Problem with Rachel Notley? Tough, there won't be a counter-revolution
I'd like to introduce you to Henry. It's likely you've met dozens of Henrys over the past seven months. You might be like Henry yourself.
Henry is 57 and works in upper management at an oil and gas company in downtown Calgary. Almost nobody he knows voted for Alberta's NDP government. Those who did, he's sure, did it to punish the PCs, not reward the NDP.
Henry is confident he knows and represents the real Calgary. That he has his finger on the pulse of the city. He sees Calgary's NDP majority as a blip — an overreaction from a city fed up with the PCs. One that everybody is surely regretting today.
Henry is convinced that the counter-revolution is just around the corner and that Calgary will reclaim its lost status as the conservative heartland of Canada.
But the young valet who waved him into the parkade, the underemployed barista he bought his $7 coffee from, the new Albertan who will be his bank teller today and the new Canadian who will clean his office tonight might beg to differ.
Electing an NDP government was certainly a dramatic expression of how much our city has changed, but in truth there's very little to suggest it was a careless or temporary act on the part of Calgarians.
The NDP are — today — the most popular provincial political party in the city, and their vote has proven surprisingly durable. A recent poll showed NDP support down sharply provincewide, but at 30 per cent in Calgary — down only four points from the 34 per cent the NDP got in the May election.
Put another way: after raising income taxes, after starting a royalty review, after promising the introduction of a carbon tax, after public backlash against Bill 6 and after Premier Notley's honeymoon was supposed to be well over, nine out of 10 Calgarians who voted NDP in May would vote NDP again.
Why doesn't Henry know this? Why would he find this so hard to believe?
Problem with Rachel Notley? Tough, there won't be a counter-revolution - Calgary - CBC News
I'd like to introduce you to Henry. It's likely you've met dozens of Henrys over the past seven months. You might be like Henry yourself.
Henry is 57 and works in upper management at an oil and gas company in downtown Calgary. Almost nobody he knows voted for Alberta's NDP government. Those who did, he's sure, did it to punish the PCs, not reward the NDP.
Henry is confident he knows and represents the real Calgary. That he has his finger on the pulse of the city. He sees Calgary's NDP majority as a blip — an overreaction from a city fed up with the PCs. One that everybody is surely regretting today.
Henry is convinced that the counter-revolution is just around the corner and that Calgary will reclaim its lost status as the conservative heartland of Canada.
But the young valet who waved him into the parkade, the underemployed barista he bought his $7 coffee from, the new Albertan who will be his bank teller today and the new Canadian who will clean his office tonight might beg to differ.
Electing an NDP government was certainly a dramatic expression of how much our city has changed, but in truth there's very little to suggest it was a careless or temporary act on the part of Calgarians.
The NDP are — today — the most popular provincial political party in the city, and their vote has proven surprisingly durable. A recent poll showed NDP support down sharply provincewide, but at 30 per cent in Calgary — down only four points from the 34 per cent the NDP got in the May election.
Put another way: after raising income taxes, after starting a royalty review, after promising the introduction of a carbon tax, after public backlash against Bill 6 and after Premier Notley's honeymoon was supposed to be well over, nine out of 10 Calgarians who voted NDP in May would vote NDP again.
Why doesn't Henry know this? Why would he find this so hard to believe?
Problem with Rachel Notley? Tough, there won't be a counter-revolution - Calgary - CBC News