In case the abundance of campaign signs adorning every lawn has yet to notify you; there’s an election today. That’s right today April 16, 2019, is Alberta’s provincial election, and it’s an important one. Perhaps you’ve heard some pretty crazy rumors flying around about parties and their platforms. I am here, however, to put the rumors to rest and equip you with the political knowledge which will soon prove time and time again, to be an asset. So with the provincial election looming closely above us, let’s delve into politics to discover what is potentially in store for Alberta in the next 4 years. Below is a very short summary of platforms which mention highlighted proposals (Encompassing just a fraction of the complete platform). Also included are links to their more comprehensive platforms.
You may notice many redundancies in platforms as far as goals go however the distinction occurs in the means being proposed to achieve these goals.
But wait how do provincial election work again?
A quick recap of your grade 8 social knowledge: In a general election voters across Alberta vote for a Member of Legislative Assembly within their Electoral Boundaries. The party that gains the most seats forms the majority. The premier is the leader of the majority party.
New Democratic Party – NDP
Leader: Rachel Notley
Complete Platform
According to the New Democratic Party’s platform, they will:
Healthcare (pg 13): Continue health care funding in order to keep up with population growth and cut surgeries wait times (Specifically heart cataract and cancer). They pledge to fund operations carried out by Calgary Cancer Centre, the Edmonton South Hospital as well as the expansion on Red Deer Hospital. NDP plans on creating a budget for and funding both the Edmonton South Hospital and Red Deer Hospital. Pilot “Storefront mental health clinics” in both Calgary and Edmonton.
Legislature (pg 39): Strengthen the Conflict of Interest Act, review and amend the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and amend legislature which pertains to campaign budgets for political parties.
Economy (pg 1): NDP’s plan according to their posted platform is to create “A stronger, diversified economy”. Their fiscal budget depicts a balanced budget by 2023-2024 and achieves so through a sort of expansionary fiscal policy. To balance the budget the government would have to pay off Alberta’s current $1.9 billion dollar deficit.
Oil and gas: NDP plans to build the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
Business Expansion: Among their targeted industries for expansion are agriculture, media, higher technology, and small businesses. The plan is predicted to create 70 000 new jobs over the course of the next ten years according to their website. A primary area of investment seems to be that of tax credits, or grants and programs to stimulate the economy.
Government Services: Their plan also includes a proposed $25 dollar a day daycare meant to counteract the gender gap in employment (pg 25).
Indigenous affairs (pg 32): NDP plans to continue to invest in affordable housing for First Nations communities. They have said that they will connect indigenous groups with investors in order to purchase equity partnerships in pipelines if they so wish. They promise to continue implementing the much needed infrastructure in order to deliver fresh safe drinking water to all First Nations Communities. They have promised to increase funding for Native Friendship Centres in order to support those who do not live on the reserve.
Crime (pg 34): In regards to crime NDP will create a plan with municipal police services as well as RCMP to minimize the amount of time spent behind desks. Another focus outlined in the platform is to support Rural Crime Watch organizations.
Environment (pg 35): NDP vows to continue the Climate Leadership Plan and meet its proposed goal to decrease methane production by 45% in 2025. They will maintain the current cap on oil sands emissions. They plan on attempting to slow the pine Beetles infestation and attempt to reduce its impact on forests. The plans include a “Clean Lakes Strategy” and further funding for other projects concerning the health of watersheds. In regards to abandoned oil wells NDP plans to work at an accelerated timeline to continue their restorative work with the Orphan Wells Association. An NDP government would make creating land conservations an easier process through reducing regulations.
Infrastructure: NDP has promised 4 000 affordable housing units. They will continue to Complete the Springbank dam to protect against potential floods. They have promised to provide high-speed internet across the province in any home.
Education and Training (pg 15): NDP wants to increase school funding in order to cut down on class sizes and to build 70 schools across the province (particularly high schools). They would make revisions to the curriculum to expand language learning school systems within the province. The party stays it will eliminate tuition fees for those doing high school upgrades and English Language Learning Programs. In post-secondary institutions they would provide an additional 3 000 spaces in programs specifically working with technology.
