Where will Progressive Conservative Albertans find Refuge? With Drs. Yale Belanger and Richard Mueller

Following the 2019 provincial election win by the United Conservative Party (UCP), leader Jason Kenney, became Premier of Alberta. Since then, the province has arguably been in some kind of crisis mode ranging from financial woes to COVID 19 controversy (“Best Summer Ever”) to fights with doctors, nurses and Ottawa to name a few. Adding fuel to the fire, Alberta went through a leadership change in October 2022, when Danielle Smith won the race to replace Kenney as Premier.

Alberta is now on the verge of yet another very important election featuring an even more to the right-populist UCP led by Premier Danielle Smith, versus Rachel Notley’s New Democratic Party (NDP). The speakers will relate to the book they helped write, Anger and Angst: Jason Kenney’s Legacy and Alberta’s Right, which examines the chaos of the current UCP Alberta government leading up to the likely May 29, 2023 election date. This talk should leave the audience with a better understanding of current politics, ideology, and the “Take Back Alberta” movement.

Speakers: Drs. Yale Belanger and Richard Mueller

Dr. Yale D. Belanger (Ph.D.) is Professor of Political Science and a Member of the Royal Society of Canada, College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. He taught at the University of Saskatchewan before joining the University of Lethbridge in 2004.

Dr. Richard Mueller is professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Lethbridge and academic director of the Lethbridge Branch of the Prairie Regional Research Data Centre. Dr. Mueller holds a BA (Honors) and an MA from the University of Calgary, and a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. He taught at the University of Maine before joining the University of Lethbridge in the year 2000.