My dilemma - how to vote in Alberta election - UPDATE FOR 2019 - scroll down

[Gryphon Rider]

Alberta is having a general election today.  The way our system works is this:  Our province is divided into 87 constituencies of very roughly similar populations.  Each constituency votes for a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).  Candidates are either affiliated with a political party or run as independents.  The candidate with the most votes becomes MLA, even if the vote is split such that the winning candidate has (sometimes significantly) less than half of the votes.  There are currently four parties represented in the Legislature, and three registered parties without a sitting member.  The party with the most members elected is asked to form the government, and its leader (also an MLA candidate) becomes Premier and selects his cabinet, almost always from his party's MLAs.  If the Premier loses his constituency, an MLA in a "safe" riding resigns to allow the Premier to run in a by-election.

There are three parties and their affiliated candidates that I may consider voting for:

Party A has been in power for decades, is unwilling to do the hard work required to actually make our government and the important services it provides run efficiently, has a strong sense of entitlement, and needs a lesson in humility.  Party A, being the government, chose to call this election well before it was required to, for reasons noted below.  Candidate A in my constituency, however, is new at elected politics, but is highly competent, respected, and ethical (other than his party choice).

Party B, which I have voted for in the past, was the closest contender in the last election, is the most aligned with my political views, but has recently had significant internal turmoil that meant it was somewhat unprepared for a snap election (thus the timing of it).  If they win, they will likely make a fair number of rookie mistakes, but should be able to pull off good government.  The candidate that they chose to run in my constituency is likely a paper candidate, i.e there is very little information about him (I can't even find out what his occupation is, his family status, or even if he lives in the constituency), and the constituency has strongly voted Party A for its entire history.  I have sent email requests for information, have received none, but have been added to their spam list (thanks a lot, Party B).  This really rankles me, and could cause me to vote otherwise.

Party C is philosophically at odds with my political leanings, but is strongly leading in the polls (which always underestimate Party A's election day results), and has a leader who is well-spoken, intelligent, respected, seems to be honest, and grasps the issues well, even if Party C holds positions that I don't agree with.  Candidate C has actually been to my door, is also well-spoken and intelligent, and actually spent about 20 minutes talking to my wife on our front sidewalk, convincing her to put their sign on our lawn.

Any thoughts?  Or will I hear crickets because there isn't a Clinton, Bush, or Kennedy in this race?

[Willow]

Tough choice.  A vote for the party that best represents you but is almost guaranteed to not win could result in a party you really don't want to win succeeding.

I tend to vote my conscience even in the face of likely loss but with more than two parties in real running it opens the possibility of a vote helping the least desired.

I'm glad I'm not you today.   

[MP]

I guess I would like to vote in the Alberta Election too!

Lots of undocumented's vote in ours, can we vote in others?   

MP

[Gryphon Rider]

I guess I would like to vote in the Alberta Election too!

Lots of undocumented's vote in ours, can we vote in others?   

MP

Sorry, if you're not on the list you need ID and proof of residency.     You gotta be at least willing and smart enough to come up with convincing forgeries. 

[The emperor has no clothes]

If I was in your shoes it would be Party B. I think a person is best voting their conscience regardless of the possible outcome.

[Moonshot_1]

You should vote for Party B as it would be the only vote you could ethically live with.

[Gryphon Rider]

Well, I just voted for Candidate A, who is a good man. I'm counting on the rest of Alberta to punish his party, and I hope it's not a majority for Party C. If there's a minority government, some cooperation and accountability will be required, which isn't a bad thing.

[icandoitfaster]

May I remind you that even though Party A has been in power for decades, they have managed to create and sustain the riches province in Canada. I know they are arogant because they have been in power so long but the other two options could be no better. I live in BC, so I understand your plight. Other than a short stint years ago, our government has been in power for decades and needs to be removed as well (same government, different name.....Social Credit, Progressive Conservative, Liberal....different names, same bandits). My only concern for voting against Party A would be "jumping from the known frying pan into the unknown fire", after all, they're all politicians!! Good luck with your decision today. I guess only time will tell how either will do as a ruling party.

[sandy]

The winners look at how many votes they got and how many the loser got. It tells them how much support they have. Vote your conscience always.

[Pepmyster]

At least you have  choice in Alberta!!! Come over to Quebec when it's election time. PURE hell over here. Our dam morons have been screaming the same crap for 45 years, and still going.....

[Gryphon Rider]

Well, in my constituency, Candidate A lost to my wife's choice, Candidate C, but only by 100 votes.  Province wide, it wasn't even close, with Party C winning by a landslide, Party B increasing their seats and remaining as official opposition, and previously governing Party A getting trounced and becoming the third-place party.  The (soon-to-be former) Premier, Party A leader, immediately resigned as leader of his party, announced that he is relinquishing his MLA seat that he just get re-elected into, and is abandoning politics altogether (I'm paraphrasing here).

At least my wife is overjoyed, which is boding well for me.  

