Election 2023: Campaign Roundup - Day 1

Welcome to Day 1 of our Alberta 2023 Campaign Roundup!

You can read Day 2 on our website here.

With the 2023 Alberta election now finally underway, I'll be bringing you daily updates on all the policy proclamations, platform promises, and political point-scoring from the campaign trail.

I hope you'll find these updates engaging and informative, but if a daily email is too much for you, you can always find an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email that will stop just these daily updates without removing you from our regular weekly newsletter.

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Happy electioneering, everyone!

Regards,

Peter McCaffrey
President
Alberta Institute

Campaign Roundup - Day 1:

• The writs for the Alberta 2023 election were issued today, meaning the election campaign has officially begun.
  
  
• The UCP kicked off their campaign with a big tax policy announcement, promising to lower taxes for every Albertan. Danielle Smith announced that, if reelected, the UCP would create a new 8% tax bracket, meaning that Albertans would only be taxed at 8% instead of 10% on the first $60,000 of their income. This would be a substantial saving for every Albertan, capped at a maximum of roughly $760 per year for those earning over $60,000.
  
  
• The UCP also promised to index all tax thresholds for inflation and extend the Fuel Tax Holiday until December 31st, 2023, saving Albertans 13 cents per litre at the pump, approximately equivalent to the cost of the federal government’s carbon tax.
  
  
• The NDP, by contrast, kicked off their campaign with a rally instead of a policy announcement. Rachel Notley didn’t commit to any specific action or platform item today, but promised to focus on what she believes to be Albertans’ priorities - health care, education, affordability, and job creation.
  
  
• In a piece in The Hub, economist Trevor Tombe made the case that the election could be very tight. He argued that based on his projections, just a few hundred votes in a handful of ridings could be all it would take to change the outcome of the entire election.
  
  
• Former Calgary Councillor, Jeromy Farkas, made the opposite argument on Real Talk with Ryan Jesperson, noting that based on his experience talking to Calgarians on the ground, he’s feeling things swing more back towards the UCP, with Danielle Smith dominating the airwaves, ensuring the media and public are talking about the issues she wants to be talking about, and quickly retaking control of the narrative when distractions come up.
  
  
• Finally, if you don’t know who your local candidates are yet, there’s now a handy searchable database online with an interactive map. If you don’t know which riding you’re in yet, head to the Elections Alberta’s website to figure that out first.

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