@thebreakdownab.bsky.social:
Just a reminder.
There is no Alberta without Canada.
The separatists in Alberta are a loud and vocal minority.
Real Albertans need to start getting louder than them.
Now.
Canada
abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli
Marian Dalisna:
The Conservatives got 0.7% more of the popular vote in Alberta than the Conservatives + PPC in 2021.
The Liberals almost doubled their percentage of the popular vote in Alberta from 2021.
Ooooooo la la la, this must piss orange quisling Danielle right off to hell with a one way ticket.
The change is that Poilievre got turfed, and more of Alberta wanted less conservative government than last election. Bell is out to lunch. With Smith.
@DrJaredWesley:
The UCP chose today — the day after the federal election — to introduce the most comprehensive set of anti-democratic reforms in Alberta history.
In no uncertain terms, these reforms reflect “the strategies pioneered by Trump Republicans: leveraging dark money, undermining trust in elections, weaponizing recalls, disenfranchising opponents, suppressing voter turnout, & empowering radical populist movements.”
@Klayoven:
They must be choked at YEG & YYC for stopping AB from going solid blue… and the audacity of Albertans refusing to elect a Nixon bro.
@yield2yetis:
Some reforms seem to be as much Harper, as Trump. Referenda, eliminating guards against the wealthy buying democracy, voter changes making it difficult to vote (like Poilievre’s Fair Election Act)
I think we forget how closely aligned Harper was/is to authoritarian style govt.
Herr Hideous Harper and the IDU hate democracy (and public health and environment and safe water and safe food and breathable air and women and girls) and work globally to destroy it everywhere voters are conned enough to let them
@DavidField15:
Pierre poutine was unelected
Dani Smith is next
@_mamay_47:
Everything they have changed has been anti democratic!
Danielle Smith’s Electoral Reforms Are Straight from the Trump Playbook, And it’s no accident they were released today by Jared Wesley, Apr 29, 2025, Decoding Politics
The United Conservative Party (UCP) introduced sweeping changes to Alberta’s election laws today. While billed as technical updates to restore faith in and improve access to elections in Alberta, they do precisely the opposite.
In no uncertain terms: the reforms mirror tactics employed by Donald Trump’s Republican Party in the United States.
Viewed individually, each measure may appear modest. Taken together — and considered alongside their political timing — they mark another step in the Americanization of Alberta’s democratic institutions. And the latest in a long list of democratic transgressions in this province.
Reintroducing Union and Corporate Contributions
The UCP’s bill removes existing restrictions on union and corporate donations to parties, candidates, leadership contestants, and political action committees during the election period.
This move revives the influence of well-funded third parties, a tactic Republicans perfected after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. By channeling large sums through parties and PACs, political actors can effectively circumvent party donation limits while maintaining plausible deniability.
In Alberta, the reintroduction of big money into elections risks further skewing the political process toward the interests of the wealthy, while ordinary citizens struggle to be heard. For these reasons, Albertans are overwhelmingly opposed to such measures.
Banning Vote Tabulators
The bill prohibits the use of vote-counting machines, or tabulators, across the province. While automation can improve efficiency (cutting down on the long wait times on election night that the UCP disparaged in restricting special ballots), the political context surrounding this change cannot be ignored.
Trump Republicans have spent years undermining public confidence in election technology, falsely alleging that machines were rigged or hacked to steal the 2020 election. These manufactured doubts fueled attacks on electoral legitimacy in the United States.
Absent a comprehensive strategy for transparency and public education, Alberta’s banning of tabulators risks creating similar opportunities for conspiracy theories to take root.
In short, this measure decreases efficiency and reinforces unfounded doubts about the integrity of our elections — precisely the opposite of what the UCP purports to achieve through this bill.
Lowering Recall Petition Thresholds
The bill reduces the number of signatures required to initiate recall petitions against MLAs and municipal leaders.
While pitched as a mechanism for greater accountability, experience from the United States suggests otherwise. Lower thresholds facilitate the weaponization of recall petitions by organized political groups seeking to destabilize elected officials over ideological disputes, not misconduct.