[bscrive]

That's just great Gryphon Rider.  Your prosperous province will now go down hill and be a have not province.  The NDP will probably have half the population on welfare by next year.  When we elected Bob Rae as premier in the early 90's, Onatrio was a powerhouse.  After he got through with Ontario we were screwed bad.  I hope this doesn't happen to your province.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Well, in my constituency, Candidate A lost to my wife's choice, Candidate C, but only by 100 votes.  Province wide, it wasn't even close, with Party C winning by a landslide, Party B increasing their seats and remaining as official opposition, and previously governing Party A getting trounced and becoming the third-place party.  The (soon-to-be former) Premier, Party A leader, immediately resigned as leader of his party, announced that he is relinquishing his MLA seat that he just get re-elected into, and is abandoning politics altogether (I'm paraphrasing here).

At least my wife is overjoyed, which is boding well for me.  

Sometimes a loss can be a win 

[Novavalker]

That's just great Gryphon Rider.  Your prosperous province will now go down hill and be a have not province.  The NDP will probably have half the population on welfare by next year.  When we elected Bob Rae as premier in the early 90's, Onatrio was a powerhouse.  After he got through with Ontario we were screwed bad.  I hope this doesn't happen to your province.

Your bang on.
There must be a large number of left wingers transplanted from the east that influenced this election's outcome.

[Gryphon Rider]

That's just great Gryphon Rider.  Your prosperous province will now go down hill and be a have not province.  The NDP will probably have half the population on welfare by next year.  When we elected Bob Rae as premier in the early 90's, Onatrio was a powerhouse.  After he got through with Ontario we were screwed bad.  I hope this doesn't happen to your province.

Your bang on.
There must be a large number of left wingers transplanted from the east that influenced this election's outcome.

We're looking forward to when the transfer cheques start coming our way for a change!

There were three major things in play here:

1.  The electorate wanted to punish the PCs for their arrogance and their lazy and obviously paid-for budgetary priorities.
2.  The WRP had recently imploded and hadn't demonstrated they were ready to govern.
3.  Rachel Notley surprised everyone with her performance at the leaders' debate.  People are convinced that she has the dedication, a grasp of reality (in spite of being NDP), and the force of personality required to lead the province.

I hope the doomsayers will be proven wrong.

[Woton]

Any thoughts?  Or will I hear crickets because there isn't a Clinton, Bush, or Kennedy in this race?

I'd like to think you'd hear crickets from posters here in the States...  Few know Canadian politics like a Canadian with skin in the game.

But, that probably won't happen -- and you DID ask!

Kennedy?  Ahh, the memories!

[The emperor has no clothes]

I didn't realize until just now what a historic upset this was. Saw on the news where Party A had been in power for 43 years. Your new Premier looks to be very qualified. Best wishes for the Province of Alberta's future. 

[MP]

Yes, best wishes for your future.  Let's hope they do not kill the "Goose That Laid The Golden Egg."

[..]

Oil stock value falls on her pledge to increase corporate tax.

Good start.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I wonder if you Alberta guys are starting a trend ? It looks like the crap is going to hit the fan in the UK.

[..]

The effluvia is still fanless

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/election-exit-polls-tories-projected-to-have-major-lead-over-labour-but-are-expected-to-miss-out-on-majority-10233730.html

[The emperor has no clothes]

The effluvia is still fanless

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/election-exit-polls-tories-projected-to-have-major-lead-over-labour-but-are-expected-to-miss-out-on-majority-10233730.html

Looks like the Tories kicked some major butt !

[MP]

I wonder if you Alberta guys are starting a trend ? It looks like the crap is going to hit the fan in the UK.

Looks can be deceiving

[The emperor has no clothes]

I wonder if you Alberta guys are starting a trend ? It looks like the crap is going to hit the fan in the UK.

Looks can be deceiving

Yes they can. It's funny how these pollsters get paid millions but get it completely WRONG.

[Gryphon Rider]

As mentioned above, the NDP (New Democratic Party) (Party C) won the last election, with a majority of seats in the Legislature.  Albertans wanted to punish the PCs (Progressive Conservatives) (Party A), and they got punished, earning third place in terms of number of seats.

Much has happened in Alberta politics since then, including an imminent change of government due to yesterday's decisive rejection of the NDP.

When the NDP took power they immediately took off their sheep suits, revealing that they hated Alberta's No. 1 economic engine, the energy industry, and those with religious convictions, demanding that all schools in the province, public, Catholic, or private (even Christian private), allow kids to start Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs in their schools, and forbidding schools from telling parents that their kids are participating in these clubs.  Coal is plentiful in Alberta, with approximately 50% of our electricity being fueled by it.  They cancelled long-term contracts with coal-powered generation companies, planning to shut down coal-powered generation completely, eventually with taxpayers being forced by the courts to pay out huge sums of money to the companies.  They surprised Albertans with a new carbon tax, unmentioned in their election campaign, and hired an out-of-the-province company to replace incandescent lights in people's homes with LEDs, completely at the taxpayer's expense.

Most Albertans immediately had buyer's remorse.

