It’s a new year and Albertans can expect more fireworks when it comes to provincial politics.
The elections are still months away but experts say the informal campaign will only get more interesting as we go along.
If you’ve been watching political ads on television lately, prepare yourself, there’s a lot more where that came from.
“We’re already in election season and we have been for a while and that’s why you’re seeing so many ads from different groups,” said political scientist Duane Bratt.
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Bratt said the policy changes would make more money available for party spending as we head into the provincial election. And with no limit on donations to third-party advertisers, there will be even more ads.
“People always say aggressive ads don’t work, negative ads don’t work. Yes, they do, that’s why the parties keep doing it,” Bratt said.
Bratt said that the UCP and NDP are just using a tool in hopes of garnering votes in what is expected to be a close and competitive election race.
Political scientist Lori Williams said that whoever wants to win the Alberta election needs to win Calgary, Edmonton and rural Alberta.
Williams said that if Danielle Smith wanted to remain premier of Alberta, she would have to win Calgary.
Bratt said, “The NDP has largely locked down Edmonton, and much of rural Alberta is expected to go to the UCP – which makes the 26 seats in Calgary an opportunity for both parties.”
These experts said the two main focuses of this election will be the issues of health care and affordability. The areas on both sides have strengths and weaknesses.
Williams said, “If it’s health care and economic stability, those are files the NDP can use to their advantage.” “If it is economic welfare, the UCP can use that to their advantage, especially since they will have the money to provide relief or benefits.
“It’s really about a group of voters who voted for UCP in 2019 who are reluctant to vote for them now, so you can call them orphan voters, you can call them reluctant UCP voters, and Then the question is, what do they do?”
We will only have answers after Albertans vote on May 29.
“We’re still five months out, a lot can happen in that time period,” Bratt said.
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