Survey Says Here is what Éric Grenier, Janet Brown, Kim Trynacity and Mean old me has to say about the Wildrose-PC merger vote

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/grenier-pollcast-brown-trynacity-1.4213207

The CBC Election Pollcast

What the Wildrose-PC merger vote means for Alberta politics

00:13 21:19

Listen to the full discussion above — or subscribe to the CBC Pollcast and listen to past episodes.

The Pollcast: What the Wildrose-PC merger vote means for Alberta politics

Host Éric Grenier is joined by Alberta pollster Janet Brown and the CBC's Kim Trynacity

CBC News Posted: Jul 20, 2017 2:18 PM ET

Wildrose Leader Brian Jean and Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney are hoping the members of their respective parties will vote to unite Alberta's right on Saturday. (CBC) 

The right is set to vote on whether to unite in Alberta.

The impact of that vote — merging the Alberta Progressive Conservatives with Wildrose in order to take on the governing New Democrats in 2019 — will be enormous, whether or not members of the two parties decide to come together.

• Jason Kenney outspent rivals to take PC leadership
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Jason Kenney, who became leader of the PCs earlier this year on a platform of merging with Wildrose, is expected to have an easier time accomplishing his goal. The Progressive Conservatives have set a threshold of a simple majority to go ahead with the merger.

Wildrose, which under Brian Jean forms the official opposition in the Alberta legislature, has set a higher bar at 75 per cent. Jean also has campaigned for the merger, but the result — from a party originally formed by people opposed to the PCs — is far less certain.

If the merger goes ahead, Kenney and Jean will be among the candidates running to lead what will be dubbed the United Conservative Party. But will all supporters of the two older parties stick with the new entity?

To discuss the potential outcomes of the merger vote and their consequences, Pollcast host Éric Grenier is joined by Alberta pollster Janet Brown and the CBC's Kym Trynacity.

  

267 Comments

Commenting is now closed for this story.



 
Gerry Manley

The big losers will be the citizens of Alberta. Neither the Wild Posies or the dinosaur tories have any plan to help Alberta. All they want to do is whine about the NDP and to go back to lining their pockets with taxpayer dollars like they did for 40 years.

David Raymond Amos

@Gerry Manley I agree sir

David Raymond Amos

@Bert van I think so too

Stevie Harper

Knowing how much frighties hate the 'elites', like professional politicians for example, can someone remind me again what kenney has ever accomplished outside of politics?

 

Eleanor Bunikowski

@Eddie Grant Why don't you stop dragging the PM into a discussion about AB politics??? Nothing else to say???

David Raymond Amos

@Eleanor Bunikowski Good point

mo bennett

@Stevie Harper he accomplished double dipping in taxpayer pockets!

David Raymond Amos

@mo bennett I concur

  

Dave Mack

All the right wing supporters ranting about the NDP should remember the only reason we have an NDP government in Alberta is because of the conservatives. Between Ralph blowing up hospitals and delisting services, Alison's air force and Prentice's look in the mirror remarks, people were just fed up with all the chicanery and double dealing by the conservatives. The NDP were elected by a public totally disgusted with conservative behavior. The NDP were voted in and the conservatives out but a lot of people who used to vote conservative.

David Raymond Amos

@Dave Mack I agree with your opinion of what happened. Need I say I enjoy watching this circus unfold its tent? Trust that I am no dipper supporter or fake left supporter. Like my forefathers I feel sorry for PC supporters. That party was history as soon as Harper and MacKay made a deal.

Methinks folks should vote for individuals they respect running in their own ridings no matter what party they belong to and let the political cards fall where they may in the end result. Things may change then. (At both federal and provincial levels)

Eddie Grant

@Eleanor Bunikowski

Why don't you stop dragging the former PM into a discussion about AB politics??? Nothing else to say???

David Raymond Amos

@Eddie Grant I had lots to say when I ran against Harper and his cohorts after I returned home from Fort Mac in 2015

 

Stevie Harper

I think a merge makes sense. Both parties are about fifty years behind the times

Dale McNeely

@Stevie Harper
so that would put the new party 100 years behind?

5

David Raymond Amos

@Dale McNeely The math appears to correct

  

Irv Millar

What does the right wing in Alberta expect to come of this merger? Heck, another shot at 40 years of lining the multinationals pockets with Canadian tax payer dollars from a dwindling labour market. NAFTA or any of its other manifestations will import entire work gangs in the near future. The Labour Movement hasn't stopped them. Some even enable these work conditions through a lack of long term vision.

Todd Hunter

@Irv Millar Right-wingers detest truths that disagree with their ideology...they call it "fake news".

David Raymond Amos

@Todd Hunter Which news organization do you believe? This one?

