Member-only story
As the smoke fades, Alberta’s election choice is clear
The world’s third largest petro-state goes to the polls May 29 in the full grip of the climate emergency
Rain washed the smoke from Edmonton skies as I cast my vote at an advance poll in Alberta’s election this week, a brief respite from wildfires consuming nearly a million hectares of boreal forest and grasslands.
Once again, the climate emergency is disrupting our everyday lives, and we are responding as we know best: with community, with solidarity, with helping our neighbours.
It is remarkable to see how smoothly and effectively our emergency response unfolds: hundreds of cots and thousands of meals at the ready in what’s normally a large convention centre; pet rescues set up for those who had to flee quickly, expedited emergency compensation for the displaced.
These are the things we take for granted in our democracy in Canada, where unity in diversity (and adversity) is a fact of life rather than an aspirational goal. And it is this very sense of community that is too quickly taken for granted, as citizens head to the polls in Alberta’s post-pandemic provincial election.
The two women who lead the province’s major parties have experienced the full burden of leadership as…
