Election 2023: Campaign Roundup - Day 26

Welcome to Day 26 of our Alberta 2023 Campaign Roundup!

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.

Campaign Roundup - Day 26:

• Tomorrow is the last day of advance voting. You can let us know on our website if you’ve already voted, or if you’re voting on election day, and then share that with friends to encourage them to vote too. As an added bonus, if you've already voted, we'll stop contacting you to remind you to vote!
  
  
• Stephen Harper endorsed Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party, saying that "the NDP is promising to hike taxes on job creators by 38%, a massive hike that would kill tens of thousands of dollars" and that “in this election there’s only one option to protect the economic livelihoods of you and your family - that’s Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party”.
  
  
• After backlash to some NDP Candidates’ statements about Catholic education, NDP Candidate Joan Chand’oiseau (Calgary-West) announced that her party would build the West Calgary Catholic High School. Chand’oiseau said her party believes in "accessible high quality education close to home".
  
  
• The UCP held a rally in Calgary last night with thousands in attendance. The event had to be moved outside since it quickly reached indoor capacity. Attendance was estimated at 2,000 supporters!
  
  
• Two NDP candidates, David Shepherd (Edmonton-City Centre) and Nathan Ip (​​Edmonton-South West), announced plans to attract investment in downtown Edmonton. The announcement focused on reinstating the Digital Media Tax Credit that had been policy during the NDP’s term in office.
  
  
• The former co-chair of the NDP’s disability caucus, Justin Reinke, has filed a human rights complaint against the party, alleging discrimination and then wrongful dismissal in retaliation for speaking out. He claimed “an immense amount of ableism” exists in the party. The NDP have said that Reinke was in violation of the party's anti-harassment policy.
  
  
• The NDP have also made a lot of noise about “lending” them your vote - but you might want to be careful doing that - the NDP’s track record on borrowing isn’t so good…
  
  
• Calgary City Councillor Kourtney Penner expressed disappointment that there hasn’t been a greater focus on affordable housing by either party. Unfortunately, Penner has been focused on cancelling fireworks in Calgary rather than advocating for municipal policies that address this.
  
  
• Finally, in a nice gesture of community, a local taxi driver has been offering free rides to advance polls for everyone he knows.

Support Our Work:

The Alberta Institute doesn't accept any government funding and never will. We think you should be free to choose, for yourself, which organizations to support. If you're in a position to contribute financially, you can make a donation here:

If you're not in a position to donate, we understand, but if you appreciate our work, you can help by spreading our message. Please forward this email to your friends, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and help make sure every Albertan knows what's going on in our province.