Braid: Kenney shuffle cements Calgary's complete dominance of cabinet
Don Braid, Calgary Herald
In parts of rural Alberta, the UCP government is known as the United Calgary Party.
© Provided by Calgary Herald Premier Jason Kenney speaks alongside new cabinet members after a swearing in ceremony at Government House in Edmonton, on Thursday, July 8, 2021.
There’s good reason.
Premier Jason Kenney’s cabinet now has 26 members, including 20 full ministers, five associates and the premier himself.
Seventeen are from Calgary ridings.
This is the most geographically lopsided cabinet ever.
Calgary is clearly the power centre not just in numbers, but in influence.
MLAs from the city hold most key ministries, including Health, Energy, Municipal Affairs, Infrastructure, Transportation, Jobs and Innovation, Social Services, Seniors and Advanced Education.
And there’s the premier himself, who represents Calgary-Lougheed.
That riding is named for former premier Peter Lougheed. He would never have allowed this concentration of power. Lougheed was always sensitive to regional balance — one reason the Progressive Conservative regime lasted for 43 years.
Brian Jean, the former Wildrose leader who has called on Kenney to resign, said Thursday on Facebook: “Alberta now has one minister from everywhere north of Morinville (35 km north of Edmonton) and zero ministers from everywhere south of Calgary.”
The sole northerner is Finance Minister Travis Toews, from Grande Prairie-Wapiti.
In the south, there is no minister from Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Brooks, Fort Macleod, Cardston or Pincher Creek — all places represented by UCP MLAs, but not one of them in cabinet.
In the north, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo has nobody in cabinet — the most glaring omission of all, perhaps, given the region’s enormous economic importance.
All of northeastern Alberta is without a cabinet member.
There are 23 UCP MLAs in the city of Calgary. With 17 in cabinet, the odds of getting a spot are nearly 74 per cent.
The UCP has 38 members outside Calgary and Edmonton. That group supplies eight ministers. Rate of cabinet success: 21 per cent.
The only reason Edmontonians don’t shriek with rage is that they voted NDP in every riding but one, Edmonton-South West. It went to Kaycee Madu, the justice minister. He holds the safest cabinet post in Alberta.
But there’s no good reason for the imbalance between Calgary and the rest of the province. It became even more striking with Thursday’s cabinet shuffle.
Kenney kicked out a full minister, Leela Aheer from Chestermere-Strathmore, and an associate, Grant Hunter from Taber-Warner.
There’s good reason.
Premier Jason Kenney’s cabinet now has 26 members, including 20 full ministers, five associates and the premier himself.
Seventeen are from Calgary ridings.
This is the most geographically lopsided cabinet ever.
Calgary is clearly the power centre not just in numbers, but in influence.
MLAs from the city hold most key ministries, including Health, Energy, Municipal Affairs, Infrastructure, Transportation, Jobs and Innovation, Social Services, Seniors and Advanced Education.
And there’s the premier himself, who represents Calgary-Lougheed.
That riding is named for former premier Peter Lougheed. He would never have allowed this concentration of power. Lougheed was always sensitive to regional balance — one reason the Progressive Conservative regime lasted for 43 years.
Brian Jean, the former Wildrose leader who has called on Kenney to resign, said Thursday on Facebook: “Alberta now has one minister from everywhere north of Morinville (35 km north of Edmonton) and zero ministers from everywhere south of Calgary.”
The sole northerner is Finance Minister Travis Toews, from Grande Prairie-Wapiti.
In the south, there is no minister from Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Brooks, Fort Macleod, Cardston or Pincher Creek — all places represented by UCP MLAs, but not one of them in cabinet.
In the north, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo has nobody in cabinet — the most glaring omission of all, perhaps, given the region’s enormous economic importance.
All of northeastern Alberta is without a cabinet member.
There are 23 UCP MLAs in the city of Calgary. With 17 in cabinet, the odds of getting a spot are nearly 74 per cent.
The UCP has 38 members outside Calgary and Edmonton. That group supplies eight ministers. Rate of cabinet success: 21 per cent.
The only reason Edmontonians don’t shriek with rage is that they voted NDP in every riding but one, Edmonton-South West. It went to Kaycee Madu, the justice minister. He holds the safest cabinet post in Alberta.
But there’s no good reason for the imbalance between Calgary and the rest of the province. It became even more striking with Thursday’s cabinet shuffle.