Seniors (pg 25): NDP pledges to remove copayments for seniors who earn less than 75 000. They plan on Increasing beds for seniors with dementia and pilot mobile teams to support seniors in various homes and centres.
NDP’s fiscal plan is available on page 42.
United Conservative Party – UCP
Leader: Jason Kenney
Full Platform available here
According to the United Conservative’s Party platform they will:
Healthcare (pg 50): Reduce wait times for surgeries to four months or less using the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative as a template to meet their goal of reducing those waiting surgery for more than three months to 25%. Their mental health strategy includes appointing a minister to Mental health and Addictions, investing $10 million over four years into the development of a plan to support treatment centres and developing a response using technology. Support those with Mental health and addiction through home care and care centres. Review proposals of existing supervised consumption sites (safe injection sites) to consider possibilities of endorsing said facilities. Continue the current transfer from hospital care to “community-based” home care. Implement further education and support for health professionals and caregivers. Concerning primary care, UCP wishes to implement the “medical home” model, and lift regulations on many medical professions ranging from optometry to midwifery. Save $840 million by eliminating the NDP plan to purchase laundry machines for AHS, and scrapping NDP’s superlab initiative concerning the nationalization of laboratory services. As of currently, they are not going to amend the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped program (AISH).
Tax and Business: “Scrap the carbon tax” and challenge the federal carbon tax through a judicial reference to the court of appeal. Lower the general income tax from 12% to 8% for businesses. According to UCP this will create 55 000 jobs and increase the economy by 12.7 billion dollars. Cut “red tape” (regulations regarding employment) using input from a proposed minister, panel and crowdsourcing. Thus creating more free trade between provinces. Repeal Bill 6 which addresses farming and agriculture, and will replace it with the Farm Freedom and Safety Act which includes exempting small farms from employment legislation, adopting a new act regarding property rights and auction crown land for agricultural purposes. The platform outlines a targeted expansion in the Tourism sector through funding Travel Alberta. Establish the Open for Business Act which includes: continuing $15.00 as the current minimum wage but reduce the minimum wage to $13.00 for those who are 17 years or younger. Reverse the changes made in workday labels (regular/irregular), and reverse changes made to the secret ballot in union certification votes. They will reduce regulations applying to forestry, an invest in forest protection. (pg 39) They plan to Lift the replacement worker ban in the public sector. UCP promises that the Labour Relations Board will provide legal support to union workers.
Oil and Gas: Maintain current royalties, and reform the classification of rigs among other changes. Incentivize diversification projects through tax credits as part of the Petrochemical Diversification Program, and decrease well approval time. Jason Kenney has vowed to “turn off the taps” should other provinces continue opposition of pipelines. And should “substantial progress” not be made on the construction of a coastal pipeline and Federal Bill C-69 not be repealed they have promised to hold a referendum on the removal of equalization from the Constitution Act. Alongside this, a proposed ‘Energy War Room’ to respond to false information spread by media (pg 96), and further seek out, with the support of private companies, taking legal action against “defamation by anti-Alberta special interests”.
Immigration: Further develop and launch the Alberta Advantage immigration strategy in order to speed up process times and direct immigration to rural areas through the Rural Entrepreneur Immigration Program (pg 41). UCP plans to attract graduate students to start businesses and implement more programs to support immigrants.
Environment: The UCP have proposed a ‘Technology innovation and Emissions Reduction’ fund in order to decrease emissions. This will mandate that large scale industrial producers reduce emissions. And will implement a system of regulation for large scale producers which will Reinvest the profits made from this into green technology. Invest a proposed $25 million into the fight against the pine beetle and form a Caribou Range Task Force to protect Caribou (pg 39). They promise to increase funding 50% to the Alberta Land Trust Grant (pg 85) and contribute $10 million to create Big Island Provincial Park.
