countdown till ucp has majority government in alberta

[Stg2Suby]

As much as it pains me to say I believe the NDP will get a second term.... they will lose some seats but when it all comes out in the wash we will be stuck with Notley for another term.

- Jason Kenney was not the right choice for UCP leader, many folks (myself included) do not trust him
- This will split the vote between the Alberta Party and the UCP.

Towards the end of her term Notley will see progress on the TMP, higher oil prices and a rebound in the economy and comfortable citizens do not want to rock the boat. The mishandling of Bill 6, the delay in royalty structure and failure of other pipelines will be muted. The building of new schools, infrastructure, hospitals etc. will be front and centre in their campaign. They have a lot of the union vote, non-profit vote and social champions vote. I believe it will be enough.

As far as taxes go - they are not the issue, how they are spent is the issue. Whether it be a Carbon tax, sales tax, sin tax, or income tax we do not currently have the tax revenue to sustain our government departments and infrastructure. I hate paying out over $0.60 of every dollar I make but I also hate bad roads, inadequate health care, large class sizes and overall poor government services.

I don't have all the answers but anyone who wants to reduce taxes and government spending also has to decide what sacrifices are acceptable to balance the books. Federally it pisses me off to see buckets of money given to other countries and special interest groups, but as much as I HATE Trudeau he is not the first and won't be the last, those programs have been in place for decades. The folks who complain about old run down hospitals and schools are the same folks who want a huge reduction in taxes and fees..... which is it?

Gas tax should go directly to roads & infrastructure same with vehicle registration for on-highway vehicles, off highway should go to trail system maintenance. Charge me a fee or deductible for healthcare rather than increasing my personal tax to general revenue, at least then I know where it's going. Tax the chit out of non-necessity items at least then I have a choice but I have no choice when it comes to natural gas, food, fuel, utilities, etc....

Fawk, my blood pressure is up now.

Don't forget how they've artificially "capped" consumer electricity rates at 6.8/kwh till 2021, effectively shielding the pending power price fiasco from the public spotlight. Basically anything over 6.8/kwh the government is covering out of tax revenue. Should be a hell of a surprise in 2021 when the consumer suddenly has to absorb full rates associated with the knee-jerk cancellation of coal generation.

 

[Bogger]

Bogger makes some excellent points. Too many people think the NDP has already been defeated in Alberta not realizing how much support they still have. True, that support is from people who don't count (joking, sort of), but it's a lot of support non the less.

What I disagree with is that the money for improvements to education and health care is not already there (I agree that $$$mismanagement is an issue). These two departments are unnecessarily extremely top heavy. You'd be surprised at how much better these areas can and would be if we were able to trim even 20% of the fat. Ralph saw this but left it up to the fat to cut itself - obviously that's not going to happen.

I agree that there needs to be better financial management and transparency... I just don't have all the answers. Some of the stuff that would make an immediate impact is the whole "spend it or lose it next year" mentality. I know folks who work in healthcare supply and there busiest times are closing in on fiscal year end, no incentive for cost savings but god forbid you do not spend your entire budget, if you don't need it this year then you don't need it next year - it's a stupid thought process. I suspect most government departments operate the same way - I'd guess that revamping the budgeting process alone would result in the 20% savings your looking for.

 

[Bogger]

Don't forget how they've artificially "capped" consumer electricity rates at 6.8/kwh till 2021, effectively shielding the pending power price fiasco from the public spotlight. Basically anything over 6.8/kwh the government is covering out of tax revenue. Should be a hell of a surprise in 2021 when the consumer suddenly has to absorb full rates associated with the knee-jerk cancellation of coal generation.

Yup, the real benefactors from the carbon tax are the facility operators... Electricity producers saw the writing on the wall and were planning on converting all current coal fired generators over to natural gas at the end of their useful life.... last one would be converted by 2050. Instead the government has imposed a carbon tax and filtering that $$$$ through to the producers so they can fast track their upgrading schedules on the taxpayers dime - Rightly so I might add, it is irresponsible for the government to impose a deadline on a publicly traded facility which upsets the current business plan, for this the corporations must be compensated OR extend the deadline to 2050 which lines up with the producers previous business plan.

 

[Cdnfireman]

As much as it pains me to say I believe the NDP will get a second term.... they will lose some seats but when it all comes out in the wash we will be stuck with Notley for another term.