Kenney kicked out a full minister, Leela Aheer from Chestermere-Strathmore, and an associate, Grant Hunter from Taber-Warner.
© Ian Kucerak Tanya Fir is sworn in as the Associate Minister of Red Tape Reduction during a cabinet appointment ceremony at Government House in Edmonton, on Thursday, July 8, 2021.
The premier replaced Hunter with Tanya Fir from Calgary-Peigan. Aheer’s role was broken into three pieces, two of which went to Calgarians: Muhammad Yaseen (Calgary-North) and Whitney Issik (Calgary-Glenmore.)
Of the five new associates appointed, four are Calgarians.
Mike Ellis of Calgary-West was promoted to associate for mental health and addictions.
The former occupant, Jason Luan of Calgary-Foothills, got the full portfolio of Community and Social Services
The premier replaced Hunter with Tanya Fir from Calgary-Peigan. Aheer’s role was broken into three pieces, two of which went to Calgarians: Muhammad Yaseen (Calgary-North) and Whitney Issik (Calgary-Glenmore.)
Of the five new associates appointed, four are Calgarians.
Mike Ellis of Calgary-West was promoted to associate for mental health and addictions.
The former occupant, Jason Luan of Calgary-Foothills, got the full portfolio of Community and Social Services
.
© Ian Kucerak Jason Luan shakes Premier Jason Kenney’s hand after being sworn in as Minister of Community and Social Services during a cabinet appointment ceremony at Government House in Edmonton, on Thursday, July 8, 2021. Photo by Ian Kucerak
And that job opened up because Rajan Sawhney of Calgary-North East moved to Transportation, leaving Ric McIver (Calgary-Hays) with only one senior job, Municipal Affairs.
Most of the shuffling, in fact, was among Calgarians moving in and up.
Only two small city/rural politicians advanced. Ron Orr (Lacombe-Ponoka) replaced Aheer in Culture. Nate Horner, from Drumheller-Stettler, got the new associate post for Rural Economic Development.
Horner’s appointment was a real gain for Albertans outside the big cities — but the only one.
Many rural conservatives are upset.
“This is not proper representation,” says Todd Loewen from Central Peace-Notley, who was kicked out of the UCP caucus for sending Kenney a public letter telling him to resign.
“It’s not right to consolidate power by regionally excluding large numbers of Albertans from having representation at the cabinet table.”
The huge cabinet contingent shows that Calgary is the obvious battleground in the next election. It may also be true that UCP strategists feel there’s no harm in bulking up Calgary because they can’t possibly lose rural Alberta.
If so, this is a dangerous strategy for the UCP. It runs against how premiers have always constructed their cabinets, with the goal of rough equity among the two big cities and the rest of the province.
Edmonton voted itself out of this formula, but virtually all of rural and small-city Alberta backed the UCP, without any idea it would come to look like the United Calgary Party.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Calgary Herald.
dbraid@postmedia.com
Twitter: @DonBraid
Facebook: Don Braid Politics
And that job opened up because Rajan Sawhney of Calgary-North East moved to Transportation, leaving Ric McIver (Calgary-Hays) with only one senior job, Municipal Affairs.
Most of the shuffling, in fact, was among Calgarians moving in and up.
Only two small city/rural politicians advanced. Ron Orr (Lacombe-Ponoka) replaced Aheer in Culture. Nate Horner, from Drumheller-Stettler, got the new associate post for Rural Economic Development.
Horner’s appointment was a real gain for Albertans outside the big cities — but the only one.
Many rural conservatives are upset.
“This is not proper representation,” says Todd Loewen from Central Peace-Notley, who was kicked out of the UCP caucus for sending Kenney a public letter telling him to resign.
“It’s not right to consolidate power by regionally excluding large numbers of Albertans from having representation at the cabinet table.”
The huge cabinet contingent shows that Calgary is the obvious battleground in the next election. It may also be true that UCP strategists feel there’s no harm in bulking up Calgary because they can’t possibly lose rural Alberta.
If so, this is a dangerous strategy for the UCP. It runs against how premiers have always constructed their cabinets, with the goal of rough equity among the two big cities and the rest of the province.
Edmonton voted itself out of this formula, but virtually all of rural and small-city Alberta backed the UCP, without any idea it would come to look like the United Calgary Party.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Calgary Herald.
dbraid@postmedia.com
Twitter: @DonBraid
Facebook: Don Braid Politics
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