NDP Leader Earle McCurdy must certainly hope so.
It is tempting to be skeptical about such an outlandish possibility, but if conservative Albertans — who have known nothing but Tory rule for more than a generation, since 1971 — can throw off the PC yoke, perhaps this province, too, is prepared to ride the wave.
Indeed, the two oil-producing provinces have several similarities in their political landscapes — the main one being a PC party long past its “best before” date and well on its way to being rancid.
The electorate in both provinces has an unhealthy habit of herd voting — cattle come to mind in one instance, seals in the other — and massively supporting a single party.
For instance, Alberta has been a province for 110 years, but this week’s election was only the fourth time the electorate has changed the governing party. That happens only once per generation (in 1921, 1935, 1971 and 2015). With this week’s election, a 65-year-old retired Albertan saw just the second change of government in their lifetime.
This pattern is somewhat similar to what Newfoundlanders do, swinging from Liberal to Tory to Liberal to Tory.
It is tempting to think — as Earle McCurdy and his left-lane fellow travellers probably do — that since Alberta had a thoroughly arrogant, contemptuous and entitled PC administration, and since Newfoundrador has a thoroughly arrogant, contemptuous and entitled PC administration, the latter might follow the former into socialist nirvana, i.e., an NDP government.
But such optimism overlooks serious differences between the two oil-producing sisters.
First, when Albertans get rid of a government, they permanently get rid of it. In Alberta, once the bums are tossed out, they never get back in. (Social Credit? They’re history.) Newfoundradorians, on the other hand, invite the reviled former rulers back after a decade or so. Thus the quaint local phrase, “in the political wilderness.”
Second — and this usually shocks everyone except Albertans — the populist Prairie province has a long, deep history with left-wing politics.
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federations (CCF) — the precursor of the NDP — was founded in Calgary in 1932.
Alberta was governed from 1921-35 by the United Farmers of Alberta. To put that in perspective, imagine if Newfoundland were run by the fishermen’s union … well, there’s something to give McCurdy hope.
In Alberta, even during the darkest days of Tory domination, a sizable minority of voters backed the NDP.
In contrast, Newfoundland (and Labrador) exhibits few attributes to suggest it will follow Albertans into an NDP domain.
Most importantly, and most restricting, is this province’s political culture, which can be concisely described as “obey the powerful.” Despite the popular myth of Newfoundlanders being rumbling politicos, the truth is that this province’s citizens are embarrassingly docile and obedient. This explains the bad habit of elevating premiers to messiahs (see: Smallwood; Wells; Williams). It explains the equally bad habit of alternating Liberal-Tory-Liberal-Tory, i.e., more of the same, but under a different name.
Alberta’s political culture can be summarized as “don’t mess with my money.” That is why Albertans, to this day, generally despise Liberals (due to Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s National Energy Program, which “stole” Alberta’s oil income for Ontario). It is why any politician who proposes instituting a provincial sales tax can expect even their family to vote against them. It is why, this week, the big oil companies’ greedy opposition to paying higher taxes and royalties — when regular people were suffering layoffs — finally brought down their PC puppets.
Orange wave? McCurdy could buy a surfboard, but that crest might never arrive.
Brian Jones is a Telegram copy editor who can’t remember how he voted in the 1979 Alberta election. He can be reached at [email protected].
NDP Leader Earle McCurdy must certainly hope so.
It is tempting to be skeptical about such an outlandish possibility, but if conservative Albertans — who have known nothing but Tory rule for more than a generation, since 1971 — can throw off the PC yoke, perhaps this province, too, is prepared to ride the wave.
Indeed, the two oil-producing provinces have several similarities in their political landscapes — the main one being a PC party long past its “best before” date and well on its way to being rancid.
The electorate in both provinces has an unhealthy habit of herd voting — cattle come to mind in one instance, seals in the other — and massively supporting a single party.
For instance, Alberta has been a province for 110 years, but this week’s election was only the fourth time the electorate has changed the governing party. That happens only once per generation (in 1921, 1935, 1971 and 2015). With this week’s election, a 65-year-old retired Albertan saw just the second change of government in their lifetime.
This pattern is somewhat similar to what Newfoundlanders do, swinging from Liberal to Tory to Liberal to Tory.
It is tempting to think — as Earle McCurdy and his left-lane fellow travellers probably do — that since Alberta had a thoroughly arrogant, contemptuous and entitled PC administration, and since Newfoundrador has a thoroughly arrogant, contemptuous and entitled PC administration, the latter might follow the former into socialist nirvana, i.e., an NDP government.
But such optimism overlooks serious differences between the two oil-producing sisters.
First, when Albertans get rid of a government, they permanently get rid of it. In Alberta, once the bums are tossed out, they never get back in. (Social Credit? They’re history.) Newfoundradorians, on the other hand, invite the reviled former rulers back after a decade or so. Thus the quaint local phrase, “in the political wilderness.”
Second — and this usually shocks everyone except Albertans — the populist Prairie province has a long, deep history with left-wing politics.
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federations (CCF) — the precursor of the NDP — was founded in Calgary in 1932.
Alberta was governed from 1921-35 by the United Farmers of Alberta. To put that in perspective, imagine if Newfoundland were run by the fishermen’s union … well, there’s something to give McCurdy hope.
In Alberta, even during the darkest days of Tory domination, a sizable minority of voters backed the NDP.
In contrast, Newfoundland (and Labrador) exhibits few attributes to suggest it will follow Albertans into an NDP domain.
Most importantly, and most restricting, is this province’s political culture, which can be concisely described as “obey the powerful.” Despite the popular myth of Newfoundlanders being rumbling politicos, the truth is that this province’s citizens are embarrassingly docile and obedient. This explains the bad habit of elevating premiers to messiahs (see: Smallwood; Wells; Williams). It explains the equally bad habit of alternating Liberal-Tory-Liberal-Tory, i.e., more of the same, but under a different name.
Alberta’s political culture can be summarized as “don’t mess with my money.” That is why Albertans, to this day, generally despise Liberals (due to Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s National Energy Program, which “stole” Alberta’s oil income for Ontario). It is why any politician who proposes instituting a provincial sales tax can expect even their family to vote against them. It is why, this week, the big oil companies’ greedy opposition to paying higher taxes and royalties — when regular people were suffering layoffs — finally brought down their PC puppets.
Orange wave? McCurdy could buy a surfboard, but that crest might never arrive.
Brian Jones is a Telegram copy editor who can’t remember how he voted in the 1979 Alberta election. He can be reached at [email protected].
