Olympia Marie Wawryk, BC Liberal member and cat

Not kidding; Christy Clark campaign.

Whenever there are leadership campaigns in a party, signing up members for support is very important. However, as the above article demonstrates, there are serious problems that can arise. However, the most serious problem for the party might not be the possibility of fraud, but the public message it conveys. To sign up people who actually support you is one thing, to sign up friends and family just because they are is another, but to sign up a cat...conveys the message that there is nobody left in the province who wants to support the party, and that is definitely in the party's best interests. Of course, so is having the party turn onto itself over this sort of triviality. Obviously, this is a win-win situation - if you are the editor in chief of a major newspaper.

The thing is, this wasn't the only incident. Kevin Falcon's team signed up an entire hockey team...without the team knowing it. Surprised? It doesn't end there. A family managed to be signed up by the Liberals without even knowing it. Nobody has claimed responsibility for this last one yet, but I'm sure someone will find out soon.

In addressing bogus memberships, it is imperative to also explore memberships for all the wrong reasons. Once again the BC Liberals have graced us: a restaurant owner supporting the Liberals recently began (then ended after realizing it was a mistake) a program to reward his employees with an iPad if they signed up 25 new members.

40 years and counting

What with the revolution in Tunisia and continued uprisings across the Arab world, most prominently Egypt, this is a good time to talk about the apparent demise of another one-party state, and this one's quite close to home. That's right, I'm talking Alberta. Of course, Alberta isn't truly a one-party state since it has free elections and all, but given the way the last 11 elections have gone...it might as well be one. It has often been said that you could run a fence post as a Progressive Conservative in Alberta, and it would win. That's true enough, or at least, it used to be.

Since 1971, Alberta has been run by the PCs. Yes, it has been 40 years, beating out the likes of Iraq and Egypt, and given a few more years they'll take on East Germany. This may not be the norm in other democracies, but in Alberta it's quite standard. In their 106-year history, Albertans have changed governing parties a whopping 3 times.

However, lately, there have been signs of fracture in the dynasty. Ed Stelmach was highly disliked as premier, and was recently forced to announce his resignation. Finance Minister Ted Morton, who has always been at odds with Premier Stelmach, also resigned to take the top job. Now, normally, this sort of party fratricide would not be a good thing in terms of PR, and for once, in Alberta, there is no exception.

Logically, when a government is viewed as tired, and when there is an appetite for change in the Canadian political scene, a Conservative government will give way to a Liberal one. Not so in Alberta. The name "Liberal" is so poisonous in Alberta that, for whatever lopsided reason, the newest political force is a party even more conservative than the PCs - the Wildrose Alliance. Now at first sight this is impossible. However, when you consider the fact that this is Alberta, it's not so absurd. After all, these are the folks who brought us the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers.

Why are the Wildrose Alliance such a threat to the PCs? They have a likeable leader, they're a sensational breath of fresh air, and they have 4 MLAs. To put that into perspective, the PCs themselves have 67 and the Liberals, the collection of unelectables of Alberta, have 8. But, for some reason, the PCs feel they have cause to panic. Not that that's a bad thing. When governments panic, they do things. Often times it's too little too late, but still better than nothing, as is usually the case.

Anyways, the bottom line is, 40 years is a long time, and it was about time Albertan politics got interesting again. Cherish it, because it likely won't happen again for another generation...or maybe two.