On the Alberta Leadership debate

The following post was written by an Alberta resident and political pundit, familiar with the candidates and issues of that province and this race. Thank you sir for sending this in!

On May 18, 2023, the Alberta debate between Premier Danielle Smith and Opposition Leader Rachel Notley took place.

The debate was moderated by CTV News and Global News. The moderation was done reasonably fairly, and even the panel that had been assembled to pose the questions was presented quite well as attended by Post Media, City News and CBC Alberta.

The participant’s apparel was interesting in that Premier Smith wore her party’s colours – blue, while Leader Notley wore Smith’s colours … blue! Hmmm! During the debate, Notley addressed her remarks directly at Smith, seemingly scolding Smith, all the while Smith directly connected to her audience through the cameral lens, presenting genuine smiles as she talked about Alberta and the prospects for a bright future.

It was clear from the outset that Rachel Notley was on the defence. On several occasions, questions were asking for specific answers. Smith gave those, while Notley stumbled around saying, “That was a good question” and paraphrased, “We need to look at ways to improve on the problem posed.” In other words, no real answer.

At times, the exchange got into mudslinging, with accusations of law breaking coming from Notley, and levelled at Smith. It should be noted that there is no evidence of breaking the law, or any charges even being contemplated. What is clear is that CBC and others propagated misleading information, something they seem to have a penchant for doing.

There was the normal promulgation and denial of numbers, as comparisons were made regarding job losses and revenue losses during Notley’s reign, and the job returns upon the UCP regaining leadership. What is clear, is that financial conditions deteriorated considerably across many industries including the oil and gas industry as well as support sectors while Notley was in power.

Both candidates made their fair share of projections into the future including both individuals making strong statements about NOT having medical patients being charged for doctor’s visits. This has been a major campaign issue to-date. Varied methods of revenue allocation have been discussion topics, and speculative thoughts have somehow been converted into promises going forward. Reality seems to be on another planet, especially whenever Notley presents her personal and party views.

But Smith, perhaps came up with the best line of the night when she said about Notley, “She doesn’t want to run on her record. And the reason she doesn’t want to run on her record is, it was an absolute disaster!” Record debts had been realized, and the major downturn in economy ultimately cost Notley her position as Premier.

It is questionable whether the hardliners on either side might be convinced otherwise, but a significant part of the fence-sitters might be swayed one way or another.

In the end, it will be a debate worth the record, to evaluate whether promises come true.