Opinion: Possible changes to Alberta’s electoral map put democracy at risk If the UCP fiddles with the map, it could guarantee a conservative supermajority for a generation

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... Rachel Notley speaks out.

UCP government’s electoral map move undemocratic: commission member - Red Deer Advocate Electoral Boundaries Commission majority report rejected by government

“The UCP government’s plan to dismiss an independent electoral boundary commission riding map recommendations and undertake a redo is a “stab in the heart for democracy,” said one commission member.”

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

reddeeradvocate.com/2026/04/20/u...

And what caused the rise in oil prices? Carney?!

Justice Miller predicted a court challenge if the minority report was adopted. If there is real gerrymandering (and not just adding two rural seats), there will be a court challenge, which will lead to injunction, which will lead Smith to attack unelected Trudeau judges. All of this is bad.

Duane Bratt: Gerrymandering electoral map will erode Alberta democracy Thursday was a bad day for democracy, and possibly setting up an even worse day for democracy.

edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

Alberta Poli-Sci 113 Exam: please put these activities in the correct order
--think up policy idea
--send policy idea to a referendum
--get referendum results
--ignore referendum results
--make the decision
--take policy concept to the legislature for debate
--implement what-ever

Also check out these two sentences from Rick Bell's column: "Premier Danielle Smith and her UCP government have made the decision. It will go to the Alberta legislature for debate this week."

Another voice raising concerns over Alberta's plan to redraw the electoral map, with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association saying the UCP's plan "casts a doubt over the equity and fairness of Alberta’s electoral process."

Michigan’s attorney general is rejecting an effort by the US Justice Department to obtain ballots and other voting materials from the Detroit area, a target of the Trump administration’s efforts to probe elections in states that the president falsely claims he won in 2020. https://cnn.it/423eS6p

Live Updates Trump Says Navy Struck and Seized Iranian Ship as U.S. Prepares for Peace Talks President Trump said a Navy destroyer had attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Oman. The White House said it is dispatching a high-level delegation, including Vice President JD Vance, to Pakistan for negotiations.

Breaking News: The U.S. military attacked an Iranian cargo ship trying to get past the American blockade of Iranian ports, President Trump said. Follow live updates.

When you’re desperate to keep your job….

Matt Gurney: Captain Canada loses his plane in his latest pathetic wimp-out moment But sure, this guy will stare down the Americans in a trade war.

It’s not that he was thinking about buying a jet, and now realizes that would be a bad idea. It’s that he bought a jet, and now wishes he hadn’t, so he wants to sell it as fast as he can to make the problem go away.

But sure. He’ll stand up to Trump. www.readtheline.ca/p/matt-gurne...

A bombshell new report reveals that top military officials have kept Trump out of the room during Iran war operations because they fear his erratic behavior will put troops in harm’s way.

www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Alberta's Big City Mayors Call Out UCP Government YouTube video by Real Talk Ryan Jespersen

"There's no non-cynical take on what the government is doing."

#yyc & #yeg mayors @jeromyyyc.bsky.social & @andrewknack.bsky.social say the #UCP is on the wrong track with plans to rewrite Alberta's electoral map...

📺 FULL: rtrj.info/041726RTRT

🎧 FULL: rtrj.info/041926

youtu.be/WSXrl6wVbQQ?...

Let's make electoral boundaries boring again Years ago, I was at a political science conference where the after-dinner speaker gave a history of electoral boundary processes in Canada.

Let's make electoral boundaries boring again
open.substack.com/pub/lisayoun... from the always wise @jlisayoung.bsky.social

Colorado Mammoth were up 3-0 after less than 3 minutes. But half ends Roughnecks 3 Mammoth 3.

I just said that!

Close to a sellout at the Saddledome. Not bad for the last game of the season for a 5-12 Roughnecks. Calgary is a lacrosse town!

Is there a hallmark card?

Iran War Live Updates: 2 Ships Are Fired On as Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Is Closed Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they were closing the strait until the U.S. blockade is lifted. Two ships reported being hit as they tried to cross the strait.

Breaking News: Iran said it was closing the Strait of Hormuz until a U.S. blockade was lifted. Two Indian-flagged ships reported being hit. Follow live updates.

Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job The FBI director has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

Kash Patel’s colleagues are alarmed by what they say is erratic behavior and excessive drinking, Sarah Fitzpatrick reports. More than two dozen people she spoke with described his management failures and conduct that could harm national security.

Thank you for your diligence on this matter!

Good work Charles!

Iran’s IRGC Says It Will Decide Who Crosses Hormuz Amid Divisions in Regime By Benoit Faucon The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it would decide which vessels are allowed to cross the Strait of Hormuz despite Iranian pledges that the waterway has been unblocked, in a sign the regime is divided over giving up its control of the critical oil conduit. “Passage is only possible with the permission of the IRGC Navy,” the paramilitary force said in a statement carried by state media. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier Friday on X that Hormuz was fully open following a cease-fire in Lebanon. Media affiliated with IRGC, which engineered Iran’s de facto closure of the maritime waterway, have attacked Araghchi’s announcement. The IRGC-affiliated news agency Tasnim warned the opening “will be considered null in case the alleged maritime U.S. blockade continues.” Tasnim criticized Araghchi’s post for “a complete lack of tact in information dissemination.” Fars, another IRGC news agency, said that “following the unexpected tweet from the Foreign Minister about the liberation of the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian society has been plunged into an atmosphere of confusion.” Saeid Golkar, an expert in Iran’s security services at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, said the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had left Iran’s regime divided. “Because the main arbitrator is gone, the fight between different factions has started,” he said.

44 min ago Iran Rejects Claim It Would Transfer Enriched Uranium to U.S. By Saleh al-Batati Iran said Friday it won’t send its stockpile of enriched uranium abroad, pushing back on remarks by President Trump that Tehran had agreed to hand it over. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the material wouldn't be transferred “anywhere,” according to state media, underscoring Iran’s long-standing position on retaining control over its nuclear assets. “Just as Iran’s soil is important and sacred to us, so too is enriched uranium,” Baghaei said, adding that sending the material to the U.S. “was never an option on the table.” He also dismissed reports of a potential permanent halt to enrichment, describing them as part of a media campaign aimed at influencing negotiators and shaping the course of the talks.

Trump says the Strait of Hormuz is fully open; but the IRGC says no, they get to decide who passes through.

Trump says Iran has agreed to turn over its uranium; and Iran says no, it won't.

www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

Smith’s Gerrymandering a Classic Sign of Authoritarian Gov't YouTube video by Energi Media

Smith’s Gerrymandering a Classic Sign of Authoritarian Gov't

Political scientist @DuaneBratt says if @ABDanielleSmith follows through with electoral boundary plan, it's a 5-alarm crisis for Alberta democracy.
#ableg #abpoli
youtu.be/-ryu-Bz5ZFE

All this time I thought that "is the pope a Catholic?" was a rhetorical question, but it seems to be a live one for some people

he has memorized the talking points that were given to him by the premiers office.

It is true that Miller recommended the creation of a Select All-party Legislative Committee. But only to gather better statistical information on Indigenous populations and to examine case law on electoral commissions. not to redo the work of the existing EBC.

Lunty is suggesting that Justice Miller recommended redoing everything. As opposed to this: For all the reasons stated herein, the majority recommends the adoption of the majority report in its totality.

ha!