AB Today – Daily Report August 25, 2020

Quotation of the day

“With [Jason] Kenney and [Andrew] Scheer, it was clear that Scheer was ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ the little brother and Kenney dominated that relationship.”

Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt tells AB Today Erin O’Toole ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ has the challenge of having to make a name for himself as CPC leader.

Today in AB

On the schedule The swearing-in ceremony for Alberta’s first-ever Muslim lieutenant-governor, Salma Lakhani, ​ ​ ​ ​ will take place on Wednesday in the legislature.

Finance Minister Travis Toews’ economic update to the legislative assembly happens on ​ ​ Thursday.

O’Toole stresses need for national unity in phone call with Trudeau With the election of Erin O’Toole as the Conservative Party of Canada’s new leader, Premier ​ ​ Jason Kenney has a powerful new ally in Ottawa. ​

In Monday’s inaugural call between O’Toole and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the newly ​ ​ minted CPC leader raised the issue of western alienation and warned that national unity must be addressed in the PM’s upcoming throne speech next month.

These were warm words to Kenney — who backed O’Toole and was the only premier to publicly endorse a CPC leadership candidate.

“Albertans remember that Mr. Trudeau openly campaigned against this province and its largest industry in the last election,” Kenney said. ​ ​

In an interview with AB Today, Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt ​ ​ ​ said O’Toole’s time and effort winning over Alberta Tories helped win him the tight race.

“The signalling Kenney did also help him with conservatives elsewhere,” Bratt said.

Bratt told AB Today he will be watching O’Toole to see whether the new CPC leader can be his ​ ​ own man.

“With Kenney and [Andrew] Scheer, it was clear that Scheer was the little brother and Kenney ​ ​ dominated that relationship,” Bratt said.

O’Toole platform boasts many Alberta-friendly planks O’Toole’s “true blue” platform promised a suite of policies that align with Premier Kenney’s, ​ ​ including pledges to repeal Bill C-69, the so-called “no more pipelines bill”; pass a national ​ ​ ​ ​ strategic pipelines act; scrap the tanker ban; and create a federal liquefied natural gas strategy.

When it comes to the equalization formula, O’Toole is likely to tinker with it, rather than scrap it altogether, according to Bratt. One campaign plank pledged to “stop the discrimination against Alberta in the Fiscal Stabilization Program.”

The new CPC leader also campaigned on criminalizing rail blockades, a move that piggybacks off the UCP government’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act; enacting a federal version of ​ ​ Clare’s Law, also passed by the UCP; and tackling rural crime.

Carbon tax remains a political football Bratt said O’Toole’s opposition to the Liberal’s carbon tax could spell trouble in the next general election.

Following Andrew Scheer’s losing anti-carbon-tax platform, the CPC must now come up with a ​ ​ credible climate policy that won't alienate environmentally minded voters or Albertans tied to the oil and gas industry, per Bratt.

“They need to win suburban Vancouver, suburban Toronto,” Bratt said.

O’Toole solidified his title as the first CPC captain to run from an Ontario riding. That could give the Durham MP a leg up when it comes to gaining steam in vote-rich Ontario, especially the

905. (He also led the first ballot in Quebec, another province that can make or break federal elections.)

Wexit leader ramping up candidates O’Toole is better positioned than his leadership rivals were to fend off Alberta’s fractious separatist movement, Bratt stated, but must address the Fair Deal panel’s recommendations while balancing other national interests.

Bratt said that O’Toole can blunt support for Wexit more effectively than his leadership rival Peter MacKay would have. ​

“There would have been an exodus of the party,” he said. “MacKay was deeply disliked here.”

Federal Wexit interim leader and former MP Jay Hill told CBC’s West of Centre podcast he is ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ lining up candidates in the event of a snap federal election, but conceded the party is starting from “below ground zero.”

Hill cast a ballot in the CPC in the leadership race before forfeiting his membership to his former party.

Today’s events

August 25 at 11 a.m. — Drayton Valley ​ The provincial and federal governments will make a joint announcement for projects in Drayton Valley and the central Alberta area at the Clean Energy Technology Centre in Drayton Valley.

Upcoming events August 27 at 2 p.m. — Edmonton ​ Hold My Hand Alberta is holding a rally on the legislature grounds to call for a safer return to school for children with disabilities.

Topics of conversation

● Alberta reported 83 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, 106 on Saturday and 69 on ​ ​ Sunday. The province now has 1,171 active cases, an increase of 87 from Friday. ○ Four more people died, bringing the provincial death toll to 234. ○ As of Monday afternoon, there were 45 people hospitalized (up two), including nine in intensive care. ○ Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said the growth in cases in ​ ​ Edmonton is linked to gatherings, such as prayer meetings, funerals, and friend and family events. She warned young adults to keep their social circles small.

○ Dr. Hinshaw also advised anyone planning to send children back to in-person classes to be extra vigilant if they will be in contact with elderly or at-risk relatives. ○ There are currently 77 cases linked to the Bible Pentecostal Church in Edmonton. ○ The Lilydale chicken-processing facility in Calgary has 13 cases. ○ Three staff members of HealthLink, the call centre for Alberta Health Services, have tested positive and contact tracing is underway.

● The Alberta Wilderness Association is warning the province’s “optimization” plan for parks could mean a loss of five per cent of grasslands — home to 75 per cent of the province’s at-risk species. ○ The AWA said the loss of habitat in the foothills, coupled with the repeal of protected areas in Alberta’s revised coal policy, could pose a threat to grizzly bears and westslope cutthroat trout. ○ The government’s budget promised to increase protected lands from 14.9 per cent of the province to 17 per cent by 2021.

● Residential construction has been improving, although not to pre-pandemic levels. ○ Seasonally adjusted construction was up 25.9 per cent in May and 0.8 per cent in June, but remained down 5.6 per cent from February, according to ATB Economics.

News briefs

NDP, ATA says crowded classrooms fault of Alberta Education ● Linda Coulthard, the grandmother of a kindergarten student, said her granddaughter’s ​ class in September will have 30 students, with another group of 30 students using the same room in the afternoon. ○ “Even in normal times, that would be ridiculous, but today, during a pandemic, it’s total insanity,” Coulthard said in an NDP news release. ○ NDP Education critic Sarah Hoffman said it is not the fault of the principal or ​ ​ school district that class sizes are ballooning. ○ “They are doing the best they can with the resources that Adriana LaGrange ​ decides to give them. More resources would mean smaller classes … it’s as simple as that,” Hoffman charged.

Funding announcements

Alberta Health ● Health Minister Tyler Shandro announced $15 million for a clinical trial of CAR T-cell ​ ​ therapy for the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma. The trial will be conducted at the

Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Alberta Children’s Hospital and Cross Cancer Institute, with the Stollery Children's Hospital joining by 2023.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ● Ten new four-bedroom homes will be built south of Cold Lake, thanks to a partnership between Ottawa and Alberta’s Indigenous Relations and Seniors and Housing ministries. The bilateral agreement will provide $2.91 million; a land contribution comes from the Elizabeth Métis Settlement.