Alberta's Premier Alison Redford resigns

[Wirelight]

After some weeks, if not months of scandal and outrageous travel expenses ($45 000 for return flight to Mandela's funeral) the premier of my province has stepped down. I'll admit it caught me by surprise but now her party has 2 years to fix the damage she created until the next election rolls around (Alberta Cons down to 18% in the polls).

Alison Redford resigning as Alberta premier

Alison Redford has announced that she is stepping down as Alberta premier on Sunday night.

Redford, who has been dogged by questions about her leadership, made the announcement in the rotunda of the Alberta legislature at 6 p.m. MT. She will stay on as the MLA for Calgary-Elbow

"Quite simply I am not prepared to allow party and caucus infighting to get in the way of building a better future for our province and for all Albertans and that is why I am announcing today that with a profound optimism for Alberta's future, I am resigning as premier of Alberta effective this Sunday evening," she said.
Redford, 49, became the province’s first female premier in October 2011 after winning the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party.

She won a majority election in the April 2012 provincial election.

The announcement comes as Progressive Conservative riding association presidents in Calgary planned to vote on whether Redford has lost the confidence of the membership and should be asked to resign.

Redford's problems escalated last week when she announced she was paying back the entire $45,000 she spent to travel to South Africa for Nelson Mandela's memorial in December after weeks of refusing to do so.

The next day, Calgary-Foothills MLA Len Webber stepped down from the PC caucus. On Monday, Donna Kennedy-Glans resigned as the associate minister for electricity and renewable energy to sit in the legislature as an independent.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alison-redford-resigning-as-alberta-premier-1.2579356


Good riddance.

 

[Puppycow]

Gee, didn't a lot of world leaders travel to Mandela's funeral on their respective taxpayers' dime?

 

[kid meatball]

She's hardly a world leader. At 45k I would hope she got a lifetime supply of trips to SA.

 

[Madalch]

Ten years ago, I would have danced a jig at the idea of a Tory premier of Alberta being forced to resign. Now, I just hope the ever-further-to-the-right party doesn't take over.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Ten years ago, I would have danced a jig at the idea of a Tory premier of Alberta being forced to resign. Now, I just hope the ever-further-to-the-right party doesn't take over.

She is a Progressive Conservative. Maybe Mr Harper can appoint someone to carry on now that Preston Manning is dead.

 

[Madalch]

We called 'em Regressive Conservatives last time I was there.

 

[rustypouch]

Ten years ago, I would have danced a jig at the idea of a Tory premier of Alberta being forced to resign. Now, I just hope the ever-further-to-the-right party doesn't take over.

Agreed. I really hope that the Wild Rose Party doesn't get in next election.

But it's Alberta. All sorts of regressives out here.

 

[Wirelight]

Agreed. I really hope that the Wild Rose Party doesn't get in next election.

But it's Alberta. All sorts of regressives out here.

Yup. I'm so sick of a provincial government being in power for longer than I've been alive (I just turned 40) and the whole 'Ol Boys Club aspect to it. I would vote Wild Rose but they're even further to the right and being a union tradesman, I don't need anybody killing my union and my decent wage.

It's really too bad Raj Sherman for the Liberals has about as much personality as a lizard, I know I'm supposed to vote for the platform but it's nice to have someone who can speak clearly and he just doesn't.

This is the third leader, after Klein, Stelmach and now Redford that the party has edged out before an election, replacing them for fresh faces, just to edge them out a few years later (yeah, I know Klein was in for 15 years).

When are Alberta voters going to tire of the same dance? I know I am and have been for some years now.

 

[Madalch]

When are Alberta voters going to tire of the same dance? I know I am and have been for some years now.

And that's why the Tories spend billions of dollars every couple of election cycles to convince you that *this* new party leader makes it a *whole new* Conservative party, that won't make all the mistakes of the last one, and isn't responsible for the mess that the last one made. Klein convinced half the province that he had nothing to do with the corruption and incompetence of the Getty government (despite being in the cabinet at the time).

 

[DSo]

All you folks belly aching about Alberta are the epitome of 1st world problems.

A huge amount of the world would kill to live there. The numbers tell the story, within the foreseeable future, Alberta will have more people than BC. That will be primarily due to inter-provincial migration and out of country immigration. Why would people move there if its governance was completely horrible? Redford and Stelmach are just bumps in the road in the long arc of Alberta acendency....

 

[Madalch]

Why would people move there if its governance was completely horrible?

Because the oilpatch creates a lot of jobs.

 

[rustypouch]

All you folks belly aching about Alberta are the epitome of 1st world problems.

A huge amount of the world would kill to live there. The numbers tell the story, within the foreseeable future, Alberta will have more people than BC. That will be primarily due to inter-provincial migration and out of country immigration. Why would people move there if its governance was completely horrible? Redford and Stelmach are just bumps in the road in the long arc of Alberta acendency....

So what? Because things are better here than many places elsewhere, should we just stop trying to improve?

No matter how good things are, they can always be better.

 

[Wirelight]

Alison Redford’s travel expenses to be audited

Former Alberta premier’s use of government planes also under review

The office of Alberta’s auditor general confirmed Tuesday it will audit all travel expenses of former premier Alison Redford and her staff. The office will also audit the government’s controversial air transportation service, which operates the government’s fleet of planes.

Kimberly Nishikaze, the auditor general’s communications director, confirmed to CBC that auditors will review all expenses related to travel by Redford, and her staff, including the former premier’s use of government planes.

About time I say. Read more here