The Alberta Conundrum

Decades of conservative rule in an atmosphere of discontent confound even the most rational of voters

With all the criticism of the Danielle Smith conservatives, one thing always seems to be a puzzle to progressive minded people. Despite over half of the province thinking the UCP has Alberta on the wrong track, conservatives constantly lead in the polls. And no amount of bigotry, incompetence, and ineptitude will change their minds. It’s baffling to left-leaning voters who desire a more inclusive, rational, and competent government free of performative political actions that arguable do harm to certain members of society.

Alberta conservatives have been this way for decades. Only once in the political history of the province, did progressive ideals win over conservative malfeasance. In 2015, the Rachel Notley-lead NDP came to power. Notley’s NDP ruled until 2019 when the election that year threw the province back into the conservative lion’s den with Jason Kenney at the helm. Since then, Alberta has suffered through torrents of misinformation, lies, and social justice pogroms that have disadvantaged the most vulnerable people. A disproportionate fealty to the oil and gas industry combined with an irrational hatred of Liberals and Quebec continue to fuel the conservative grievance machine.

But through all of this, conservative voters gleefully ride the right wing bandwagon even while complaining the province is headed in the wrong direction. One could psycho-analyse the hows and whys of this, but after decades of the same thing over and over, the only seemingly logical view is collective insanity. A lack of education and fear of things not clearly understood manifests itself in rural Alberta, where the balance of power resides. It is unfortunate right wing prairie hillbillies can determine the political direction of the province. Urban voters are left scratching their heads at every election. To them, it appears the rural folks would cut off their nose to spite their face just so that progressive politics remains relegated to the bottom of the pile.

To make matters worse, the Alberta NDP seems ineffectual and unable to counter anything the UCP puts forward. Tepid responses and a wait and see attitude confound progressives that watch in horror as conservatives maintain power time and again. For progressives, the Alberta advantage is replaced with the Alberta conundrum. How is this possible? What will it take to move the province in a more inclusive, equitable, and reasonable direction? The uncomfortable answer is nothing. Conservative minds can’t be changed. The only solution is for left-leaning urban voters to finally manage to take control. But then the real trick will be hanging on to power beyond one term because the damage done to Alberta society cannot be repaired that easily. The Alberta NDP will need to prove to a great degree, they are the right choice even for the rural voters that forever see them in an unfavourable light. Not an easy task, but one that needs to be done.