The Alberta PC leadership convention held in Red Deer over the weekend reaffirmed several things, some of them to Premier Alison Redford’s liking, and some not.
First, the leadership vote is more of a headline-grabbing, publicity-generating, feel-good moment as characterized by the Mike Tyson-style “entering the ring” run Redford made into the convention, complete with white spotlight and ring announcer growling out the first lady of Alberta’s name.
Second, Redford is liked by most, but not all, in her party. Of the 1,197 ballots marked by PC faithful at the convention, 77 per cent voted confidently in favour of Redford’s continued leadership. Many pundits felt the result should have been higher, over 80 per cent at least. Not a surprise, as PC solidarity is not what it used to be. The Wild Rose Alliance core of leaders is made up of former PCs who jumped ship, and Alberta Liberal leader Raj Sherman is himself a former PC disillusioned with a Conservative party that alienated Albertans under former Premier Ed Stelmach.
What does three-fourths of a PC community mean? It might mean some of Premier Redford’s gaffes, poorly-planned department cuts, unexpected funding increases and one or two very good moves are having an effect on her party’s loyalty.
One of the biggest and best moves by the Redford government was the way last summer’s flooding was handled. Generally, the provincial government was sympathetic and supportive by helping Albertans who were evacuated and not petty by penny-pinching after one of the worst disasters in Alberta’s, and Canada’s, history.
However, Redford’s government badly handled cuts to post-secondary education, a realm that most agree is chronically underfunded. Last March, Redford’s government announced $147 million in cuts to colleges, universities and other post-secondary institutions. This was after Redford’s government initially told colleges and universities they’d get a two per cent increase.
But the story doesn’t end there. This month, Redford’s government announced it would return $50 million to post-secondary education that it apparently found lying around at the Treasury Board. Maybe Redford should check under the cushions of all the couches at the legislature to see what else hasn’t been accounted for.
Yet another curt gaffe from Redford’s government is the way cuts to PDD funding were handled this year. There isn’t enough room in this space to go into detail about the way a new formula for persons with developmental disabilities funding would be handed out, but last spring some agencies claimed they were ordered to cut hundreds of thousands of dollars out of their budgets in a mere few weeks. Ridiculous.
The budget is a planning document for the province, however, Redford’s sometimes reactionary approach to decision making does not inspire confidence. It’s likely one of the reasons one out of four in her party isn’t comfortable with her leadership.
