Everyone is shocked. I haven’t spoken to one person yet who saw this NDP majority landslide coming. In retrospect, the passion at the ballot box was a healthy endorsement of democracy in lieu of climate rife with wasted taxpayer money and untrustworthy politicians. Many would purport the ruling Progressive Conservatives as elitist and out of touch. Even the sudden exit of Jim Prentice after having won his seat had a scent of arrogance while he shunned his constituents and superimposed a semblance of family responsibility to cover for his great escape in a debacle partly of his making. The old boys club is no more. The halls of power in parliament have shifted and for the sake of our economy dominated by the oil and gas sector, we hope that calm words from Rachel Notley translate into rational policy.
NDP administrations in other Canadian Provinces have had difficulty hosting an economic climate of vigor through words and deeds which business leaders had come to believe as threatening to progress. Business equals risk and risk deploys capital. Capital seeks homes where returns are reasonable and regulatory hurdles are in line with good common sense. All stakeholders are provided due care.
Trouble arises when irrational sentiment blurs the common good. Cause and purpose can be superseded by competing interests lost in the internal dynamics of an operating environment. Fearful that followers will lose faith if concessions are undertaken for the betterment of sound policy, leaders become distracted by whispering chatter of intransigent discontents.
Alberta is embarking upon an experiment of inexperienced politicians whom first must become versed in parliamentary procedure. They’ll come to learn the nuances of drafting legislation that will impact the lives of a constituency. Time will tell if they possess the capacity to be balanced, open, and sensible.