alberta – Mack & Cheese

Episode 59: Alberta goes orange, new life for the Galleria, the Rush might be gone, dead streetscapes downtown

mastermaq — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 21:05:56 +0000

In our fifty-ninth episode, we discuss the big NDP victory in the Alberta election, the latest Council decision to support the Galleria project, the risk that the Edmonton Rush might be leaving Edmonton after this season, and the vast swaths of downtown that remain either vacant or unfriendly toward pedestrians.

How did the NDP go from 5 seats to more than 50? Where did Prentice and the PCs go wrong? What does this mean for the NDP going forward? Who will the cabinet ministers be? On the Galleria project, why is Council now supporting it? Do we really need this project? Is it a social enterprise, or should the private sector really be taking this forward if it is actually needed? With such a successful season, why are the Edmonton Rush at risk of leaving the city? There’s a lot of great things happening downtown, but why are there so many vacant storefronts still? Will the new stuff be more pedestrian-friendly?

We discuss those questions and more.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!

Episode 32: Who will lead the PCs in Alberta now?

mastermaq — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 22:18:50 +0000

In our 32nd episode, a follow-up to our last episode on Alison Redford, we discuss the leadership race for the PC Party in Alberta. The premier is now Dave Hancock, but he has said that will only be interim, meaning we have a race on our hands!

With a leadership race occupying everyone’s attention, will anything get done? Who’s interested in being the next leader? What names should we expect to see in the race? Can the next leader pull off a victory given all of the issues the party has faced recently? We discuss those questions and more.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!

Episode 31: Can Alison Redford survive?

mastermaq — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 03:22:21 +0000

We recorded our 31st episode last week, the day before Alison Redford announced that she would be resigning as premier of Alberta. We decided to post it anyway, for posterity. Next week our episode will feature a post-resignation discussion!

With all the turmoil facing Alison Redford and her party, we decided it was only right to add our thoughts to the mix. Where did Redford go wrong? Can she survive the current crisis? If she can’t survive it, can the party? Is “eating your own young” a good strategy? We discussed those questions and more.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!

Episode 25: Premier Redford’s Leadership Review

mastermaq — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 05:54:22 +0000

In our twenty-fifth episode, we discuss Premier Alison Redford and the PC Party leadership review she faces later this week. An estimated 1500 voting delegates will converge on Red Deer on Friday and Saturday for the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta AGM and one of the things they’ll vote on is Premier Redford’s performance.

After a series of missteps since winning the election last year, there’s a small but loud group of people that would like to see some change at the top. How likely is it that Premier Redford will survive the leadership review? If, as expected, she does, what then? Will there be any other fallout? We discuss those questions and more in this more provincially-focused episode.

Graham was right on the money with his prediction for the outcome of the municipal election – will he do it again with his prediction on Redford’s leadership review?

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!