00:02:15.960We'll see what we can do for you guys, but for now, I hope you enjoyed the break this week for those of you who really seem to dislike that song.
00:02:23.480Okay, everyone, and now moving into our first topic here, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not be attending the Calgary Stampede this year.
00:02:30.480The 10-Day Rodeo is typically considered a must-do for all politicians, and Trudeau hasn't missed a single Calgary Stampede since he's been Prime Minister, except for the years of COVID-19 during 2020 and 2021.
00:02:44.680The Prime Minister's office did not give an immediate explanation for his absence this year.
00:02:49.140However, they did announce that he would be traveling to Washington, D.C. to participate in this year's NATO Summit, and that will take place from July 11 to July 10.
00:02:57.600Obviously, the Calgary Stampede has already kicked off. It begins at the beginning of July, so there was lots of time for him to attend the event.
00:03:05.400He obviously just doesn't want to go. He's not well-liked in Alberta. He receives a lot of heckling when he comes.
00:03:11.340He, you know, lots of crowds show up. Many more people show up to protest him than they do to support him, so it's no surprise that he just wasn't up for it this year,
00:03:19.560considering his recent and embarrassing election loss in Toronto, where the Liberals lost a seat.
00:03:24.380Still, this is how the CBC explained the Prime Minister's presence at the Calgary Stampede last year.
00:03:42.500Let me just give you guys a little refresher in case you forgot what Trudeau's last Calgary Stampede appearance looked like.
00:03:48.340This is a moment to gather and to celebrate being able to gather once again.
00:04:04.620Of course, there's no reference to the heckling that Trudeau experienced at the Stampede,
00:04:09.180and truly that he experiences every time he comes to Alberta.
00:04:12.100You guys might remember a few months ago he came, and the Prime Minister's office did the absolute most to keep that visit and the location of that visit on lockdown.
00:04:21.660They are so nervous when he comes here.
00:04:23.380They don't tell anyone where the meetings are going to be held.
00:07:56.240The Alberta NDP has no support outside of Edmonton and Calgary.
00:08:00.600That's going to be a problem for them in days to come.
00:08:02.360But even in Edmonton where the UCP won no seats in the last election,
00:08:07.140the Alberta NDP are actually just two points ahead of the UCP right now.
00:08:11.060UCP caucus whip Shane Getzen said that Albertans recognize the work their government is doing to make life better for them.
00:08:16.700And since the 2023 general election, he said the UCP caucus has created jobs, paid down debt, and grown the Heritage Fund.
00:08:23.940In a statement to True North, Getzen said,
00:08:25.800Albertans also have no interest in going back to the NDP's radical ideas and job killing policies.
00:08:32.540A change in NDP leadership won't change that.
00:08:35.220Now Nenshi has been able to shore up support in Calgary, where he served as the mayor from 2010 to 2021.
00:08:41.960The Alberta NDP trailed the UCP there by just four points, and that's down from eight points in March.
00:08:46.640So he is able to close that gap in Calgary, but there's going to be big problems for the Alberta NDP if he is not able to expand his support across the province, and especially in Edmonton.
00:08:56.420The survey also shows that Nenshi's proposal to separate the Alberta NDP from the federal branch appears to be a popular one in Alberta.
00:09:04.120We covered this pretty extensively last week.
00:09:06.120During the campaign, Nenshi floated the idea of divorcing the Alberta NDP from the federal party.
00:09:10.640He says it doesn't seem to make sense that they are so stated, and he hears that from the membership everywhere he goes.
00:09:16.040People are talking about it might be time to leave the federal party.
00:09:26.780Really ineffective in every sense of the word.
00:09:30.080And then immediately after winning the leadership contest, and then she told reporters that he wanted to put that question to the membership as soon as possible,
00:09:36.740because it is such a hot topic within the party right now.
00:09:40.220Now, when asked about this possible separation from Abacus data, the poll found that 49% of Albertans said they supported it,
00:09:47.300compared to just 21% who oppose the Alberta NDP splitting from the federal party.
00:09:52.920And when we're looking at Alberta NDP supporters specifically, 49% said they support the split, as did 43% of federal NDP supporters.
00:10:02.480So I think the membership within the party recognizes that this is really a branding and a marketing issue for them.
00:10:08.160The UCP and Alberta Premier, Danielle Smith, has used this fact to attack the Alberta NDP rather effectively.
00:10:15.600So that's been a big problem for the Alberta NDP.
00:10:17.640It seems pretty self-explanatory to me that Nenshi would be looking to rectify that branding and that marketing issue.
00:10:24.760Okay, guys, moving into our controversy of the week.
00:11:47.960According to the city's website, this funding went to research and engagement with residents, businesses, and visitors through surveys, focus groups, and workshops.
00:11:56.660The development of brand assets for community partners such as photography and videography.
00:12:01.500The creation of the visual identity, including a toolkit and storytelling playbook.
00:12:06.240As well as promotional materials for upcoming community events.
00:12:09.700I don't understand why they need to have focus groups to come up with a new name for the city and a new logo.
00:12:16.000Like it's just an unbelievable amount of effort that went into producing something so crappy.
00:12:21.600So these costs are actually expected to balloon to closer to $5 million with all the advertising and rebranding exercises that they have planned.
00:12:31.260And if you dig into this further, it becomes immediately obvious that this was all part of some woke exercise.
00:13:21.620I think you probably should have just left things as they were and done a better job branding the perfectly good slogan that you already had.
00:13:37.760They can't even seem to deliver basic services like water to its residents.
00:13:41.480And, you know, now this is just a sign for me.
00:13:43.840Maybe it is time for me to take my business somewhere else, pay taxes to somewhere where they're not going to be wasted in such a stupid and inefficient way.
00:17:53.080Now, I want you to remember that we are still under stage four outdoor water restrictions and we are still under the fire ban.
00:18:01.780And once the water services team says that the water system is healthy enough, we will move from those stage four restrictions down to stage three.
00:18:10.720Now, the city is saying to help our system adapt, please be mindful of your water use for the first few days.
00:18:16.620If you have been waiting to catch up on laundry or other activities, please space it out.
00:18:20.060So this, I just really didn't understand.