyl epidemic.
Her husband, Lou Arab, is a communications representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees and a campaign strategist for the NDP. Notley and Arab live with their two children in the historic Old Strathcona district in Edmonton.
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