In Republican-led states, such tactics have created a chilling effect, discouraging politicians from making difficult but necessary decisions for fear of constant political retaliation.
Restricting the Vote
The UCP’s bill eliminates “vote anywhere” provisions, restricts special ballots, and introduces additional identification requirements for voters.
All three measures make voting more difficult, reversing decades of progress across Canada to improve voter equality.
As research — including our own — has shown, voter ID laws disproportionately affect younger and older, Indigenous, disabled, rural, and low-income voters. These groups are less likely to have government-issued photo ID, and new requirements can create barriers that depress turnout.
Despite the many myths spread by Trump Republicans, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the United States. The same is true in Alberta. Like their Republican counterparts, the UCP is solving a problem that does not exist, with the likely consequence (and perhaps intent) of reducing participation among demographics less likely to support them.
This amounts to the government choosing its voters, not vice versa.
All of these measures feed conspiracy narratives surrounding election integrity, once again sowing baseless doubt in the sanctity of proven election processes.
Amending the Referendum Act
The UCP is lowering the barriers to holding province-wide referendums, a key demand from separatist factions within the party’s base.
In the United States, Trump’s allies have increasingly used referenda to pursue partisan objectives, bypassing legislative scrutiny.
In Alberta, easier referendums open the door to populist campaigns on complex issues including, potentially, a vote on Alberta’s secession or joining the United States.
At a moment when the premier has been accused of stoking separatist sentiment, loosening these requirements represents a concession to radical elements that seek to destabilize Canadian federalism. If she is the federalist she claims to be, Smith should at least consider reviewing the trials and tribulations of David Cameron, the unwitting architect of Brexit.
Political Timing and Strategic Context
The timing of this bill is significant and far from coincidental.
Premier Smith introduced these controversial reforms the day after the federal election hoping to catch the media off guard and hoping few of us would notice given the attention on Ottawa.
That is scarcely a good-faith context for debating the most consequential set of reforms to election laws in Alberta’s history.
Had the reforms been tabled later, they would have drawn national attention and hurt Pierre Poilievre’s federal Conservatives by reinforcing narratives about Trumpism within the conservative movement. Introducing the changes now minimizes that risk while placating UCP separatists and stoking the national unity crisis Smith and Manning promised would follow a Liberal victory.
Trumpism at its Clearest
The UCP’s proposed changes do not merely tweak administrative processes.
And they most certainly do not enhance accessibility or integrity in our electoral processes. They do precisely the opposite.
The UCP’s reforms reflect a deeper shift toward the strategies pioneered by Trump Republicans: leveraging dark money, undermining trust in elections, weaponizing recalls, disenfranchising opponents, suppressing voter turnout, and empowering radical populist movements.
This convergence is not accidental. It is a conscious political strategy.
Whether Alberta follows the full arc of the Trump example remains to be seen. But today’s legislation makes clear that the risk is no longer hypothetical. It is real, present, and growing. And the further it progresses, the harder it will be for concerned Albertans to stop it.
‘Assembly’ will consider West’s options, including ‘independence-oriented proposals’: Preston Manning, A democratic forum would present paths to a new deal for the region after the Liberal election victory, said the ex-Reform party boss by Rahim Mohamed, Apr 29, 2025
OTTAWA — A political titan in western Canada is vowing to examine all options for the region’s future, including “independent-oriented proposals,” after Monday’s federal election result.
It’s part of Preston Manning’s plan to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, after the federal Liberals secured a fourth consecutive term in power.
“Polling is currently being done to ascertain whether the election of yet another Liberal government has increased the growing estrangement of western Canada from Ottawa and the Rest of Canada,” the founder of the defunct Reform party said in a statement released on Tuesday.