- Jason Kenney was not the right choice for UCP leader, many folks (myself included) do not trust him
- This will split the vote between the Alberta Party and the UCP.

Towards the end of her term Notley will see progress on the TMP, higher oil prices and a rebound in the economy and comfortable citizens do not want to rock the boat. The mishandling of Bill 6, the delay in royalty structure and failure of other pipelines will be muted. The building of new schools, infrastructure, hospitals etc. will be front and centre in their campaign. They have a lot of the union vote, non-profit vote and social champions vote. I believe it will be enough.

As far as taxes go - they are not the issue, how they are spent is the issue. Whether it be a Carbon tax, sales tax, sin tax, or income tax we do not currently have the tax revenue to sustain our government departments and infrastructure. I hate paying out over $0.60 of every dollar I make but I also hate bad roads, inadequate health care, large class sizes and overall poor government services.

I don't have all the answers but anyone who wants to reduce taxes and government spending also has to decide what sacrifices are acceptable to balance the books. Federally it pisses me off to see buckets of money given to other countries and special interest groups, but as much as I HATE Trudeau he is not the first and won't be the last, those programs have been in place for decades. The folks who complain about old run down hospitals and schools are the same folks who want a huge reduction in taxes and fees..... which is it?

Gas tax should go directly to roads & infrastructure same with vehicle registration for on-highway vehicles, off highway should go to trail system maintenance. Charge me a fee or deductible for healthcare rather than increasing my personal tax to general revenue, at least then I know where it's going. Tax the chit out of non-necessity items at least then I have a choice but I have no choice when it comes to natural gas, food, fuel, utilities, etc....

Fawk, my blood pressure is up now.

I have to disagree. The NDP is gonna be toast. The vote splitting that occurred last election won’t happen this time because there is no second right wing party to split it between. The Alberta party is a localized rump party that nobody is gonna pay any attention to. Mandel might get some votes in Edmonton from some red Tories that can’t stand Jason kenney but that’s about it. Albertans have learned their lesson on protest voting. Ain’t gonna happen again.

 

[crashidy]

I think this is the best post in this thread and agree 100%.

As much as it pains me to say I believe the NDP will get a second term.... they will lose some seats but when it all comes out in the wash we will be stuck with Notley for another term.

- Jason Kenney was not the right choice for UCP leader, many folks (myself included) do not trust him
- This will split the vote between the Alberta Party and the UCP.

Towards the end of her term Notley will see progress on the TMP, higher oil prices and a rebound in the economy and comfortable citizens do not want to rock the boat. The mishandling of Bill 6, the delay in royalty structure and failure of other pipelines will be muted. The building of new schools, infrastructure, hospitals etc. will be front and centre in their campaign. They have a lot of the union vote, non-profit vote and social champions vote. I believe it will be enough.

As far as taxes go - they are not the issue, how they are spent is the issue. Whether it be a Carbon tax, sales tax, sin tax, or income tax we do not currently have the tax revenue to sustain our government departments and infrastructure. I hate paying out over $0.60 of every dollar I make but I also hate bad roads, inadequate health care, large class sizes and overall poor government services.

I don't have all the answers but anyone who wants to reduce taxes and government spending also has to decide what sacrifices are acceptable to balance the books. Federally it pisses me off to see buckets of money given to other countries and special interest groups, but as much as I HATE Trudeau he is not the first and won't be the last, those programs have been in place for decades. The folks who complain about old run down hospitals and schools are the same folks who want a huge reduction in taxes and fees..... which is it?

Gas tax should go directly to roads & infrastructure same with vehicle registration for on-highway vehicles, off highway should go to trail system maintenance. Charge me a fee or deductible for healthcare rather than increasing my personal tax to general revenue, at least then I know where it's going. Tax the chit out of non-necessity items at least then I have a choice but I have no choice when it comes to natural gas, food, fuel, utilities, etc....

Fawk, my blood pressure is up now.

 

[Bogger]

I have to disagree. The NDP is gonna be toast. The vote splitting that occurred last election won’t happen this time because there is no second right wing party to split it between. The Alberta party is a localized rump party that nobody is gonna pay any attention to. Mandel might get some votes in Edmonton from some red Tories that can’t stand Jason kenney but that’s about it. Albertans have learned their lesson on protest voting. Ain’t gonna happen again.

I hope you are right unfortunately I do not share your confidence in the general public.