 

Matt Dunnigan

...and in rolls the perennially unemployed left-wing peanut gallery that aren't even from Alberta..

Moira Wilkinson

@Matt Dunnigan I haved lived in Alberta since Lougheed came to office. I campaigned for his Yellowedhead candidate Bob Dowling back in the day. The current PC and certainly the Wildrose Alliance, bear no resemblance to what Peter Lougheed stood for

David Raymond Amos

@Moira Wilkinson Clearly a voice of experience You tell them what they don't want to now.

mia stalling

@Matt Dunnigan I thought it was all the oil workers who were laid off in Alberta....who knew they were the peanut gallery

David Raymond Amos

@mia stalling A lot of those folks are Maritimers who have since gone home.

Remember when your political heros such as old Ralphy wanted us to freeze to death in the dark or when Harper called us defeatists? How would you feel if we said such things about you western folks?

Andy Doung

The new CPC leader, Andrew Scheer, is not the leader at all. Stephen Harper — with all his spite, bile and supreme selfishness — is still the spiritual guru of this bankrupt party. The CPC threw away its chance to reinvent itself in order to remain aligned with its Far Right Republican roots. And that is the reason the CPC turns to the United States to conduct Canadian political debate. The CPC is a mere branch plant of the GOP

Stephen O'Leary

@Andy Doung

Lol love it. Oh wait it wasn't a joke?

David Raymond Amos

@Stephen O'Leary Nope but you gotta love the circus anyway eh?

  

John Round

The NDP government will hire as many civil servants as possible over the next 2 years. If re-elected, we`ll end up with a bloated government that creates nothing, yet feeds off everything else.

Stevie Harper

@John Round since they haven't been doing that up 'til now, any other brilliance to emanate from your rear?

Dan Cooper

@Troy Murschell

"Statscan says the NDP have added 47,000 government jobs so far..."

Can you please provide a credible link to this???

An actual link from stats can showing this???

And no the rebel and Ezra Levant are not credible sources.

After googling this claim it looks like you have been used as a dupe by some radical right wing loser with a blog. LOLOL

David Raymond Amos

@Dan Cooper I find that Statscan claim pretty funny too

Content disabled.

David Raymond Amos

@Stevie Harper Perhaps if you pull your head out of his then the rest of us would hear it or at least smell something

David Raymond Amos

@Stevie Harper It appears that CBC did not like my response to your sly joke. However it was no worse than yours Furthermore I truly doubt you are who you say you are as per CBC's rules

 

Eddie Grant

The Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives together had 60% of the popular vote in Alberta in the last election, which let the NDP squeak through in a lot of ridings where they clearly should have lost. Now, with the horrible performance by the NDP after they fluked out an opportunity to hold the reins of government, Albertans will pound them out of office. I expect that the new combined Conservative government will likely take their popular vote to 70%.

Dan Cooper

@Eddie Grant

Please cite actual policies that the NDP have enacted that are causing Albertans to suffer.

Personally I have barely noticed a new government (the Conservatives were planning on adding debt and raising taxes as well).

Conservative losers that depend on the government to hold their hand are the only people I hear constantly whining about government.

David Raymond Amos

@Dan Cooper As much as I dislike dippers and know they have been as crooked a hell in their dealing with me personally I must be fair.

I have not noticed anything particularly terrible done by the dippers to the folks in Alberta either other than support the climate change tax grab.

Gord McPherson

@Jack O Hill

Not one cent of investment left Alberta because of the royalty review.

Did investment leave Alberta when the PC's held royalty reviews in 2007, 2008, and 2010.

Did investment flee Alberta when the PC's reviews royalty rates between 2011 and 2014?

Bill 6. All workers should be subject to the same rules.

The reason WCB staff sit behind bullet-proof glass is because there are too many nuts in Alberta thinking like "Wild West" outlaws.

David Raymond Amos

@Gord McPherson Those sneaky people have been sitting behind bullet-proof glass for quite some time.

Methinks the WCB staff deserved to be very nervous long before Alberta's economy took a nosedive. Their abuse of the injured workers is well known world wide. Google it sometime.

 

jimmysinclair

It means the end of the Notley regime.

David Raymond Amos

@jimmysinclair Don't they have to merge first?

jimmysinclair

@David Raymond Amos

No.

David Raymond Amos

@jimmysinclair If they don't merge who woud win the PCs under the Kennney or the Wildrose under Jean or the dippers once again?

Eddie Grant

IT MEANS THAT THE NDP IN ALBERTA ARE GONE, GONE, GONE!!!!!

Oooops! It appears that my caps lock was on.

Stevie Harper

@Eddie Grant thanks for adding that. What grade are you going into next year?

Eddie Grant

@Stevie Harper

How soon are you up for parole?

David Raymond Amos

@Eddie Grant Now thats funny