With their anti-industry policies, investment dollars fled to other provinces/countries, kicking industry in the nuts when it was already down due to low oil prices.  In the mean-time, as new pipelines were going through the approval process, The NDP played gentle with players (including Canada's anti-Alberta PM, Justin Trudeau) who were putting or enabling road-blocks in the way of pipeline approval.

While all this was going on, conservative-minded parties were going through the process of getting their collective act together to prevent the vote split and disillusion with their parties that allowed the NDP's victory.

A competent and experienced (federally) man, Jason Kenney, won the leadership of the PC party, running on a plan to unite the PC and Wildrose parties.  He then convinced the WR party to have a vote on unification with the PCs, which happened.  He then ran against the WR party leader, and others, for leadership of the new United Conservative Party (UCP), and won.

Yesterday in the provincial general election, the UCP won (or is presently leading, with advanced ballots still to be tabulated) 63 of 87 seats in the Legislature, with 55% of the popular vote.  The NDP won the other 24 seats in the civil-service and higher-education focused cities of Edmonton and Lethbridge.  The good thing is that the most competent (despite their ideology) NDP members retained their seats, so they should be an effective opposition, which is needed to prevent the government from becoming complacent, arrogant, and entitled.

Things are looking up for Alberta.

[Jess from VA]

Thanks for the report.  Very interesting.  And good news.   

Down here, given what we have, 3d parties remain interesting.

BUT from the conservative point of view, they are disastrous in their outcome (except maybe for very local elections, which are about the only true democratic deal we get anymore).

Boy I hate RINOs, but the alternative is always 50 times worse.  Always.

Now if we could just talk the left into 5 parties, that would be the cat's pajamas.

[Beardo]

Nice to see AB return to sanity. 

Wynne is gone, Notley is gone, one more big one to go.

Now if we could somehow convince Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto and Quebec that we’re all a bunch of hillbillies that they want nothing to do with, and get them to separate and form their own beautiful country(s), we’d be set.

[Serk]

Any chance of ya'll getting out from under the tyranny of Little Castro Jr?

[Beardo]

Any chance of ya'll getting out from under the tyranny of Little Castro Jr?

He’s currently behind the conservatives by between 3 and 10 points, depending on who paid for the poll, with an election coming in October.

He’ll paint all conservatives as uneducated redneck homophobic racist white supremacist nazi climate change denying hillbillies. Hopefully he goes the way of the last couple left wing provincial parties that played that card.

[Gryphon Rider]

Any chance of ya'll getting out from under the tyranny of Little Castro Jr?

October 21, baby, October 21.

With the SNC Lavalin scandal, Trudeau and the Liberal party will take a huge hit in this year's election.  Here's my prediction, by degree of likelihood:

PC majority government - 60%
PC minority government - 30%
Liberal minority government - 10%

[Serk]

Just don't be overly-confident of the good guys winning, be sure to vote, get your intelligent friends to vote, etc... Don't wanna see a inverse of what happened here in 2016...

[¿spoom]

Any thoughts?  Or will I hear crickets because there isn't a Clinton, Bush, or Kennedy in this race?

I'd like to think you'd hear crickets from posters here in the States...  Few know Canadian politics like a Canadian with skin in the game.

But, that probably won't happen -- and you DID ask!

Kennedy?  Ahh, the memories!

Crickets from here, because I'm not well-informed on it. I read to learn, though.

[Willow]

Gryphon Rider may get the award for the most aged post revived.  That's a four year old post that has been replied to here.   

[phideux]

Who are the Russians telling you to vote for??
 

[longrider]

Gryphon Rider like myself, was so overjoyed that the self serving Broom Hilda (Rachael Notley) was gone he couldn't help himself. 

[Bighead]

Yep another Truth deleted. I didnt speak ill of anyone here just an ordinary US citizen.  And didn’t speak ill of the wench just spoke the truth.  
How about removing the Hillbilly uneducated statement. That offends me.

[_Sheffjs_]

I have to admit I have been glued to the SNC Lavalin scandal, why I don't know however Justin Trudeau makes me ill.   

[Moonshot_1]

Not sure how you vote in Alberta, but in Chicago you can vote when you're dead.

Don't know if that helps any.

[Gryphon Rider]

Gryphon Rider may get the award for the most aged post revived.  That's a four year old post that has been replied to here.   

Well, Oss just revived one from 2013, so if I was eligible I just lost it.

Last month a member with 10 posts revived a tech thread from 2010:
http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,13658.msg1062379.html

I don't think it's terribly uncommon for new members to revive old tech threads that apply to their current problem.  I say good for them for being able to use the search function.

[Willow]

Gryphon Rider may get the award for the most aged post revived.  That's a four year old post that has been replied to here.   

Well, Oss just revived one from 2013, so if I was eligible I just lost it.

Last month a member with 10 posts revived a tech thread from 2010:
http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,13658.msg1062379.html

I don't think it's terribly uncommon for new members to revive old tech threads that apply to their current problem.  I say good for them for being able to use the search function.

LOL!  I do stand corrected.