05.06.2015 02:11 PM

Albertastan? A morgue?

So sayeth Peter MacKay:

“It was like a morgue,” Justice Minister Peter MacKay told reporters Wednesday morning after the weekly meeting. “Someone said it was like – it’s Albertastan now.”

Just a hunch, but I’m betting some folks at Justice are looking at the little blinking light on their phone, right about now, and wondering if it’s someone from PMO.

It is.

60 Comments

  1. Inky Mark says:

    don,t for a minute think they,re not worried about the October election. It is possible for the return of 1993, I,ve never ever experience such public dislike for Harper, I help manage the 93 fed. Election, people didn,t like Mulroney , back then, but no comparison to the dislike for Harper today

    • aggo says:

      I don’t like Harper either, but saying that people hate him more than they hated Mulroney in ’93 is a real stretch.

    • Matt says:

      Mulroney wasn’t on the ballot in 93.

      • Warren says:

        I did my best to put him on it.

      • aggo says:

        No, but he was certainly a big factor in the ’93 election results, wasn’t he?

        • Reality.Bites says:

          Exactly. While Kim Campbell’s campaign and performance as PM were far from perfect, there is no way she could have shrunk the caucus to two people on her own. Similarly, Ernie Eves’s defeat by Dalton McGuinty owes more to Mike Harris than to Eves. Run a province/country into the ground, sell out all your supporters and your successor is going to have a tough time of it.

      • Douglas says:

        Yes, Mulroney was technically not the name on the ballot in ’93, but the result of the election was a referendum on his leadership.

        It certainly wasn’t a reflection on Kim Campbell. She hadn’t been around long enough to do anything.

        There’s a reason Mulroney bolted so close to the ’93 election, leaving Kim holding the bad.

        Canadian sentiment toward him was utter revulsion.

        That said, the segment of Canada that loathes Harper hates him with a passion that is far greater than what was directed at Mulroney.

        The difference is that Mulroney turned the anti-Quebec, anti-francophone, anti-Aboriginal, and anti-tax segments of the party base against him, for trying to solve the Quebec issue and for bringing in the GST (which lead to the Reform), while turning off his Quebec base (which lead to the Bloc) for having failed with Meech/Charlottetown… and that lead to the 2 seat wonder.

        Harper, given his all day, every day hyper-partisan hatred for anything on the political left, commands a fanatical loyalty of his base. He could rape babies, eat kittens, and sell his own grandmother into sexual slavery… and STILL they’d vote for him.

  2. James Smith says:

    Oh, did someone just start a fire behind the firewall?

  3. doconnor says:

    The link is broken. Was the meeting the Federal Conservative caucus meeting?

  4. DonW says:

    Albertastan? Really??? Doesn’t Mackay read/understand the numbers? 40% of last night’s votes were NDP. 52% were for conservative parties (WRP & PCs). Alberta is still a conservative province. As Rene Levesque observed after his ’76 victory, “OK, everybody, take a valium”. Were it not for vote-splitting on the right, Alberta would still have a conservative government, no?

    • sezme says:

      A) The reason there’s a Wildrose in the first place is that so many Albertans are sick of the PC party, so maybe the majority is “conservative” or maybe the majority is “anti-PC”.

      B) The NDP won more than 20 ridings with a majority of the vote, so vote-splitting or no, they did quite well, and if the Wildrose party didn’t exist, who knows how much more of the anti-PC vote would have gone their way.

      From the day Naheed Nenshi won in Calgary, it was apparent that something was up in the erstwhile “conservative” province.

      • Priyesh says:

        A majority in 20 ridings? If they can translate that federally, the NDP would win a quarter of the federal Alberta ridings. The math works against even a united conservative front.

        • eric weiss says:

          Believe it or not Albertans are actually quite capable of telling the difference between the Federal NDP and their provincial cousins. Support for Notley does not equal support for Mulcair. Notley is an Albertan who wants to maintain a viable energy sector. Mulcair is just another in a long line of eastern politicians to use Alberta as a whipping boy to drum up quick easy votes in Quebec and Ontario. Most Albertans trust Notley. Most Albertans don’t trust Mulcair.

          • Elisabeth Lindsay says:

            This is very true, eric. I think that Rachel Notley was wise to “stay away” Mulcair during the campaign. She is an Albertan through and through and is being compared favourably with Peter Lougheed in her putting her Province first before Party.

            Ms. Notley is of the same cloth as “Why would I want to be Prime Minister when I can be Premier of Alberta.”……P. Lougheed.

    • sezme says:

      To clarify: I don’t mean Alberta isn’t in many ways still self-identified as conservative. I’m just saying that this was a real election, and the federal CPC has every right to be worried.