He did not provide further detail on efforts to gauge public opinion on the issue, such as who is funding that project.Manning is a sleazy cowardly old fucker white man. I attended some of his talks, I have no respect for him, he’s just another con man like Pee Pee, Harper, Kenney and Adolf Orange. I bet Dark Repuglican/Nazi Musk/Putin money is rolling in. Best way to destroy a country is to farm rage, hate and stupidity, divide the people via greed and selfishness and con them into thinking they’re special. Bingo, can steal everything they have to give to billionaires, just like Trump and Musk are doing in the USA
Throughout the campaign, the former leader of the federal opposition warned a Liberal win could trigger a wave of western alienation, going so far as to call Liberal Leader Mark Carney “a threat to national unity” in a Globe and Mail op-ed.ya, well, Manning’s a liar. What else is new? Danielle Smith’s a liar too.
Speaking by phone to National Post on Tuesday, he framed Carney’s ascent to power an existential threat.ffs. what a disgusting idiot.
“Carney can throw on an Edmonton Oilers jersey and call himself an ‘Alberta boy’ as much as he wants, but the fact of the matter is that he’s fronting the same cast of characters that drove a wedge between east and west under (his predecessor, former prime minister Justin) Trudeau,” said Manning.
Manning added Carney still hasn’t committed to reversing some of Trudeau’s most regionally divisive policies, such as the federal cap on oil and gas emissions.Selfish douche fucker you are Manning. Carney’s been a bit busy fixing Dani’s fucking messes all over the place putting Canada at risk to feed her over bloated drunk ego. What has Pee Pee accomplished for Alberta, or SK, or MB, or oil and gas, or coal, or the tech bros in his 20 years sucking on the public’s tit? Nothing.
His statement did raise the possibility of a policy shift, while doubting the Liberal leader will seriously pivot Ottawa’s approach to the west.
It references Carney’s “assurances that his minority government will make a 180 degree turn on climate change, pipelines, unregulated immigration, proliferate deficit spending, and other distinguishing characteristics of the discredited Trudeau regime.
“The first test of the truthfulness and believability of those assurances will come via the content of the… Throne Speech and the follow-up actions of the federal government,” he wrote.I’ve lived in Alberta since 1982 and have yet to hear Alberta con politicos ever tell the truth. I’ve also never hear Manning tell the truth. You and UCP are far greater dangers and threats to Canada and industry, than Carney or Trudeau could ever be. Stupid vulgar out of touch old white man eager to profit of enraging the ultra stupid in the west
Manning told National Post the stubbornness of regional divisions was visible from the electoral map.
Reality Check for Mr Manning:
@deonandan
These maps piss me off.
Here is a breakdown of provinces’ approximate populations:
ON 16M
PQ 9M
BC 6M
AB 5M
MB 1.5M
SK 1M
NS 1M
NB 1M
NL 0.5M
PEI 0.2M
ON+PQ has more people as the rest of the country combined.
Land. Does. Not. Vote.
End Reality Check for Mr Manning
”All you have to do is look at the swath of blue cascading from Manitoba all the way into British Columbia.”
Manning said that he was in the early stages of putting together “Canada West Assembly” to deliberate next steps, adding he hoped to bring in participants from all four western provinces and the three territories.
He added the assembly would most likely meet for the first time in the summer, after Carney had a chance to give his first throne speech.
The assembly would “provide a democratic forum for the presentation, analysis and debate of the options facing western Canada (not just Alberta),” he wrote.
Those options could range “from acceptance of a fairer and stronger position within the federation based on guarantees from and actions by the federal government, to various independence-oriented proposals, with votes to be taken on the various options and recommendations to be made to the affected provincial governments.”
Manning said that the initiative is “operationally independent” from the post-election panel being put together by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, but added that he welcomed the participation of members of the panel.How many $millions you getting paid this time you greedy old sod Manning? Just another douche fucker
Smith said on Tuesday that she was “deeply frustrated” with the Liberal win but would let the people of Alberta take the lead on how to respond.Yet another douche fucker
ON+PQ has more people as the rest of the country combined.
Land. Does. Not. Vote.
The Liberals picked up seats in three of the four western provinces, and looked poised on Tuesday to win the same number of seats in Alberta that they did in the last federal election in 2021.
National Post
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Marian Dalisna:
Manning and his separatist sect are not big fans of democracy, apparently.
He’s been importing Karl Rove / Tea Party / MAGA style political diarrhea to Alberta and Canada for decades now, and it hasn’t been improving the smell anywhere.
