Alberta Views Magazine

February 27: Elections Alberta announces that two recall petitions have been withdrawn (Jackie Lovely, Searle Turton) and seven have ended without a sufficient number of signatures being collected (Myles McDougall, Ric McIver, Muhammad Yaseen, Rajan Sawhney, Nolan Dyck, RJ Sigurdson and Dale Nally).

Text: 2026 Alberta Book Publishing Awards: Last Day to submit! Image: An illustrated book laying open.

There is 1 day remaining to submit titles to the 2026 #ABPubAwards! Find more details on how to submit titles here: buff.ly/kZQFTrb. Submissions close on February 27! #ABbooks

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Trump and 51st State Jokes - Quibbling with Quislings - Alberta Views When Donald Trump first started making “jokes” calling Canada the 51st state and Justin Trudeau, governor, I rolled my eyes.

I wrote this column a year ago, to mark the 3rd anniversary of Russia’s illegitimate war on Ukraine. Today, as we mark the fourth year of the Russian invasion, I wanted to reshare it, as a reminder, and as an inspiration. #Ukraine #Russia #cdnpoli #Trump #sunflowerseeds

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Today in Alberta - February 20: The province releases the questions for a referendum scheduled for October 19, 2026, with Albertans to vote on five questions relating to immigration and social services and four on constitutional reform.
#ABpoli #ABleg

Is Equalization Unfair to Alberta? - Alberta Views The equalization payment reflects a core value: ensuring all Canadians can receive normal public services without paying abnormally high taxes

Let’s clear up a common misconception: Alberta doesn’t “pay into” equalization. No province does. It’s a federal program funded by federal taxes collected from individuals and businesses paying the same tax rate across the country.
albertaviews.ca/equalization...
#ABpoli #ABleg #CdnPoli

Eric’s black and white one panel cartoon. Daniel Smith, wearing a Team USA hockey jersey with the number 5, is at a podium with a handful of notes. Podium says Neighbour Schmeighbour. Header says: Premier Smith lays out the case for her new racist nonsense. Smith, looking over her reading glasses:” if you need proof that immigrants are all sleazy and scheming opportunists, you need only look at this (Smith deliberately mispronounces Sam Mraiche’s name phonetically) guy I just learned about! Do you have any idea how much it cost to dispose of all that bleeping Tylenol??

Smith is at it again.

"MELTDOWN opens with a harrowing scene. Alone with a student on an Arctic glacier, hours from help, the student repeating 'I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die.'"

Read the review of Sarah Boon's book on @albertaviews.bsky.social: https://bit.ly/4qA2Tak

@snowhydro.bsky.social #memoir #booksky

Rag Pickers isn't bent on ambitious puffery but are instead humble—and hilarious—pieces cut from the cloth of humanity. Newton is an award-winning playwright, and his book features characters engaging with each other in a way that now, sadly, can appear old-fashioned.
albertaviews.ca/rag-pickers/

The Public Lending Right (PLR) Program It pays to have your books in Canada’s libraries! Learn more about the Public Lending Right Program

Canadian authors. The PLR program is open. Don’t forget to register your new titles.
publiclendingright.ca

Today in Alberta - Feb 13: In an earnings call, Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel tells investors that the energy infrastructure company isn't willing to take on the risk of developing a new oil pipeline from Alberta to the BC coast, citing both uncertainty and “all the other opportunities” the company sees.

Today in Alberta: In an update on class size and complexity initiative, premier Danielle Smith says her government will spend $143-million on supports to elementary schools with the highest complexity. Her plan is to deploy 476 complexity teams, made up of one teacher and two educational assistants.

Repeal could make Calgary noncompliant with the federal Housing Accelerator Fund Contribution Agreement, which aims to incentivize “city-initiated redesignations to streamline approvals to increase housing supply.”

Today in Alberta - February 6: A risk analysis from City of Calgary administration finds that if council repeals citywide rezoning, $861-million in federal funding could be impacted.

Ethics Commissioner - “Democracy Will Fail…” - Alberta Views It was an unusual time for Alberta’s ethics commissioner to table a report into a premier’s impropriety. Just two weeks before Election Day...

