It is what it is…

By Marc Chayer

Tick, tock.

That’s the sound you can hear in the offices of the NDP government in Alberta.

But, first let’s go back to the days of our last Conservative government. At the time we had a government seemingly tone deaf to the public feeling I, for one, was one of those who singled out the government of the day.

After the Stelmach experiment and the Redford debacle we, as citizens, felt the Conservative Party needed to wake up as it plodded along arrogantly self-assured that it would remain in power.

The Wildrose Party came along and gave the “rebels” a voice… that is right until Danielle Smith crossed the aisle. For many of us, that was the last straw.

A provincial election was called by then, the late Jim Prentice with the self-assurance that nothing could go wrong. Prentice was, after all, the guy from the outside brought in the rid the party of the stench.

In what is now history, angry voters marched to the polls and split the vote allowing for the unthinkable… an NDP government made up of surprised rookies and union hacks. Suddenly, we missed ole George VanderBurg, but not as much as we would in the next few years!

With the reasoning that the NDP did not control the price of oil, the NDP made excuse after excuse as it demonstrated just how amateurish they really were at things like budgets or not spending money you don’t have. Alberta’s advantage was quickly eroded as world financial markets downgraded our credit rating. (Twice in five months!)

As the markets lost confidence, we began to lose hope. Oil and gas prices remained depressed and, if this was not enough, the NDP rolled out the Carbon Tax.

Alberta, a proud and self-reliant province sank into the abyss and became the 43rd best place in the world to invest while Saskatchewan moved all the way up to third. If by now you have the feeling we are running over a cliff, you would not be wrong. 250,000 unemployed Albertans already have.

With the Wildrose looking to gain traction, Conservative faithful took a deep breath and began the search for a new leader… enter Jason Kenney.

Coming from the federal party, Kenney saw an opportunity in Alberta to not only take a leadership role, but to also unite both the Conservative and Wildrose parties. Many were aghast at the suggestion. Stoic Conservatives unite with that rabble from the Wildrose? Never!

But, as time went on, tick tock. Rachel Notley continued on an agenda that has nothing to do with what actually makes Alberta great instead focusing on keeping the socialist masses in Edmonton happy hugging trees and vilifying the oil and gas sector.

The more she talked, the more we got over the Unite the right idea and the more it became what would need to happen to save not only the conservative movement, but to save Alberta itself. Kenney becoming Leader of the Conservatives was almost a no-brainer. The more Rachel talked, the more momentum he gained.

As I write this, Kenney is now the leader of the Alberta Conservatives and Brian Jean from the Wildrose is to meet with him on Monday to begin talks to unite both parties under one umbrella with the focus on throwing out the NDP.

Tick tock, tick tock.

Rachel, your legacy will be to reinforce the notion that no NDP government should ever be elected again in the Western Hemisphere! We, as Albertans, will not soon forget the utter disaster you have been and the pain and damage you have caused which will take generations to correct.

The tide is turning, folks, and the Alberta Advantage will soon be realized once again. The Conservative movement in this province is angrier than ever before and eager to throw the bums out.

Hey, George, you got my vote!

Rachel Notley, Oniel Carlier, tick tock, your time is running out… and thankfully so.

It is what it is…