Alberta Election Analysis with Tariq Elnaga and Adam Soos: Issues Edition

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In part one of this series, Tariq Elnaga joined me to discuss the locations in which this election is going to be decided, the ‘where’ of the election. This time around we are looking at the ‘whys’ of the election, that is, the key issues likely to swing those undecided voters either to team blue or team orange.

If you missed our first regional breakdown of the election you can watch it by clicking here. And in the unlikely event that you are asking yourself, “who is Tariq Elnaga?”, well, you can learn more about the kid from Dubai who became a bona fide Albertan cowboy and who occasionally joins us to share his unique insights on politics in Alberta here.

We kicked off our conversation by discussing the undeniable efforts of Rachel Notley’s New Democratic Party to put Premier Danielle Smith’s personality at centre stage, rather than her party's key policy issues. I also put this question to MLA for Taber-Warner Grant Hunter recently, and even to Smith herself at a recent press conference. Hunter, Smith and Tariq all agree that the NDP's efforts to sidestep policies and to prioritize personal attacks is principally because they cannot compete on policy, their track record is weak, and as Smith put it, they are out of ideas.

With that settled, I asked Tariq about the economy and jobs, issues the UCP has kept at the forefront of many of their campaign announcements. We discussed credit downgrades, declining population growth and the anti-oil sentiment that many argue drove business out of the province under the NDP. We also tackled critical issues like safety, with progressive mayors in Calgary and Edmonton both aligning with the NDP's soft on crime sentiments that have created atmospheres of disorder and escalating violence, in addition to contrasting the UCP and NDP’s approaches to other critical issues like healthcare and education.

Tariq and I agreed that it seems like this election will come down to whether people believe the NDP's at times outlandish promises, or if they will look at the reality of what the UCP has done, or at the very least, has tried to do.

The UCP has made plenty of mistakes. They will likely make plenty more, and we will be there to hold them accountable when it inevitably happens again. But the fact of the matter is that the NDP's Trudeau-esque politics, anti-oil inclinations, soft on crime mentality and their track record of failed promises the last time they were in power make voting orange a hard sell for anyone who places more stock in observable outcomes than they do in election-time promises.

Remember to check in regularly at AlbertaDecides.com to ensure that you are prepared to cast an educated ballot on election day, and consider sharing that page with a friend who might benefit from hearing the other side of the story. If you believe that having truly independent coverage of these elections matters, you can also support our work while you are there.