AB Today – Election Report March 22, 2019 Quotation of the day “I love the smell of freedom in the morning.” Freedom Conservative Party Leader Derek Fildebrandt at the launch of his party’s first platform ​ ​ announcement. Day 4: Today on the campaign trail On the schedule The spring election will be held on April 16. Advanced polling will take place between April 9 and April 13. Candidate nominations close on March 29. Notley campaign NDP Leader Rachel Notley’s first campaign stop yesterday was at a Lethbridge seniors home. ​ ​ The premier was flanked by health care providers and NDP candidates Shannon Phillips ​ ​ ​ (Lethbridge—West), Maria Fitzpatrick (Lethbridge—East), Kirby Smith (Cardston—Siksika) ​ ​ ​ ​ and Laura Ross-Giroux (Taber—Warner). Phillips and Fitzpatrick are incumbents, and Phillips ​ ​ has served as environment minister in government. Notley had a photo op with Fitzpatrick in Lethbridge before busing up to Calgary for a photo op and a speech in Calgary—East, the riding held by the NDP before MLA Robyn Luff crossed the ​ ​ floor to sit as an Independent. Cesar Cala is running for the NDP. ​ ​ On Friday, Notley will be in Calgary for most of the day, before returning to Edmonton for a speech in the newly-created riding of Edmonton—Meadows, the riding where NDP candidate Jasvir Singh Deol defeated incumbent NDP MLA Denise Woolard. ​ ​ ​ It is also the riding where UCP Leader Jason Kenney used his authority to appoint Len ​ ​ ​ Rhodes as a candidate, angering some party members, most publicly fellow candidate ​ Arundeep Singh Sandhu. Kenney campaign Sporting mismatched socks in support of World Down Syndrome Day, UCP Leader Jason ​ ​ ​ Kenney made a stop at the Nanton Bomber Command Museum. He also slammed NDP Leader ​ Rachel Notley’s record on pipelines on Scotsman’s Hill in Calgary ahead of a campaign rally in ​ the city. On Friday, Kenney will be on refinery row east of Edmonton to give details about his anti-anti-oilsands platform. Mandel campaign Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel began the day in Edmonton before making a road trip ​ ​ down to Calgary where he held a campaign rally at the Bridgeland Plaza. On Friday, Mandel will make a dental health announcement at a water treatment plant in Calgary and hold a meet and greet at the Uplands Recreation Centre in Calgary—Edgemont. Khan campaign Alberta Liberal Party Leader David Khan stuck close to home door knocking and making calls ​ ​ from his campaign headquarters Thursday. He also released his party’s Indigenous policy from his Calgary—Mountain View campaign office. Khan practices Indigenous law in his day job as a lawyer. On Friday Khan will unveil the Liberal plan to get pipelines built. Today’s events March 22 at 10:30 a.m. – Calgary ​ NDP Leader Rachel Notley will make an announcement at Mount Pleasant View Point. ​ ​ March 22 at 11 a.m. – Strathcona County ​ UCP Leader Jason Kenney will be at the Trans Mountain Edmonton Terminal to announce ​ ​ details on the UCP’s “Fight Back Strategy” to combat “foreign anti-oil special interests.” March 22 at 11 a.m. – Calgary ​ Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel will make a dental health announcement at the ​ ​ Glenmore Water Plant. March 22 at 11 a.m. – Calgary ​ Alberta Liberal Party Leader David Khan will announce his party’s plan to get a pipeline built. ​ ​ March 22 at 6:15 p.m. – Edmonton ​ NDP Leader Rachel Notley will give a speech at the NDP’s Edmonton—Meadows campaign ​ ​ office where Jasvir Deol is running. ​ ​ Weekend events March 23 at 9 a.m. – Bashaw ​ UCP candidate for Camrose Jackie Lovely will host a $30 breakfast fundraiser at Wong’s ​ ​ restaurant. March 23 at 7 p.m. – Calgary ​ Incumbent NDP MLA Deborah Drever will host a wine and cheese fundraiser at a private ​ ​ residence. Topics of conversation ● With the Alberta election campaign now underway, Global News and the CBC are ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ running fact-check features. Global is welcoming viewer submissions, while CBC is focusing on fact-checking speeches. ○ On its first day of the speech fact-checking, CBC found three “muddy” claims from NDP Leader Rachel Notley and one “muddy” claim from UCP Leader ​ ​ Jason Kenney. ● CBC launched a poll tracker, with early indicators showing a 99 per cent chance the ​ ​ UCP will win the most seats. In recent polling, both the NDP and UCP have gained in popularity, while smaller parties have taken a slight hit. ● University of Calgary political science professor Melanee Thomas told 660 News that ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ the Alberta Liberals, Alberta Party and Freedom Conservative Party — whose parties collectively held five seats at the dissolution of the legislature — could be totally wiped out in this election, with the main race raging between the UCP and NDP. ● The Alberta Party became the first registered party to hit a full slate of 87 nominated candidates on Wednesday. Parties have until March 29 to nominate