1. Prentice reverses charitable tax credit reduction After significant criticism, Prentice reversed a decision to reduce the charitable donation tax credit. Former Wildrose Party employee Brad Tennant founded the Albertans 4 Giving petition which organized citizen pressure to make this change. The provincial budget, unveiled in March, saw the PC Party slash the tax credit … Read more

For about 250,000 Albertans born between 1994 and 1997, this election is their first opportunity to vote provincially. And, as the demographically youngest province in Canada, Alberta has the highest number per capita of residents under the age of 30. We have a lot of young people here. As an elected student leader in past … Read more

On Thursday, Premier Jim Prentice (PC) faced-off against Rachel Notley (NDP) and Brian Jean (Wildrose), while Dr. David Swann (Alberta Liberal) played largely on the sidelines. The one thing we know coming out of the leaders’ debate—Alberta’s next premier will be a lawyer (sorry, Dr. Swann). As with any debate, we had to have a … Read more

Please find below our analysis of the 2015 Ontario budget. Our review is occasionally interrupted by the government’s Progressive Conscience and its Fiscal Conscience. We do not know how this happened, so please pardon the interruptions. The 2015 provincial budget confirms the policy and political priorities for the Ontario Liberals that were previewed in the … Read more

Ontario is watching the Alberta election. Maybe not closely—given that it’s spring and the hockey and basketball playoffs are on and our own government has proposed a number of noteworthy policies in recent days. But Canada’s largest province will be impacted by the political and economic performance of Canada’s most affluent one in a whole … Read more

The federal election is no more than six months away, but the media—and others—have already declared the campaign officially underway. And that’s the lens through which today’s budget will be read by anyone interested in discerning how the federal Conservatives intend to position themselves for a fourth term in office. But you didn’t have to … Read more

The current state: Budget and our economy With a slump in oil prices and a volatile Canadian economy, Finance Minister Joe Oliver made a decision to delay his first federal budget to ensure that the forecasts, expenditures and proposed tax breaks were feasible in Canada’s current economic climate. It is now up to Canadians to … Read more

Lately I’ve been talking with a lot of friends and family about the upcoming provincial election. As a former executive assistant to David Swann during his first term as leader, the conversation inevitably turns to the Liberal party. Lots of my friends insist that the Liberal vote will completely collapse as voters flock to the … Read more

Having managed constituency campaigns for the PCAA in 2008 and 2012, I am enjoying the perspective of being a more casual volunteer this time around. I deeply respect those running for office—of all political stripes—and their hard-working volunteers. The NDP, under the determined leadership of Rachel Notley, is proving most interesting to watch. While I … Read more