It certainly didn’t come as a surprise when Prime Minister Harper called the election last week. After all the speculation and the funding announcements over the previous few days it was a foregone conclusion.
The lengthy campaign may prove to be very interesting in St. Albert since it is shaping up to be a two-horse race between a seasoned stallion and a pony. It is somewhat a shame and in fact it is down right embarrassing that the Liberals and the NDP don’t even have nominated candidates given that with a fixed election date they have had ample time to get their act together.
Will the lengthy campaign period give an advantage to the seasoned stallion or the Tory blue pony? The Conservatives have a hefty war chest while Brent Rathgeber as an independent has not been able to raise any campaign funds until now that the writ has been dropped. Rathgeber however, has more than the traditional 37 days to get out on the hustings and raise enough campaign funds to mount a vigorous campaign. As an independent, he should also be immune to the negative impact of the attack ads.
It was also interesting that with Rathgeber sitting as an independent, leaving St. Albert without a government member of Parliament, that a considerable chunk of change was distributed to St. Albert last weekend, even though the cheques were presented by Rona Ambrose representing the government. So much for the theory that you need a sitting government MP in order to tap into government funding programs. When it comes to election time the handouts go to everyone.
So what is going to transpire over the next two and half months? With the lack of a Liberal or NDP candidate, or even if there is a last-minute nomination that candidate will not likely have much of a campaign, will Rathgeber be able to pick up the protest vote, or will those supporters just stay home?
Conservative candidate Michael Cooper certainly knows politics having been involved since he was in his teens, but can he defeat the incumbent? Brent Rathgeber has set himself aside as a principled politician, standing up for what is right, and in doing so he has gained considerable credibility amongst St. Albert constituents. His book Irresponsible Government has earned him national notoriety and is a must read for anyone wanting to understand how a democratic government is supposed to work and how it has not worked under the Harper government.
This certainly will not be a ho-hum election, either in St. Albert or nationally, so hopefully voters will pay attention and vote for the horse of their choice. May the dark horse win. The question is which is the dark one?
Ken Allred is a former St. Albert Alderman and MLA.
