One of the most prominent debates in Alberta politics right now is the proposal to merge the Wildrose Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives to form a new party to take on the governing NDP in the next election.

St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse’s sudden decision to drop out of the Alberta Liberal leadership race was surprising. However, what may not have been so surprising was that he was the only declared candidate for the leadership until he dropped out. Finally, on the deadline of March 31, two last-minute candidates signed up, sparing the Liberals the indignity of a leadership race where no one showed up.

I’ve heard a lot of different predictions about what will happen in this year’s St. Albert election. One person suggested to me that either the people who support the ‘status quo’ of spending on City projects, or the people who support cutting back on different kinds of spending, will win a majority on Council. Another person predicted that all the incumbent members of Council would be removed.

During the federal Conservative leadership race, Kellie Leitch has gotten more attention than most candidates, due in large part to her proposal to screen new immigrants for “Canadian values”. The proposal has gotten Leitch a lot of support, but it’s also gotten her a lot of criticism from people who say that the proposal is racist. White ethnic nationalists have even latched onto Leitch’s campaign, in much the same way as their American counterparts have to President Donald Trump. Since then, Leitch has denied that her campaign is based on ethnic nationalism. Instead, she says, it is based on civic values. Her campaign website indicates that the “Canadian values” she promotes include gender equality, freedom of religion, freedom and tolerance.

The election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. President is said to be a backlash by Americans, many of whom live in the “flyover country” of the central states, against an elite that lives in the coastal states. This elite, who supported Hillary Clinton, supposedly sees Americans in flyover country as stupid and bigoted, and doesn’t care about their problems. Voting for Trump was flyover country’s retaliation against the elite.

The St. Albert Healing Garden, meant to be a way of recognizing the abuse and torment that Indigenous survivors of the residential school system endured, has had a rough ride lately. The committee overseeing the Garden ended up having to come back to City Council for more funding after geotechnical reports showed that new pilings would be needed for the construction, because of the high water tables. Council balked at the increased cost, and asked the committee to try to find another site. Residential school survivors working with the committee described the incident as a ‘slap in the face’. Meanwhile, some residents are questioning the amount of money we’re spending on the Garden and whether the Garden is even necessary.

Donald Trump’s candidacy for the U.S. presidency has attracted a lot of scorn for many of Trump’s supporters. Kevin Williamson and David French wrote contemptuously in the National Review about how the working-class Americans supporting Trump had no one to blame but themselves for their problems. They failed themselves, and they should have known better.

The wave of attacks that have occurred this summer have made the debate over how to respond to terrorism more heated than ever, with calls for Canada and its allies to step up the fight against ISIS and other organizations. Other voices decry what they see as the tarring of all Muslims and people of Arab and Middle Eastern background as potential terrorists, arguing that it amounts to racism and judging people guilty until proven innocent.

The passing of Mel Hurtig will remind Canadians that his courageous work is still unfinished, and he needs powerful successors.

Yesterday, we celebrated Canada Day. For most people, Canada Day is a day to take pride in, to celebrate who we are as a country. However, more recently there have been harsh criticisms levied against past figures in Canadian history, particularly prime ministers like John A. Macdonald and Wilfrid Laurier. Critics have pointed out the way past historians often ignored or downplayed the negative aspects of their legacies, such as the “head tax” on Chinese immigrants, the discrimination against indigenous peoples, or the racist immigration hierarchy that favoured people from Western and Northern Europe over people from other parts of Europe or the world.