First Nations Affairs: (pg 53) UCP promises to implement more continuous support of addiction and mental health services for indigenous communities. Creating a $10 million dollar fund to support legal actions taken up by indigenous communities searching to develop resources. And will use the approach modeled by Saskatoon Public Schools and the Whitecap Dakota First Nations to create a partnership with First Nations Communities.
Legislature (pg 89): Place a $30 000 limit on donations to political action committees and banning the financing of third-party advertisers by foreign entities. They pledge to revise the Alberta Taxpayer Protection Act to mandate a referendum prior to imposing any carbon tax. And plan to Lobby for reform among the federal government concerning capping equalization, the Canada Health Transfer, the Canada Social transfer and Canada’s Employment Insurance Program among other initiatives.
Education (pg 57): They plan on decreasing administrative spending within the education system, and will build new schools. Over the course of four years transfer to an “essential learning” system to replace the previous “discovery learning” system. Mandate that consent be taught as part of the sexual health curriculum. They will reimplement the grade 3 PAT alongside other language and math assessments in grades 1 to 3, and make diplomas worth 50% for grade 12 students. The revision includes introducing tests for teachers to assess their competencies and reimplementing the 2012 Education Act. They will continue to allocate $168 million to independent schools annually, and expand charter schools through lifting the caps on the number of schools, and enrollment of students (pg 61) To support students with disabilities the government will return to the Wellness Resilience and Partnerships Program. Concerning post-secondary, UCP plans to reduce regulations, and strengthen freedom of speech policies in alignment with the University of Chicago Statement on Principles of Free Expression. They will invest $2 million into post-secondary institutions to support students with developmental disabilities. UCP plans to invest an annual $1 million into trade scholarships, and make $28 million dollar contribution to NAIT and SAIT each. The promise to reform the Alberta Employment Standards Code to allow Junior high students to work on job sites as part of programs, as well as increase Skills Canada funding to $2 million. They support the creation of an Alberta Trades Hall of Fame and invest $10 million dollars into the Women Building Futures to support Females in Skilled Trades. Perhaps the most controversial proposal of the platform would be to allow schools to tell parents of their child’s involvement in GSA’s.
Crime (pg 64): Invest $10 million to hire more prosecutors, support staff. Implement the Public’s Right to Know Act an annual report on crime and the government’s actions relating to crime. develop a Repeat Offender Policy, and organize an Alberta Parole Board for offenders serving less than two-year sentences. Request from the Federal government additional Queen’s Bench Justice appointments, and a complete review of the Criminal Code sentencing principles with a particular focus upon rural crime. They will proclaim the 2002 legislatures standard for human trafficking The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons in order to establish a consistent definition of Human Trafficking. And form a Human Trafficking Task Force, increase public education, and the publication of businesses which have been involved in Human Trafficking. Push for the federal government to impose consecutive sentencing for those charged with human trafficking. Enacting the Saving the Girl Next Door Act which includes enabling victims to acquire restraining orders, and file civil lawsuits against their traffickers. As well as declare that February 22 to be Human Trafficking Awareness Day. To reduce Domestic Violence UCP would like to pass “Clare’s Law” which allows officers to disclose a convicted felons past of domestic violence to their partner. The UCP will invest in technology, support centres, and a 24-hour crisis line to support survivors of sexual assault. Increase funding for Alberta Law Enforcement Teams by 69%. The plan to provide the opportunity for Minority groups who may be vulnerable to hate crimes to receive $100 000 grants for use to purchase security equipment.
Charitable Organizations (pg. 71): They pledge to pass a Freedom to Care Act which exempts charity groups from commercial regulations. And will organize a Points of Light Award to honor groups or individuals for their volunteerism.
Seniors (pg 73): To provide more options through the Affordable Supportive Living Initiative which relies on partnerships to build housing units for senior.
