Albertan Election

Sometimes I feel sad - not depressed - just sad. We all have feelings of sadness on occasion but I am most aware of that feeling when, during my morning perusal of the news, I am once again reminded of how incredibly naive or gullible are my fellow Canadians - especially around election time. One would think that after a lifetime of voting, most if not all voting Canadians would stop believing in the continual lies, misrepresentation of the truth, wild exaggerations and outright impossible-to-deliver-on promises made to us by the want-to-be leaders of our provinces/country.

For example - something possibly quite frightening is happening in Alberta. Within a week or so, Albertans will go to the polls and vote for a new provincial government. According to all of the polls and pundits I have seen it is likely that Jason Kenney and the UCP party will handily win the election. It should be no surprise that a conservative party will win in Alberta. The NDP only won four years ago because the political right was so divided. Now that the conservatives have all united under one leader, it is hard to imagine an Alberta not run by conservatives. But they will be elected because the voting public either don't care or don't believe what has been reported about at least some of the candidates.

Starting at the top, Jason Kenney, or at least people working for him in his leadership campaign, appear to have broken a number of rules both legal and ethical. The examples clearly discussed and not denied by the people involved were at best, the crassest manipulation of party members I could imagine. It does not appear to be something the public wish to react or comment on. It apparently does not matter how a leader got to be the leader.

There are a number of candidates running on behalf of the UCP who have a history, some of it quite current, of making homophobic, Islam phobic or racist comments. The leadership of the party have chosen to neither condemn of bar these people from running for election. This lack of action makes one somewhat suspect as to the party's agenda on these issues. On one issue at least the UCP's policy is quite clear. Legislation to protect LGBTQ students in both public and private schools will be done away with. What will be next?

The reason why so many Albertans will vote for the UCP parties in not because they are all social conservatives who are only concerned with a particularly narrow definition of "family values". It is because they want to believe that someone can ride into the legislature building in Edmonton, on their glowing white horse and reverse the economy. They need to believe that someone new can fix the decline in the oil business and that the boom days can just be around the corner. They are desperate to believe a new premier can force the Supreme Court to approve the pipeline and that a new pipeline to the west coast will solve all of their problems. Such an assumption ignores the fact that the oil the Albertans want to ship is of the least desirable quality, the hardest to ship and the most expensive to refine. If it is not worth as much as it once was - it is because there is cheaper and better oil available.

The UCP will be elected on false promises and unfair blaming of the previous government. They might be the right party to change the province's direction but given the record of both the leader and some of his candidates, I think it is highly unlikely that anything will change. I am willing to bet that the newly elected UCP government will in the next month break half of their promises. They will do so by blaming the present NDP government for leaving things in such poor shape or Canadians in general for not understanding or caring about Albertans.

It is unfortunate that Kenney will cement to the image of Albertans as red-necked yokels (which is definitely not my impression of any of the Albertans I have met) while at the same time stomp around the country blaming others. In that aspect, he is not different than those who elect him. Everyone wants to blame someone for their problems. It is easier than accepting responsibility for fixing them.