    • Douglas says:

      The Albertastan comment (and Prentice collecting the Vanishing Cream Award) show just how fast HarperCons turn on their own kind the second they don’t get their way.

      They suck their base dry for votes, and especially donations, then insult them if they don’t fall in line.

      It is true that the plurality of votes were for Conservative parties.

      Though Ms Notley did run an exceptional campaign, she was also helped by the fact that:
      1. There were vote splits on the Right, and
      2. And there were few vote splits on the Left. The Alberta Liberals did not run candidates in over 30 of the 87 ridings, the Greens did not run candidates in over 60 of the 87 ridings, and the Alberta Party did not run candidates in over 50 of the 87 ridings.

      The above (in addition to the fact that Justin Trudeau’s popularity relative to Thomas Mulcair’s is much greater than that of David Swan’s to Ms Notley’s) is the principal reason for which one can’t credibly draw a direct parallel between the Alberta NDP fortunes in this election, and those of Mr Mulcair in the upcoming federal election.

      Federally, unless they decide to pull a Prentice and continue to lash out at Albertans with “look in the mirror” style rhetoric chastising them for “voting wrong”, the HarperCons (for now) are still going to win Alberta hands down.

  5. edward nuff says:

    what does a prentice do with no influence to peddle.

  6. smelter rat says:

    Dear Albertans….Jim Prentice didn’t come back for you.

  7. edward nuff says:

    advice for Mr Prentice courtesy of one of his favorite people Neil Young

    think I’ll pack it in
    buy a pickup
    drive it down to LA
    find a place to call my own
    try to fix up
    start a brand new day

  8. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    If progressive strategic voting federally is the name of the game, Harper’s is in for a rough ride.

  9. Adam says:

    DonW = A) If we are summing up, for honesty’s sake, you should add the 4.2% who voted for the Liberals to the NDPs score. You are right – that is still less than the combined PC-Wild Rose total, but B) Nobody knows how the PC voters would have voted if it had been a choice between Wild Rose and NDP. The PCs in Alberta are a pretty amorphous bunch, who attracted provincial Liberal types as well as Wild Rose types. Once the PC-voting habit is broken, who knows how people might vote C) The Tories don’t have to lose a great many seats in Alberta before they run into trouble. Alberta is their storehouse – once they have to fight for that, that does transform the election dynamics. Much of Edmonton, and some of Calgary and, I think, Lethbridge, were NDP this election even if the PC-WR are combined together. The Harpercons surely don’t want to have to fight for those seats federally. D) If this serves to establish the NDP as the one left-wing alternative federally as well as provincially, then the Harpercons will have to worry. E) Finally, for former Albertans like Warren and myself, in a sense this isn’t a big surprise. Albertans really aren’t that different from the rest of Canada in what they want out of life. But it is hardly good for the Harpercons to have this confirmed electorally.

    • DonW says:

      Adam, I see your point. Alberta may not be the conservative bastion that some of us (myself included) assume it to be. As a sidebar, what happened to the Alberta Liberals two days ago? How come they were so thoroughly creamed? Our host is a supporter. Mr. K.?

      • Douglas says:

        The Alberta Liberals ran candidates in only 56 (I think it is) of the 87 ridings.

        So that explains a good part of it… but clearly not all.

        Given how wide the spread was between the NDP and Liberals, those for whom: “Kick the bums out” was their #1 election priority, voted strategically (pretty much the same them that happened in Quebec when they ditched the Bloc for the NDP)

  10. King Prick says:

    Dear Justice Minister McKay,

    I’m nothing more than a cog in a wheel. I mean, I get up at 5am and don’t get home until 7pm. I work hard. I’m a blue-gray-collar type, muddling through the construction industry. It’s my lot in life. Someone once told me that “it’s just what you do and you do it well, so keep doing it.”

    Minister, I’d like to let you know that there are things that you don’t do well. I mean, I know you try hard and do exactly what your boss tells you to do, but frankly, you’re quite shit at everything. You make attempts at implementing archaic laws that consistently get shot down by the supreme court, then whine about it. (I’ve never really known a whiny lawyer. I know asshole lawyers and I know whiny assholes, but never a whiny lawyer.) At any rate, you seem to bitch a lot and in case you weren’t aware, everybody hates a bitch. Next, you make attempts at humour. such as you did with your comment about Albertastan.

    I was wondering if you actually are a dick or if you just play one in Ottawa. I’m pretty sure there’s a long list of men and women; some without arms and legs even; and a long list of parents who no longer have their kids because of this little place called Afghanistan. You know? Lots of sand, some high winds, Muslims, IED’s, Canadian soldiers getting killed and stuff… I’m almost positive you know about it because you bought this big jet with weapons on it and thought it would be perfect for bombing shepherds in the desert and their families throughout the region. (I know you really meant Syria and Iraq but hey, I get it; to you they all look alike, right?)