Disabilities (pg 75): Modify the Standards for Special Education, and contribute $1.5 Million annually to Family Managed Supports among other supports. Provide employment opportunities for persons with disabilities available through increasing employment within the city of Calgary
Veteran Affairs (pg 74): Establish a Heroes Fund to provide eligible families that have lost a loved serving their country with an extra $100 000 on top of the sum supported by the federal government. Support through funding First Responders diagnosed with PTSD, and create an Alex Decoteau Veteran’s scholarship of Honour to provide post-secondary scholarships in the amount of $5 000 to members of the Royal Canadian Forces.
Fiscal Plan: Can be found on page 103 and amounts to a projected 714 million dollar surplus in 2022-2023.
Alberta Party
Leader – Stephen Mandel
Find their full platform here
The Alberta Party plans to:
Healthcare: develop a way of putting fluoride in municipal drinking water. Invest $48 million to expand Alberta Health Care Insurance to cover an annual dental checkup and two x rays, until the children are 13 years of age. Pass an Alberta Accessibility Act to reinforce the Federal bill C-81. Appoint an ‘Accessibility Advisory Council’. Implement hearing loops in government buildings which offer important services. Increase Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) to match inflation. And release the review of Persons with Developmental Disabilities program which has already begun but not yet been released. Complete projects including the Edmonton South Hospital, Grande Prairie Regional hospital, Calgary Career Centre and Red Deer Hospital expansion. Build more non-acute care clinics to reduce the use of emergency rooms, putting a halt to the purchase of Laundry Machines for AHS, and will cancel the Superlab. Increase funding for the opioid crisis by $23 million to take a public health approach which encompasses continuing to fund existing Supervised Consumption sites, fully funding the Take Home Naloxone Kits program and making the kits more available to organizations
Business and Employment: Attempt to bring big businesses to Alberta by initiating a program where businesses with 250 or more employees receive a three year “tax holiday”. Reduce corporate tax to 10%, double the small Business deduction. Expand the Summer temporary employment program.
Nonprofits Plan: Provide stable funding to non-profit organizations through the Community Initiatives Program expanding the funding period to five years from 30 months. Repeal regulations regarding the application process for funding.
Indigenous Relations: Educate public servants in Aboriginal history. Enrich aboriginal culture through support of indigenous-led initiatives. Implement the Calls to Action as outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Honor Jordan’s principle and paying for the equitable needs of First Nations children. Raise the per-student funding to be on par with the provincial average, and fully fund 3 000 post-secondary spaces for FNMI students. Provide financial support for Indigenous lead postsecondary education programs and centres.
Arts and Culture: Attempt to attract investment into the film industry through tax exemptions and reduce regulations.
Carbon Tax: Eliminate the carbon taxes for heating in homes, use in vehicles, businesses which emit less than 100 000 annually but otherwise maintain current tax. Exempt non-profits and municipal governments from the carbon tax, and implement minimum production quotas in order to be required to pay the carbon tax.
Agriculture: Offer current landowners a Right of First Refusal and options for lease for a set number of years depending on the industry. Establish an Alberta Agriculture Innovation Fund of $100 million annually to support research and initiatives concerning the health and sustainability of crops. Contribute $2 million to agritourism and increase agricultural exports. Exempt small farms from elements of Bill 6.
Environment: Appoint a bee Protection task force. Support bio fuel projects. Implement regulations regarding waste disposal systems such as the Extended Producer Responsibility program which will prevent Albertans from paying twice for their recycling.
Forestry: Use Alberta wood more in infrastructure. Create an Alberta Forestry, Technology and Research Institute with $50 million dollars in funding. This will create an estimated 6 000 jobs and generate $100 million in government revenue
Childcare: Establish ‘the Children First Plan’ which would encompass direct financial support to lower and middle-income families who have children in daycare, a ‘caregiver tax credit’ and increase the number of spaces open at daycares. The plan would operate on a voucher system which could potentially cover the full cost of any licensed daycare in Alberta. The plan would also provide a caregiver tax credit for those who opt not to use the voucher program. Organize a new Ministry of Early Childhood.