Alberta bill seeks to reintroduce union, corporate contributions, ban tabulators and lower recall threshold, “I believe democracy thrives when people trust the process,” Premier Danielle Smith told reporters about the bill by Matthew Black, Apr 29, 2025, Edmonton Journal
Alberta is seeking to overhaul how its elections are administered including reintroducing union and corporate spending, increasing election spending limits, and banning vote tabulators as well as change rules around citizen initiatives and recall.
Bill 54: the Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 was tabled in the legislature by Justice Minister Mickey Amery on Tuesday.
“I believe democracy thrives when people trust the process,” Premier Danielle Smith told reporters about the bill.
She said the timing of the announcement, coming the day after the federal Liberals won Monday’s election, was coincidental.
“We were going to introduce it regardless of what the outcome of the election was. It just so happens that this is the timing now.”
The bill spells out more than 50 proposed changes to rules around elections and would amend seven government acts, some of which mirror the changes made to municipal elections announced last year via Bill 20.
Opposition justice critic Irfan Sabir said the new legislature was designed to appeal to the governing UCP’s supporter base.
“This act is weakening our democracy. This is bringing back dark money into our politics.”
Here are some of the major changes coming via Bill 54:
Unions and corporate donations
If passed, the legislation would allow Alberta corporations and unions to make contributions to parties, constituency associations, leadership contests and third party advertisers, among others.
Such contributions are prohibited under current rules in both provincial and federal elections.
Election spending limits
The bill proposes changing the formula-based approach to provincial election spending limits to a limit of $5 million for each registered political party.
Expense limits per candidate are set to rise to $75,000 from $60,800, and expense limits for parties in a byelection will grow to $75,000 from $28,000.
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Recall and initiative
The bill proposes lowering the signature thresholds for both citizen initiatives and recall.
Currently, initiative petitions must have signatures from 10 per cent of registered voters provincewide for certain initiatives, rising to 20 per cent for others.
The bill seeks to lower that bar to 10 per cent of the number of eligible voters who voted in the last election.
Similarly, the bill seeks to make it easier to recall an MLA through a series of changes, including:
Reducing the time limit for a recall petition from 18 months after an MLA is elected to 12 months
Extending the time for signatures to be gathered from 60 days to 90 days
Reducing the standard for a recall vote to be authorized from signatures from 40 per cent of the total number of electors to 60 per cent of the total number of electors who voted in the most recent electionNo more ‘vote anywhere’ or vouching, new special ballot rules
The bill would end the ability of voters in a provincial election to vote outside of their constituency at designated stations.
The “vote anywhere” option has been credited with making voting more accessible and for boosting turnout.
Following the 2023 election, officials also cited changes to how those ballots were counted as cause for election night delays in reporting results.
The legislation also proposes to end the practice of vouching, where an eligible voter in the same voting area vouches for a voter without identification.
It also seeks to amend rules around special ballots which are currently only available when a voter is unable to vote on the regular election day.
Article content
Under the new legislation, special ballot use would be expanded and voters could use one without having to first give a reason.
Tabulator ban
Similar to municipal elections, the use of electronic vote tabulators will be banned for provincial elections.
No lengthy ballots
The bill also proposed preventing a single official agent from acting on behalf of more than one independent candidate.
During Monday’s federal elections, voters in the Ottawa riding of Carleton had to navigate a field of 91 candidates on a ballot, including 83 independents all of whom listed the same individual as their official agent.
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Peter P:
Why doesn’t Dan just eliminate the recall legislation all together ?
It was already extremely difficult, on purpose, to remove a politician that was not doing an proper job. This is not democracy at all.
This is the same nonsense as them passing legislation making politicians untouchable for any wrongdoing or dishonesty. Pure fascism folks.
Now corporations can bribe or gift even more to politicians. Again, this is not democracy at all. Blatant corruption at work.
Rick yyc:
Trade mission to Asia I don’t believe it, where did you get the nice tan from it’s only spring in Asia temperatures are in low teens, I believe the tan is from a meeting you had in Florida and now your back here trying to change legislation for a quick referendum vote to separate from Canada from 600k to 170k signatures.