    Anyway, I was wondering why you would make fun of Alberta for electing a new provincial government? Your use of the term “Albertastan” is really quite disrespectful to our veterans. (I didn’t support the mission but I know what an asshole would say and what you said reeks of asshole-ishness. Not only that, but its also really unfair to link Albertans to a terrorist nation. They elected a new government. It’s the kind of thing that happens in a democracy. We elect governments. We elected you and I don’t recall any provincial MP’s referring to Ottawa as Nazi-land. I mean, sure that would be really far fetched and only an asshole would say something so inflammatory and foolish, which is all the more reason as to why I’m so surprised at you.

    So, here’s my point. What you don’t do well seems to be understanding the law and handling the justice file, or the defense file or holding your tongue. (Oops sorry. I forgot. That’s your bosses job. How do his fingers taste? My guess is: like rage and petulance. And bacon fat. He’s become a bit of a porker of the past few years. So much for the health portfolio, eh?)

    Look, Pete. Don’t be an asshole when people act on their constitutional right to vote. It makes you and any conservative come off as a dickhead. There’s no need for shitting on others because we live in a democracy and there’s certainly no benefit in re-naming a province filled with veterans “Albertastan.” We pay your salary and the soldiers fight your battles for you because you’re a weak chinned, spineless sack of shit who wouldn’t fight for anything. I mean really fight.

    So, good luck in November. You’re gonna need it. You just gave Thomas Mulcair all the ammo he needs to sink your shit…I mean ship.

    Also, please fuck off and grow up. My neighbours kids have more respect for the political process than you.

    Best Wishes
    King Prick

    • Ted H says:

      Fabulous posting KP, I think most Conservatives are like Pete, useless, arrogant morons, the scum of the earth. Yeah, I know they are humans too, but just barely.

    • DonW says:

      Dear Mr. Prick: Please get nominated in any riding of your choice. I will move there and vote for you. Great post

      • King Prick says:

        Hey Don,

        I’ve already run in two federal by-elections. I don’t think these types of posts would endear me to anyone. except humourless zealots at right wing newspapers and CSIS. Besides, I work in construction; I don’t have a filter. “Fuck off, asshole,” “I don’t give a fuck,” and “I don’t care what you say, I’m telling you, you’re full of shit,” likely won’t go over well in a debate. Thanks for the sentiment though. Besides, if I ran again and won, I might become cannon fodder for the followers of this website, and nobody wants that.

    • King Prick says:

      Show me the quote Les. I’ve heard the conservatives invoke Nazi’s in order to bolster support for the bombing of shepherds in the Middle East but I can’t recall hearing it from Trudeau.

      Either way; whenever anyone invokes the nazi moniker it’s only inflames things. Do I think conservatives are nazi’s? No. Do I think the current batch in Ottawa are thin skinned and challenged by weak intellect and and large ego’s? You bet. Do I think they’ve passed some laws that cow-tow to American paranoia? Uh-huh. Do I think they’ve pushed us dangerously close to a fascist like precipice? A little. Do I think they don’t give a shit about Canadians at all? 100% Does any of this make them Nazi’s? No, but for some, it’s sure fun to say it.

  11. David WA says:

    ” ‘It was more like a morgue… it’s Albertastan now,’ said Justice Minister Peter MacKay.” MacKay, do you have any idea how OFFENSIVE that is to those of us in Alberta? Unbelievable. May your career follow closely behind that of Jim Prentice’s.

  12. Dave says:

    So …… who was MacKay quoting?

    Which Conservative MP actually uttered the word “Albertastan”?

    Was it an Alberta Conservative?

    Oh my.

    • smelter rat says:

      That quote just goes to show how fucked up the CPC really is. They’re toast in October.

      • Pat says:

        So the poles that predicted an AB NDP victory were accurate but the national polls looking favourably for the CPC are not? I guess this means we should expect the national polls to collapse for the CPC now?

        No federal party has been more favourable to the province of AB than the CPC. The other two parties have developed a long-standing record of acrimony with AB while they suck up to Quebec.

        Internally, AB made an adjustment away from a party that committed suicide while the other conservative alternative was suffering from self-inflicted wounds. Despite this, the conservative vote was still significantly higher than the socialist vote.

  13. JimDougBob says:

    I prefer people to communicate clearly. I’m not clear on what Albertastan means.

    Is the unnamed MP: (a) conflating the (perceived) erratic politics of the various, generally third world, countries ending in the -stan suffix with the politics of Alberta? In that case, it tells us about this person’s attitude towards a large portion of the world… and toward Alberta’s democratic will, too.