Crime: Expand the work of sheriffs to be inclusive of greater tasks. Increase funding for sheriffs. Share some of the revenue from Cannabis with municipalities for enforcement and treatment. Invest $5 million additional dollars to Victim Services to increase staffing.
Government relations: End the Tax Collection Agreement so that personal taxes an estimated $11 million) remain in Alberta to replace the current installment payments. Transfer control of Canada Pension Plan to the provincial government to make the Alberta Pension plan. Reform tax collection by allowing Alberta to first collect personal and corporate income taxes and then remit them to the Federal government. Implement changes to the review of sexual misconduct complaints in provincial governments to eliminate conflicts of interest.
Infrastructure: Make reformations to resolve tenancy disputes for mobile home owners, invest an additional $250 million to bring fiber optic and 5G internet to every community in Alberta, support the Alberta to Alaska Railway through a $10 million dollar investment into connecting stakeholders and performing consultations. The project, however, will rely upon private sector financial support. Continue a push for the Trans Mountain Pipeline and if need initiate the use of “declaratory power”. Finish the construction of the Springbank Dam.
Alberta Justice System: Make legal aid more affordable through a discretionary fund and thus more accessible for a greater amount of the population. Incentivize better work for legal aid lawyers through increased compensation and providing some tax benefits for those who participate often. The plan will see the allocation of $140 million dollars over 4 years into legal aid. Reform to mandate that in the case of family disputes Unified Family Courts must review all settlements. Hire 25 more crown prosecutors and remove the wage freeze using 10 million dollars. Make many amendments to court proceedings to make the system more efficient and decrease delays.
Education: They wish to double the number of educational assistants. Invest $230 million more dollars a year into inclusive education for school board Reformation to post-secondary education in order to increase space available (45000 new spaces). Maintain the current cap on tuition and completely eliminate fees for high school upgrading. Implement a ‘creator-owned system’ addressing issues of intellectual property in postsecondary institutions. “Offer forgiveness of provincial student loans for post-secondary graduates who, after graduation, remain and work in Alberta for a certain amount of time in their area of study”. And subsidize the cost for post-secondary students using tax. Mandel promises to mandate that children attending publicly-funded schools receive vaccinations. Invest an estimated 190 million into building and/or modernizing 25 schools a year. Develop learning centres for adults pursuing their K-12 education including certificates and degrees. Increase the eligibility age for education funding to 25 years old. Increase the number of teachers and education assistants in classrooms, and work to combat the declining enrollment rate of rural schools. Include more education focused on mental health and mandate consent as part of the curriculum. Increase diversity among the ATA to represent minority groups.
Seniors: To provide 3 5000 addition long term care beds totaling to a $230 million initial cost and a $260 million annual cost. Launch a pilot program similar to the Better at Home Program to assist seniors in domestic affairs ranging from snow shoveling to grocery delivery. Implement an Alberta Caregiver Tax credit worth up to $6, 986 per year. Establish a Ministry of Seniors which will organize housing grants and programs.
Alberta Liberal Party
Leader: David Khan
Find their full platform here
According to the Alberta Liberal Party’s platform they will:
Business and Taxes: Make large reformations to tax by eliminate income taxes for two-thirds of Albertan’s, lower taxes for all Albertan’s and cut corporate taxes by 2%. Reverse changes made to statutory holiday pay. Introduce an 8% hospital and schools tax. Review and reform business subsidy programs. Focus on increasing inter-provincial trade. Exempt small businesses from small business taxes for the first three years.
Training: create an $80 million dollar annual grant fund which will provide up to $2 500 in job training or studies to unemployed individuals. To apply individuals must be unemployed for three or more months.
Education: Increase space in STEM post-secondary courses by 25%. Amend the curriculum to make education more inclusive by increasing funding for special needs classes by 50%, integrating LBGTQ25+ topics into the curriculum and include mental and emotional wellness education. Place a cap on class sizes. Eliminate all school fees for both public and publicly funded charter schools.
