I am a little late in commenting on the defeat of Rachel Notley's government in Alberta but then again this comment really does not have a time limit because I am not going to comment on the actual defeat.
Instead what I will be commenting on is Ms. Notley's similar rise and fall to Bob Rae's NDP government in Ontario in the 1990s. Both were surprising and unlikely victories and both of them failed to win a second mandate.
Not a profound observation but what I find really interesting about both is how each governed. In both cases they were elected because the electorate was really fed up with the usual governing parties and in both cases the two victorious NDPs went on to govern just like the usual governing parties. They were given historical mandates and instead of governing like NDPs they governed like parties they defeated.
Both Bob Rae and Rachel Notley did enact policies and laws that were near and dear to the NDP but they only did so around the edges. With regard to the fundamental way in which Ontario and Alberta were governed neither of them attempted to change it. Instead, Bob Rae suddenly become concerned with deficits and did all sort of things to attempt to bring it down, during a recession, truly an impossible task. Which of course set him up for failure. Rachel Notley became just as obsessed with the oil industry and pipelines as the previous Alberta government despite the fact that their troubles were not hurting the overall economic health of her province.
In both case they could have pursued truly different ways of dealing with the issues facing their provinces and in both cases they just did what their opponents would have done.
I understand the reason why. Governments get elected to get elected again. So, they try not to rock the boat. However, in these two cases they should have known that their chances of being reelected were slim out of the gate and acted accordingly.
With that in mind both could have taken more risks and pursued policies that would have allowed them to make their marks on their provinces. Certainly they would have probably still lost their second elections but they probably would not just be remembered as lessons of why you should not elect NDP governments.
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And per your earlier post on fake news: If Rachel Notley was Bob Raed, Justin Trudeau was Hillary Clintoned. I can't even say Dion'ed or Ignatieffed because at least he won an initial mandate. More like a combination Hillary Clintoned and Jimmy Cartered, as American-style reality-distortion politics infects the north.
The irrational hatred ginned up against this man in his home country (he is beloved internationally) over incoherent conspiracy theories, manufactured nontroversies (essentially making a volcano out of a mole hill), and inexplicable personal venom, is absolutely frightening. It's practically a stalker obsession. Diana in the tunnel.
Now we see Kenney and the rest of his Kudatah Klepto Klan making a cross-country tour to help Scheer, finishing the job of character assassination and riling up the rubes that already toppled Notley.
What a sad state of affairs. "The West wants in" must be Canada's version of "the South will rise again."
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