candidates. ○ Freedom Conservative Party Leader Derek Fildebrandt estimates the party will ​ ​ have “30-odd” candidates, as per CBC. ​ ​ ● Joanne Gui, Alberta Party candidate for Calgary—Edgemont, had one of her campaign ​ signs vandalized with racial slurs near a school and community centre in her riding on Thursday, according to Karen McPherson, the outgoing Alberta Party MLA for ​ ​ Calgary—Mackay—Nose Hill. The vandalism occurred on the International Day to End ​ Racism. ​ ○ Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel issued a statement on the graffiti: “This is ​ ​ a despicable and cowardly act. There is absolutely no place in today’s Alberta for this kind of hatred, racism and intolerance. Over the past couple weeks, we have seen how hateful speech can yield hateful action. Intolerance needs to be stamped out.” ○ UCP Leader Jason Kenney tweeted a denouncement: “Sign vandalism is ​ ​ ​ unfortunately not uncommon in campaigns, but this one is especially disgusting. This bigotry has no place in our Alberta.” ● UCP Leader Jason Kenney’s past track record of opposing LGBTQ rights took a ​ ​ one-two punch on Thursday with a piece in Sprawl Calgary, as well as the launch of a ​ ​ 10-minute attack ad produced by the NDP. ○ The Sprawl article, titled “Part 1: The Young Zealot”, chronicles Kenney’s time in ​ ​ San Francisco, where he was an anti-abortion activist. ○ The NDP’s video, which also looks at earlier days in Kenney’s life, highlighted ​ ​ footage of the UCP leader alluding to his role in an ordinance that successfully banned hospital spousal visitation rights for gay men, and which critics say effectively barred many from seeing their partners who died of AIDS and other ailments. The video was premiered to a group of LGBTQ Albertans, including former Edmonton councillor Michael Phair. ​ ○ On the UCP’s Factcheckalberta.com website, Kenney gave his clearest response ​ ​ yet about his beliefs, saying that he no longer stands by his words from that time period. But he stopped short of apologizing. ● The Edmonton and Calgary Chambers of Commerce issued a joint news release on ​ ​ Thursday, calling on provincial politicians to spell out what they would do for businesses. ○ “Many Edmonton businesses have been pushed to the breaking point,” said Edmonton Chamber president and CEO Janet Riopel. “While economic ​ ​ forecasters and politicians keep saying the economic downturn is behind us, sadly that is not what we are hearing from our members. We talk to business owners and operators every day and they tell us that the struggle continues.” ○ “Once known as a province where risks were often rewarded, many investors now see Alberta as too risky,” said Sandip Lalli, president and CEO of the ​ ​ Calgary chamber. “As a result, companies are investing outside of Alberta, capital budgets are shrinking and sadly, businesses are closing, and people are losing their jobs.” ● Alberta’s most infamous session paper, a hamburger encased in resin tabled by MLA Clarence Copithorne in protest of the cafeteria food in the legislature, turns 50 on ​ March 27. ○ The Legislative Assembly of Alberta hosted a sold-out birthday party and tour with burger-shaped cake on Thursday. ○ The burger’s permanent home is in Alberta’s Legislature Library. News from the campaign trail NDP promises 2,000 more long-term care beds NDP Leader Rachel Notley announced she will add 2,000 more long-term care beds if voters ​ ​ give her party another mandate. Notley made the $170-million promise at a Lethbridge seniors home. In the first term of the NDP government, the province added 2,100 long-term care and dementia beds. The UCP criticized the announcement, stating 1,758 of the 2,000 beds opened since 2015 were because of the PC government-era program where private firms were used. UCP gives more specifics on its plan to fight Trudeau Speaking outdoors on a hill with Calgary’s downtown in the background, UCP Leader Jason ​ Kenney again charted a course to fight back against Ottawa, specifically Prime Minister Justin ​ ​ ​ ​ Trudeau. Kenney said if Bill C-69 becomes law and the UCP forms government, he will direct Alberta’s ​ ​ attorney general to launch a constitutional challenge against it. Secondly, he threatened the use of Bill 12, Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act — ​ ​ also known as the “turn off the taps” legislation. Premier Rachel Notley’s passed the legislation ​ ​ in May 2018 to punish B.C., but never enacted it. The B.C. government filed a statement of claim in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in retaliation to the bill. Third, Kenney promised to continue his work to build an “interprovincial coalition” of provinces that support the oil and gas industry. He said he already has premiers in the Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan on board. Finally, the UCP leader would “demand a fair deal for Alberta” by bringing in a referendum to remove equalization payments on October 18, 2021, if Bill C-69 is enacted.