Oil and Gas: Support and aim to build the Trans Mountain Pipeline, while involving First Nations communities in the process. Reinitiate the East Pipeline project. Amend Bill C 69 which pertains to the Canadian Energy Regulator Act and make reformations to the National Energy Board. Establish additional policies applying to climate change and indigenous rights.
Seniors (pg 19): Invest $150 million into home care and assisted living. Create a Ministry of Senior services. Replace the Seniors Property tax deferral program with the Seniors school Property Tax Agreement.
Environment (pg 20) :
Implement a ‘Voluntary Vehicle Retirement Program’ to encourage Albertans to use other forms of transport, as well as incentivizing the use of alternative forms of fuel and investment into the development of geothermal energy. Review and amend current programs and policies concerning disaster preparedness setting aside a larger sum of money for emergency situations.
Federal Government Relations: Lobby for the federal government to treat hydro energy revenue to be treated the same in other provinces as oil and gas in Alberta. Combine and cut down on the 6 already existing energy agencies within the province of Alberta. Invest in making green energy a more economic option within Alberta. Double the amount of protected areas in Alberta by 2030, create wildlife corridor and crossings among other wildlife policies. Implement policies and regulations to protect water supplies, reduce urban sprawl and make revisions to Alberta’s recycling program.
Agriculture: Support agricultural initiatives focused around the protection of soil health and water supply, and combating chronic wasting disease.
Infrastructure (25): Double current funding for the construction of affordable housing, and invest $50 million in updating existing facilities. Support LRT projects like the Calgary Green line and the Edmonton West Valley LRT projects, find an alternative to Greyhound, mandate seat belts on buses. (pg 38)
Human Rights and Gender Equality (pg 29): Implement Pay Equity Legislation which requires that companies to prove that employees are being paid equal wages regardless of gender. Increase funding for women’s shelters, subsidize the cost of childcare, provide free birth control to women and mandate sexual assault/harassment and consent training for police officers and judges. Make abortion services more accessible in rural areas, and consider portable housing as a temporary housing solution for survivors of domestic violence. Review and reform the Alberta Human rights act to combat a wider scope of discrimination.
Healthcare: Take preventative measures in the form of a 100 million dollar investment which will form a Preventative Care Task Force to alleviate stresses on Emergency Care. Create 22 000 new long term care space, funneling $150 million into home care and assisted living. Revise Emergency Response systems through increasing the number of paramedics, and allowing for AHS to take over what is currently the City of Calgary Ambulance dispatch. Implement a $50 million dollar plan to support community-based dental care, removing legislature that prevents dentists from offering promotions. Transfer to a “primary care clinic” model to replace the “Fee for service” model in place to incentivize better care. Require that all healthcare institutions are able to provide MAID (Medical Assistance in dying) services.
Opioids and Mental Health: Declare the opioid crisis a Public Health Emergency, and combat it through funding more treatment beds, increasing the number of supervised injection sites and providing addiction counseling free.Establish courts specifically for mental health and drugs
Inclusion: Ban conversion Therapy (pg 32). Support those with disabilities through appointing an Associate Minister of Disability. Increasing the representation of disabled individuals in government, expanding FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) education, and increasing the number of scholarships available to those with disabilities. Further increase funding to the AISH (assured income for the severely handicapped) to match inflation.
Political Reform: Replace the current dominant party system with a Proportional Representation system (pg 34) to encompass Mixed Member Proportional Representation. Increase regulations on Political Action Committees including banning foreign donations and placing a cap on funding. Increase indigenous representation through the addition of six new seats to Alberta Legislature reserved for the FNMI community.
Crime: Decriminalize the possession of small quantities of drugs (pg 17). Provide an additional $5 million to the regional victims of crime fund, increase the number of police officers, and make a tax credit for security systems of up to $100 dollars (pg. 26) Decrease court wait times through a task force dedicated to increasing the efficiency of Judicial systems including revision to matters of child custody and the Medical Examiner’s office. Separate the role of the attorney general from the position of Justice Minister.
Image Source: https://www.elections.ab.ca/