B Chuk:
Allowing big money into the election is exactly one of the major reasons the US is such a mess! It is a bad idea to allow union and corporate donations. Also, I would like to see what justification Premier Smith has that these “vote tightening” initiatives are actually necessary. She’s already increased the cost of doing elections by eliminating machine counting. Our elections are working just fine and don’t need the kind of changes that the premier is proposing.
Marvin Clark:
“I believe democracy thrives when people trust the process,” Premier Danielle Smith told reporters about the bill.
Best laugh of the day… Who in their right mind would “trust” Stromy Danielle?
@AB_AgainstUCP:
Hey, Alberta separatist traitors! Think you can just waltz out of Canada? Let’s unpack the colossal stupidity of this pipe dream. Spoiler: It’s a logistical nightmare so impossible, even your truck with hanging trucknutz can’t haul it, Kyle and Cletus #AIberta #abpoli #ableg
12:55 PM · Apr 30, 2025
Step 1: You need a referendum. Clear majority (not just 50%+1) to even start. Canada’s Clarity Act says so. Good luck convincing all Albertans, including cities like Calgary & Edmonton, to ditch Canada. Majority thinks you’re idiots and traitors( which you are) #cdnpoli #ableg
Step 2: Negotiate with Canada. LOL. Ottawa’s not just gonna say, “Sure, take your oil and go!” You’d need to amend the Constitution. That’s 7 provinces (50%+ pop.) agreeing. Name one province cheering for your clown show, clowns. #AlbertaSeparation #ableg #cdnpoli
AB against UCP
Step 3: Indigenous treaties. Alberta’s on Treaty 6, 7, & 8 lands. First Nations have constitutional rights. You think they’ll just nod and let you carve out their territory? You’d be drowning in court battles for decades. Good luck, geniuses. #AlbertaSeparation #ableg
Step 5: Land transfer. Alberta’s borders? Owned by the Crown. You’d need Canada to give you, sell you, the land. Plus, federal parks, bases, & infrastructure? Nope. You’re not walking away with Banff, assholes. It’s Canada’s, not your backyard. #Ableg
Step 6: Military. Gonna build an Alberta army? Canada’s not handing over jets or bases. You’d need billions for defense, plus treaties with NATO or the U.S. Meanwhile, your “militia” is just Bob snd Cletus with a hunting rifle. Pathetic. Idiots. #ableg
Step 7: Trade & borders. No more free trade with Canada or CUSMA benefits. Tariffs galore! You’d need customs, passports, border patrols. Imagine the paperwork. Your oil? Stuck behind red tape while you cry into your beer. And you think the UCP can handle this!? Dumbasses #ableg
Step 8: International recognition. You think the UN’s gonna welcome “Alberta, the Oil Republic”? Or “Dannies republic of Tarsands”? You’d need allies. The world sees you as Canada’s disturbed cousin, not a nation. Even tiny countries would snub your sad little flag..
Which would for sure just be a picture of queen Maraina dressed in plastic straws, holding a bottle of tylenot, no doubt.
ableg #abpoli #FireTheUCP
Final nail: It’s impossible. Decades of legal, economic, & diplomatic chaos for what? A broke, landlocked Alberta nobody respects? Wake up, separatist clowns. You’re not Texas. We’re Canadians. Forever. #AlbertaSeparation #PipeDream #ableg #abpoli
ableg #AlbertaCanadaUnity #firetheucp
To PM Carney: “We respectfully ask that you get the province of Alberta inline.”
To Premier Smith:
“We demand that you immediately stand down from this conduct. … If you or any Canadians are not happy living on Treaty lands, they are free to apply for citizenship elsewhere.”
@SandyCl50522222:
These are the best letters!
@JoelOrdinary:
These separatist traitors need to be put in their place
MyFirstSocialM2:
The “feel free to apply for citizenship elsewhere” is the chef‘s kiss.
Graham Thomson@gthomsonink:
Smith is toying with separatist sentiments, not only because it plays to her Conservative base, but because it’s an important distraction tool.
Source: Toronto Star