Will Alberta be UCP in Perpetuity?

Mired in corruption scandals, besieged by bad press and at the mercy of fringe separatist groups that the vast majority of the public is against, you’d think the United Conservative Party would be in hard times. And yet…

A new poll for the CBC shows the UCP is actually holding its popularity, while the provincial NDP under Naheed Nenshi has dropped.

Historically New Democrats have been more tolerant of their leaders’ failings than Conservatives, writes David Climenhaga in this week’s cover story, but there’s got to be a limit.

“Sooner or later someone has to ask if Nenshi is the person best suited for his job.”

In other news this week, Brett McKay with the Investigative Journalism Foundation got the full list of the more than 170 books pulled from library shelves. The premier is launching a propaganda blitz using taxpayers’ money to sway votes on this fall’s referendum, writes Climenhaga. University of Calgary economics professor Lindsay Tedds says Pierre Poilievre doesn’t understand one of the key insights of his economic hero, Adam Smith. And a new study confirms what regulators got wrong and Andrew Nikiforuk was right about — the cause of record earthquakes in the Peace River region a few years ago was the result of industry injecting wastewater underground.

Elsewhere…

• Elections Alberta obtained a court injunction to force David Parker’s separatist Centurion Project to remove an online database of voter information from the province’s electoral list. That data is strictly controlled as it contains full names, addresses, phone numbers and other details of the province’s millions of registered voters. The list was apparently provided to Parker’s group by the Republican Party of Alberta, and subsequently was able to be viewed by any of the more than 100 volunteers who signed up to help Centurion’s work. The RCMP and Elections Alberta are both investigating. [Various]
• Elections Alberta says it learned of the unauthorized use of the list in late April. But the organization was sent a tip that Centurion volunteers could access the voter list in late March. How does Jen Gerson know that? “I know this because that person was me. I wrote that email.” [The Line]
• Even the talk of separating — let alone actually leaving — will have a disastrous effect on Alberta’s economic climate. “The province might be rich, but as a country, it could be rather broke.” [The Walrus]
• An analysis by The Narwhal shows millions in taxpayer dollars are going to some Alberta ranchers to cover debts owed by delinquent oil and gas companies. [The Narwhal]
• Mary Scaletta tells Maclean’s why she’s forever Canadian, and what she heard canvassing for the petition to keep the country together. [Maclean’s]
• Shell is expanding its operations in Alberta after acquiring Calgary-based ARC Resources for $22 billion. “It is the latest in a series of deals in the Canadian oilpatch in recent months, and more are expected as companies search the globe for secure, low-cost and long-term sources of oil and natural gas, especially after the disruptions caused by the U.S. war with Iran.” [CBC]