Did you know you can’t vote if you have no fixed address? I suppose this is obvious, given that political ridings are based upon where you live. But, really, this sickens me.
The homeless in this province are those who are suffering the most as a result of the out-of-control economy, and they don’t even have the right to vote? Never mind that they’re Canadian citizens and residents of Alberta, if they don’t have a home, they don’t have a vote.
photo credit: Misserion
Now, I don’t know how this could be solved. Maybe they could use the address of a homeless shelter. But, that would require that they know the address of a shelter (which they may not, especially if they are newly homeless).But, no doubt, someone in the bureaucracy would decided that, in order for someone to list a shelter as their address, they’d have to actually have spent a few nights in the shelter and been issued some sort of documentation to prove it.
Considering that we don’t have nearly enough beds for homeless people as it is, such a requirement would mean that a lot of people would still not be able to vote.
I wish I had a solution to this problem. Unfortunately, all I can come up with is anger and disgust.
Change…that’s been the buzzword for this election campaign. Apparently, it’s not going to be the outcome, though. We’re in for a few more years of Tory rule. The Progressive Conservative will, as a result of this election, likely reach at least 40 years of power before we have another election.
I’m really pissed off by this. No party should be in power for 4 decades. Apparently, though, Alberta doesn’t agree, as the PCs have won a very large majority government. Not only have they won more seats that during the last election (at least according to the projected results that I’m currently seeing), they’ve also won more of the popular vote.
In my own riding of Edmonton-Centre, it looks as thought incumbent Laurie Blakeman has won again. I was hoping NDP candidate Deron Bilous would win the seat, but I’ll take Laurie if I have to. I’d much rather a Liberal represent my riding than a PC.
But…no change for Alberta.
It’s time to vote, Alberta. I don’t care who you vote for, or what you’re basing your vote on; just get out there and vote. Your vote does matter.
VOTE!
For the last several elections—federal, provincial, and civic—I have lived in various apartments around the city. I have always assumed that this was the reason that I never had political candidates coming to my home to speak to me.
Until this past Monday, I had always thought that the candidates were simply not able to gain access to apartment buildings, either because the landlords/managers wouldn’t buzz them in, or because of some weird bylaw prohibiting canvassing in multi-family dwellings.
Of course, there is also the possibility that I’ve just never been home when the candidates have come knocking. I don’t buy that excuse, though, because when I lived with my parents, the candidates would always leave a note on the door or in the mailbox saying something like, “I’m sorry I missed you. Here is an outline of my platform.”
Because I have never received a notice like this at any of my apartments, I assumed, as I said, that it was—for whatever reason—not possible for political candidates to visit voters who lived in apartment buildings. On Monday, I realized that I was wrong.
There was a knock on my door Monday night and, having not got a call from the front buzzer, I assumed that it was just the building manager coming to tell me something. Working on this assumption, I didn’t bother to check the peephole, and so I was quite surprised to find two strangers standing at my door.
They were volunteers from NDP candidate Deron Bilous‘ campaign. They greeted me politely, told me who they were, and talked a bit about Deron’s campaign. They talked about who he is as an individual, and asked me if I had decided who I was voting for, and if I had considered voting for Deron.
I answered their questions, chatted with them briefly, took the pamphlet they gave me, and closed the door.
I wondered, after that encounter, why haven’t any other candidates (or their representatives) ever come to my door? Where is Liberal incumbent Laurie Blakeman? Where is PC candidate Bill Donahue? Where are the candidates from the Green Party, the Wildrose Alliance, and any other parties that might have candidates nominated in Edmonton-Centre?
At the very least, I would have liked to have seen a note slipped under my door from the other candidates saying, “Sorry we missed you…” At least that would have indicated that they attempted to come and speak with me.
Through the simple act of knocking on my door and talking to me about my concerns, and about his platform (albeit by proxy, through his volunteers) Deron Bilous gained a huge amount of respect from me. I was already leaning toward voting for him (there, I finally came clean), and that simple act of having someone from his camp speak to me in person really helped sway my vote.
There are still a few days left in the campaign, so the other candidates’ camps may yet stop by, but I’m not holding my breath at this point. I’m still not certain who I’m going to vote for, so by actually stopping by and talking to me, the other candidates may yet be able to earn my vote. If they don’t, it’ll be a lot harder to convince me not to vote for Deron Bilous.
I watched the debate between the party leaders this evening, and couldn’t help but laugh at most of it. I mean, it was classic schoolyard bull-crap.
Admittedly, after the first portion of the debate, they (mostly) stopped trying to talk over top of one another. Perhaps Lynda Steele gave them a stern talking to during the break.
For many people, the leadership debate likely helped them decide who to vote for, if they hadn’t already decided. For me, the opposite is true.
Until tonight, I was about 99% sure of who I was going to vote for. After watching the debate, I’m not sure his party is the best choice for Alberta.
I still think the person in question (again, I won’t name him, because I’m trying to keep the blog semi-neutral) is the best candidate for my riding. But, I know that voting for the party, rather than the candidate, is often the more sensible and pragmatic thing to do.
The candidate is, in my opinion, the best one for the job. But, the party? I honestly don’t think so.