    Or is (b) it some sort of attempt to blame new Canadians in Alberta for not voting to continue the sequence of PC governments? If so, racist – and it would mean that the Kenney charm campaign towards ethnic Canadians might have only insincere and cynical support in the government caucus. Besides, there’s no evidence that this happened as a result of Money and the Ethnic Vote, if we can remember a certain drunk separatist’s sinister moment of honest, hateful honesty .

    Or (c) is he making some sort of arch prediction that NDP government will turn Alberta into a third world equivalent? Manitoba and Saskatchewan have had pretty successful NDP governments; BC good and bad; Ontario disastrous; so there’s no fair definite predictor.

    Some dummy on CBC thinks (d) they called Albertans terrorists. Interesting some people associate that with -stan suffixed countries.

    I just don’t know what he meant. I know it’s hateful regardless of what the answer is.

  14. Alexa Porter says:

    Peter, Peter, Peter! By calling our western province Albertastan you just proved how stupid you really are. If someone told you to say that ,shame on you. If you thought it up yourself, shame on you.For someone who was once minister of defence you sure don’t act like a man of principal, decency, or values. This WILL come back to haunt you. Pc,s are not long in this country. Maybe you should find a real _____stan to live and crawl under a rock. No regard for fellow Canandians or world citizens. Appalling that you should say that out loud.

  15. Luke says:

    Perhaps McKay will jump ship and Justin Trudeau will catch him before he hits the water… If so, it will be extremely difficult to justify voting Liberal. Although that prospect is already getting to feel a little gross.

  16. Douglas says:

    And when you consider that the Wildrose’s Brian Jean stayed in the fight despite losing a son…

    It makes Prentice’s final act of sticking Albertans with the bill for yet another by-election after telling them to look in a mirror all the more craven.

  17. Matt says:

    Warren, thinking about this for a couple days, is it possible the Conservatives actually thought about this and were deliberate in their messaging here?

    Try to subliminally get the thought into peoples heads that the NDP are a better choice for the left leaning voters hoping to drive people away from Trudeau, and at the same time motivate their Conservative base?

  18. Leo Dave says:

    I’ve lived long enough to see many governments come and go. They all had their problems, scandals, whatnot. To get a hate on because of this is foolish. Politicians will always dissappoint you.

    More important is the direction of the party and where they are taking our country, culture, and way of life. Policies.

    For example, some uninformed people say Harper govt is anti science, anti environment. Those of us who have investigated these charges know that some science, and some enviros, are more about obstructive politics than legit science or environmental concerns. Leftist use such science and enviros to support obstructive politics against legit business, capitalism, and job creation–jobs Canadians depend on for their livelihood. Harper was right to defund and oppose them.

    I’m pro environment but anti enviro-POLITICS. So is the Harper government. Jobs are a priority for the majority of Canadians.

    Trudeau, like Wynne Liberals, are on board with the obstructive politics of a carbon tax on Canadians–a tax grab that will only burden Canadians more. Trudeau intends to sign on with the UN climate agenda, that they may in turn impose obstructive politics on developing business in Canada and other countries around the world. Not good for Canada.

    Another thing that bothers me about Trudeau is his parroting of Muslim Brotherhood talking points and what have been described as “his terrorist loving advisers.” Pointe De Bascule and other websites have more on this. To anyone who pays attention to US politics, this speaks of “Obamanation” coming to Canada. “Hope and change” and “Fundamental transformation” have resulted in the US government being infiltrated by Muslim Brotherhood operatives. Google it.

    And then there are the “anyone but Harper” haters would vote for anyone else regardless of their incompetence just to oust Harper –despite the consequences to Canada, our safety, livelihood, culture, and way of life.

    The elephant in the room the Harper haters don’t see -are they voting for or against Canada’s best interests, & their own best interest; our children and grandchildren.

    Harper haters are willfully blind to Harper’s leadership qualities, and only focus on negatives, imagined or otherwise.

    PM Harper incurred death threats just to say to Canadians that “Islamicism is the greatest threat to Canada.” Harper got kudos from people around the world who wished their leaders had the nads to say as much. And I don’t see any other Canadian party leaders saying as much; putting their lives on the line.

    There is a reason Justin Trudeau is dropping in the polls and Harper is moving up, and it has more to do with what is best for Canada and Canadians, than political party leanings. Superficial likes & dislikes aside, after delving deeply into the issues and the PRIORITIES for Canada and all Canadians at this crucial time in history, I, and millions of other Canadians tend to come down more on the Conservative side of politics right now.

    While Trudeau is still preaching the multiculti mantra, living in the past, “European countries are moving from left to right governments and abandoning multiculturalism as failed policy.” Why? Google above phrase in quotes.

    The world is rapidly changing; becoming more dangerous. We can’t afford to make foolish mistakes–carelessly pick our party like picking a sports team anymore. We all have an obligation to educate ourselves on the issues; to stand on guard for Canada.

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