Premier Danielle Smith says her government will withhold funding to support new judicial appointments to the Alberta Court of King’s Bench. (This article is from 2024 but seems relevant given the recent headlines) albertaviews.ca/democracy-wi...
#ABPoli #ABleg

Today in Alberta-Feb 3: In a public letter addressed to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Premier Danielle Smith says her government will withhold funding to support new judicial appointments to the Alberta Court of King’s Bench unless the province is given more input on who is chosen.
#ABpoli #ABleg

The cover of Standing in the footprints of Beasts by Danica Klewchuk. Review by Jessica Waite

"We meet young Danica when she’s not yet 10, living in rural northern Alberta—a landscape punctuated by oilfield towns, graveyards and highways."

albertaviews.ca/standing-in-...
#BookSky @newestpress.bsky.social

The cover of Meltdown by Sarah Boon. Book Review by Annie Prud'Homme-Généreux

"Sarah Boon and a student alone on an Arctic glacier, hours from help, the student repeating “I don’t want to die.” In such remote places a small misstep can rapidly become life threatening."
albertaviews.ca/meltdown-sar...
#Booksky @ualbertapress.bsky.social @snowhydro.bsky.social

Recall campaign for Demetrios Nicolaides ends. - Alberta Views Following premier Danielle Smith's comments that she wishes she could “direct the judges,” chief justices release a rare joint statement.

This comes a day after premier Smith said her government stands for a “strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada,” and Jeff Rath, a lawyer for Stay Free Alberta, a group organizing a separation petition, claimed members of the UCP caucus have signed the petition. albertaviews.ca/jan26-30

Today in Alberta - January 30: Deputy opposition leader Rakhi Pancholi says no UCP or independent MLA has signed the letter the NDP issued on Monday denouncing separatism.
#ABpoli #ABleg

Forever Canadian - Alberta Views The “Forever Canadian” initiative was created by Thomas Lukaszuk. An anti-separatist initiative, that gathered 456,388 signatures.

So does ours!
albertaviews.ca/forever-cana...

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The March issue of Alberta Views. "Protecting the Local: Maybe interprovincial trade barriers aren't all bad." a glass of beer with various labels from local breweries.

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"The craft beer industry in Alberta, benefited from interprovincial trade barriers to lower tax rates at a critical stage of its development, which encouraged new breweries to start up in communities across the province."
#ABpoli #ABLeg

The Cover of "Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre" by Mark Bourrie. Review by Marc D. Froese

Mark Bourrie’s Ripper takes Poilievre seriously. Instead of focusing on his smarm and snark, his thin skin and casual cruelty, Bourrie composed an urgent narrative about creeping right-wing authoritarianism.
albertaviews.ca/ripper-pierre-poilievre
@biblioasis.bsky.social #ABpoli #BookSky

Keep warm with great reads and a great excuse to stay inside! Grab a blanket and borrow an amazing read from @durvile-shyba.bsky.social, @ucalgarypress.bsky.social, @albertaviews.bsky.social, @renegadeartsent.bsky.social, @tychebooks.bsky.social, @ualberta.bsky.social and more! buff.ly/JsqyvsJ

Today in Alberta - Jan 21: The campaign to recall Calgary-Bow MLA Demetrios Nicolaides comes to an end. Organizer Jenny Yeremiy says the campaign collected around 6,500 of the 16,006 signatures required to force a constituency-wide vote on whether Nicolaides should lose his legislative seat.
#ABpoli

The Case for Sticking Around - Alberta Views I’m calling on us to do something un-Canadian: and stand up for the country we love—and reject the idea of a sovereign Alberta

The first two times I posted this essay about why I am a proud Canadian, and a proud Albertan, so many people tried to read it all at once that it crashed the @albertaviews.bsky.social website! But in light of recent news, I felt compelled to post it again. #Alberta #cdnpoli #abpoli #ableg #Canada

The Politics of Polling - Alberta Views In Alberta we’ll see polling used by separatists and by their federalist opponents. How useful is polling for providing accurate insights?

Within days of each other, three polls were released on the topic of separation. Pollara showed support for separating at 24%. Leger found it was a whopping 41%. Then “Remainers” could breathe a sigh of relief. An Abacus poll showed only 18%.
albertaviews.ca/polling-poli...
#ABpoli #CDNpoli