Alberta Leadership

I decided to join the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party and vote in the Leadership contest. I normally don't care for party politics, but in this case the winner will be Premier for up to three years! I feel strongly about Alberta's place in Canada and about public healthcare so I must participate.

I believe in public healthcare, therefore I must not vote for Morton. Morton would like to privatize. I believe that Canada makes Alberta strong and we must not isolate ourselves from the rest of the country. Morton would like an Alberta Pension, an Alberta Police force, and to tell the feds to keep out of Alberta. This is the wrong approach. Alberta needs other provinces to train workers and supply workers to keep our economy going. Alberta needs a sunny place like BC to retire to. Alberta is tiny and insignificant in the world and needs Canada to represent our interests. We must work with the Federal Government. It is petty and selfish to try to keep Alberta's wealth in Alberta. It is Canada's wealth. Without Newfoundland, would we have enough people to develop the oil sands?

So Morton is not an option. Yeah, the Liberals might like to see him in because people would hate him and vote Liberal next time. It might be too late in three years to vote Liberal. By that time the separation will be well underway.

Remaining choices: Dinning and Stelmach. What's the difference? Dinning has the support of the cities, especially Calgary. Stelmach is a farmer and has some rural support. Check out the First Ballot results by riding. Stelmach wants an Alberta Pension Plan instead of CPP. I can't say that I see a compelling reason for this. This will unnecessarily complicate things for people who work in several provinces over their career. I don't think it will save anyone any money. The Alberta Pension Plan would have less investing power than the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and far less than the Canada Pension Plan.

Really, I'll choose Dinning because I've met him. I've met him because he made a dedicated effort to connect with the under 35 crowd and find out what we want for Alberta's future. A great deal of what we discussed with him in Calgary is in his vision for Alberta. Innovation. Conservation. Alberta is a leader in Canada. Check out the details at jimdinning.ca

Party memberships are available for $5 until the polls close on Saturday, December 2. Memberships can be purchased at the polling stations. It's easy. Please participate.