 

[Summitric]

But you have to remember, the ndp only had 36% of the popular vote.... And all the polls have shown they dropped to a low of 27% currently, which are the diehard ndp fanatic ideologists.... Ndp will be gone, and i'd even be surprised if calgary didn't lose all their ndp support and edmonton with only notley and maybe one other stronghold in the edmonton region.... I know several of the previous ndpee voters that have switched sides, and now know better

 

[Mike270412]

Bogger for premier.

 

[Bogger]

Bogger for premier.

Yah I can just imagine the dirt that any opposition could conger up on me with a little internet sleuthing, no thanks

Besides I could not manage in such a corrupt system without losing my chit.

 

[TylerG]

But you have to remember, the ndp only had 36% of the popular vote.... And all the polls have shown they dropped to a low of 27% currently, which are the diehard ndp fanatic ideologists.... Ndp will be gone, and i'd even be surprised if calgary didn't lose all their ndp support and edmonton with only notley and maybe one other stronghold in the edmonton region.... I know several of the previous ndpee voters that have switched sides, and now know better

At the same time there are lots of the younger generation who feel the NDP are doing great things and will vote for them again. Some of these people lived on ei for at least a year with three young children..... Lost vehicles to the bank and almost lost the roof over their head.... But hey.... It's not the government's fault

 

[ferniesnow]

So is it 324 days to go??????????

 

[imdoo'n]

323 days left to go

 

[ferniesnow]

https://fncd.net/v?id=GGZSO5A

Just gotta keep this close................

https://fncd.net/v?id=GGZSO5A

 

[retiredpop]

At the same time there are lots of the younger generation who feel the NDP are doing great things and will vote for them again. Some of these people lived on ei for at least a year with three young children..... Lost vehicles to the bank and almost lost the roof over their head.... But hey.... It's not the government's fault

A lot of the younger generation get their advice and information from their 'friends' on social media. They don't think for themselves but go along with the crowd. If their people say the NDP is doing the best they can considering the circumstances then they believe it.

NDP has ensured they will continue to get votes from the "users" of their socialistic programs. If they get $25 day care will they vote against NDP? ...not likely. It doesn't matter that they will pay for other people's children for the rest of their lives. It's all about the short term.

There are also a lot of the younger generation who think a carbon tax will put an end to climate change. Notley pushes this agenda all the time. No mention that the climate changed all by itself for thousands of years with ice ages, tropical ages and everything in between.

 

[fargineyesore]

What's this BS about "I don't trust Jason Kenney". So because of that people are going to vote for the NDP or Alberta Party???

You gotta be out of your mind. Unbelievable.

 

[skegpro]

Blows my mind's that 29% in fort Mac voted notley.

She basically withheld funding to fights the fire untill downtown was on fire.

 

[DaveB]

Blows my mind's that 29% in fort Mac voted notley.

She basically withheld funding to fights the fire untill downtown was on fire.

There's a reserve in that riding, no?

 

[catalac]

Blows my mind's that 29% in fort Mac voted notley.

She basically withheld funding to fights the fire untill downtown was on fire.

If if you look at elections alberta they show the votes by polling station in the region, ft chip, Conklin and a couple others were all Ndp, likely based on local indigenous vote.

 

[imdoo'n]

Glad to see he won, hopefully he willhave some say on getting this province back on track

https://rdnewsnow.com/article/591803/dreeshen-wins-innisfail-sylvan-lake-election

 

[Bogger]

What's this BS about "I don't trust Jason Kenney". So because of that people are going to vote for the NDP or Alberta Party???

You gotta be out of your mind. Unbelievable.

Never said I was gonna vote NDP or Alberta party, just pointing out that Kenney is viewed by many as a career politician who can not be trusted, most of his career has been spent in the inner workings of the federal government. That said much of that time was spent working with Harper whom I believe was the best PM we've had in my adult life. In my opinion Kenney comes across as slimy, I have a close friend who is very involved in the UCP and Politics in general who knows Kenney personally and fully supports him, for this reason I feel more comfortable supporting the UCP and likely would have anyhow because no matter who is running the show it is by far the best available option.

But that's just me, I know of many who will be voting Alberta Party because of the UCP leadership selection.... The Politically involved wanted Kenney because of his refinement and connections, a lot of the "Average Joe's" wanted to see Brian Jean get the leadership.