What about you? Did watching the debate help you make your decision, or are you still undecided who you’re going to vote for on March 3, 2008?
I’ve been talking to a number of friends about the upcoming Alberta election, and one thing that seems to always come up in discussion of Canadian politics—at both the provincial and federal levels—is whether to vote for the party, or for the candidate.
I believe that most people vote for the party. If you want the Liberals to form the government, for example, you’re probably going to vote for the Liberal candidate in your riding, even if you think that the PC candidate will actually be better at representing his or her constituents.
I will admit that I usually vote for the party I want to see win the election, rather than the individual candidate. Based on the way that our first past the post political system works, it seems to make more sense to vote for a party, rather than an individual.
However, this year, I think I will be voting for a specific candidate in my riding. While I don’t necessarily want his party to win the election, I think that he will do a great job representing Edmonton-Centre. Evidently, so do a few high-profile Edmonton political figures. Their testimonials hold a lot of sway for me, so I think I’ll probably vote for this individual (who I’m not naming, because I’m trying to avoid endorsing any one candidate or party).
My question to you is, do you vote for the candidate, or for the party? Bonus points if you share the reasoning behind your voting method.
As you hopefully know by now, if you’re a resident of Edmonton, we’re having an election in this province on March 03, 2008. You probably also know the major parties in the province: the Progressive Conservatives, the Liberals, the New Democrats (NDP), the Green Party, and the Wildrose Alliance.
What you may not know is who the candidates in your riding are. Do all of the major parties have candidates in your riding?
If you’re searching for the answers to these questions, Daveberta has a complete list of the candidates in each of the provincial ridings, as well as links to the candidates’ web pages (when available).
Check out Dave’s list, and then follow the links to learn about the people you’re going to be voting for. Remember: an uninformed voter is worse than someone who stays home. If you’re going to vote, do your research.
As the provincial election campaign starts to get into full swing, the campaign ads are starting to hit the TV and radio waves. This morning, I heard an ad from Ed Stelmach espousing change on the radio.
Does this strike anyone else as a bit odd: the Conservative Party campaigning on a platform of change?
Ignoring the somewhat paradoxical nature of such a thing (i.e.: conservative change), the Tories are the governing party at the moment, and have been for 37 years. They are, by definition, the status quo.
Campaigning on a platform of change doesn’t really make sense when you’re already in power, especially if you think you’ve been doing a good job for the last 4 decades.
It seems to me that the PCs are trying to tap into the psyche of Albertans—48% of whom feel that we need a change of government (though, most of those 48% don’t see any of the other parties as a viable alternative to the Tories)—and claim that they are the party of change.
I can imagine the ad, “Do you want change? Well, don’t change the government. We’ve heard what you want, and we’re ready to change. Re-elect the Conservatives for change!”
Sorry Steady Eddie, if Albertans really want change, they aren’t going to vote for you. You’re just lucky that most Albertans seem to trust the Liberals and NDP even less than they trust you.
Todd Babiak’s latest blog post has made me a little bit depressed, mainly because it’s absolutely true. I haven’t really noticed any substantial quality of life improvements since this latest oil boom began. If anything, I’ve noticed a dip in my quality of life.
I recently had to move into a smaller apartment, because my rent was increased by 50%. At $975 a month, it was still below the average price for a 2-bedroom apartment in a central neighbourhood, but it’s more than I’m reasonably able to afford on my own.
While I am getting paid a bit better than I likely would be if I were doing the same job in, say, Saskatchewan or Newfoundland, my money doesn’t go as far, because most things cost substantially more. Every time we’re at the pub paying for our $7 pints, my girlfriend points out that beers are only a deuce and a half at most bars in her native Newfoundland.
This, of course, comes as the government tries to claim that the average Albertan enjoys an improved quality of life as a result of the oil money that’s flowing through the upper echelons of the population. From my point of view, it really hasn’t. For many people, in fact, it’s gotten worse.
On top of that, it kind of annoys me that the Tories seem to act as if they are somehow responsible for the existence of oil in the sand.
Yes, their policies are somewhat responsible for the money coming into the provincial coffers, but without that oil, would they be able to claim responsibility for the province’s successes in the same way? Given that Alberta would probably still be a have-not province if it weren’t for our oil, I suspect that the answer is no.
But, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Todd is wrong. Maybe the average Albertan really is enjoying untold prosperity as a result of the so-called Alberta Advantage. Am I wrong?
As you surely know by now, Ed Stelmach’s Tories called an election yesterday afternoon. Alberta will be going to the polls on March 3, 2008.
Because provincial politics obviously effect Edmonton—the capital of Alberta—I will likely be running a lot of political commentary over the coming weeks. If you have any opinions you’d like to get out to the public, let me know, and I’ll be more than happy to let you have a guest post.
In fact, I really hope that some of you will write guest posts for me. I obviously have my own political slant, and I’d like to try and keep the discussion from becoming biased toward my own personal views.
I’m sure that Daveberta will have a tonne of commentary about the election, so I highly recommend that you check his blog out (keeping in mind that he is an unabashed Liberal, and his blog is hardly politically-neutral).
If you know of any other Alberta political blogs that are perhaps less biased, or at least biased in the other direction, please send me the links, and I’ll make sure to mention them in a future post.
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