The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - Is Gondek the most popular mayor in Canada？

00:00:00.000 The consistently lowest-rated premier in the country, and one of the few with a lower approval rating than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,

00:00:07.700 G.O.T. Gondek, has inexplicably been named Mayor of the Year by an Ontario-based municipal magazine.

00:00:14.440 Alberta is partnering with Shark Tank star Mr. Wonderful, or Kevin O'Leary, to build the world's largest AI data centre.

00:00:21.900 The Alberta government passed a trio of bills protecting parental rights, promoting fairness in sports against transgender intrusion, 0.99

00:00:29.180 and preventing minors from undergoing irreversible gender transitions.

00:00:33.860 Liberal MP Randy Boissoneau is defending how he portrayed his connection to Indigenous ancestry and throwing his former business partner under the bus.

00:00:43.060 And former NDP leader Rachel Notley has resigned her seat as MLA, creating an opening for Nenshi to finally run in.

00:00:49.820 All that and more in this week's version of the Alberta Roundup.

00:00:52.840 I'm Isaac Lamoureux, your host of the show, and let's hop in to that first story now.

00:00:59.180 So you may be scratching your head at the fact that an Ontario-based municipal magazine has named G.O.T. Gondek

00:01:13.600 Mayor of the Year, and you wouldn't be alone.

00:01:16.820 The monthly magazine has been published since 1981.

00:01:20.720 I reached out to the magazine to get them to explain to me how they came to this determination,

00:01:25.660 and Executive Director of Municipal World Greg Crone told me that the publication sought a mayor who showed leadership while moving forward on their agenda.

00:01:35.420 He said, quote,

00:01:36.340 A June 2024 poll by Think HQ highlighted that Gondek only had a 26% approval rating, contrasted, of course, with her 64% disapproval rating.

00:01:55.760 The poll showed that Gondek and the City Council's approval ratings had plummeted following Calgary's handling of the water crisis.

00:02:02.620 Think HQ president Mark Henry said the polling ratings were unprecedentedly low for Gondek and the City Council.

00:02:09.560 He said, quote,

00:02:10.640 They've managed to break their own record for low approval ratings set in December of last year,

00:02:15.660 and it seems driven primarily by negative public reactions to policies like the single-use bag bylaw and blanket rezoning.

00:02:22.880 Crone told me that the magazine intended to present no messaging and that it was up for readers to decide what they think of the decision.

00:02:29.640 He said, quote,

00:02:31.140 We did not look at polling data as it was purely an editorial decision.

00:02:35.780 Gondek told CTV News that she did not know the award existed, but that she was shocked and humbled by the decision.

00:02:42.940 Gondek's predecessor and current NDP leader Naheed Nenshi similarly won a mayoral award when he was granted the 2014 World Mayor Prize.

00:02:52.380 He, too, did not fare well in his approval ratings, although he outperformed Gondek.

00:02:57.280 A June 2019 poll from Think HQ highlighted that Nenshi had a 39% approval rating, contrasted with 55% disapproval.

00:03:06.060 During Nenshi's tenure, the City Council had a 25% approval rating, contrasted with 66% disapproval.

00:03:13.540 Polling on the City Council's approval rating during Gondek's tenure was the exact same.

00:03:17.940 Gondek was previously, of course, subject to recall legislation that did not meet the legal threshold.

00:03:23.380 However, the process revealed that the threshold was nearly impossible to meet, and Alberta Premier Daniel Smith pledged to review it.

00:03:31.000 This year was the first that Municipal World awarded the Mayor of the Year.

00:03:35.220 Now, hopping to a more provincial story, Alberta is partnering with Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary to build what he deemed the largest AI compute data center park on Earth.

00:03:45.020 Wonder Valley, perhaps a nod to O'Leary's Mr. Wonderful nickname, will span thousands of acres in the Greenview Industrial Gateway in Greenview, Alberta, near Grand Prairie.

00:03:55.780 O'Leary said that the 7,000 acres of land allow technology and nature to unite to power global innovation in a post to X.

00:04:02.980 The partnership will work to build an off-grid natural gas and geothermal power infrastructure.

00:04:08.460 The project is set to roll out in phases, according to a press release from O'Leary Ventures.

00:04:12.940 The first phase of the power solution will generate 1.4 gigawatts of power and cost around $2 billion USD, and subsequent rollouts will generate 1 gigawatts of power annually.

00:04:25.500 O'Leary said in an interview that power constraints in the United States made American sites less desirable.

00:04:32.280 He said, irrespective of the state, they were handcuffing him on getting the power generation for data centers.

00:04:37.920 Virginia, which O'Leary said hosts 45% of the data centers in the United States, recently passed a law banning the use of backup generators for data centers.

00:04:48.500 He said that data centers need to be active 99.99% of the time, which means a downtime of only 14 seconds per month.

00:04:56.480 O'Leary said, quote,

00:04:57.440 I don't care what state you go to. You go to the power authority there and say, I need this. I just want 100 megawatts. Can't do it. We have no power in America right now.

00:05:06.380 Smith said the $70 billion project will be, quote,

00:05:09.300 the largest investment in Alberta's history and the largest investment of its kind in the world.

00:05:14.380 With Alberta's low taxes, free market, abundant natural gas, and skilled labor force, we're positioned to be a world leader in AI data centers.

00:05:22.640 Smith added that over the last 20 years, Alberta has only invested $1 billion to grow its technology industry, which obviously pales in comparison to the $70 billion investment.

00:05:33.140 Investing is all about the future. So what do you think is going to happen?

00:05:37.260 Bitcoin is sort of inevitable at this point.

00:05:39.780 I think it would come down to precious metals.

00:05:42.360 I hope we don't go cashless.

00:05:44.480 I would say land is a safe investment.

00:05:46.980 Technology companies.

00:05:48.180 Solar energy.

00:05:49.100 Robotic pollinators might be a thing. 1.00

00:05:51.560 A wrestler to face a robot.

00:05:53.500 That will have to happen.

00:05:55.100 So whatever you think is going to happen in the future, you can invest in it at Wealthsimple.

00:06:00.820 Start now at Wealthsimple.com.

00:06:03.300 However, Alberta said it attracted the project through its business climate rather than through corporate welfare.

00:06:09.800 A government spokesperson told me, quote,

00:06:12.220 While our government isn't directly contributing to these infrastructure projects,

00:06:16.000 We are doing our best to share our story with potential investors on how this province is the destination of choice for this type of infrastructure in North America.

00:06:24.980 Alberta Minister of Technology Nate Glubish said he believes Alberta could attract $100 billion or more of investment over the next five years across half a dozen AI data center projects.

00:06:35.340 O'Leary said the site will generate 7.5 gigawatts of low-cost power over the next five to ten years.

00:06:42.360 He said, quote,

00:06:43.120 Given existing permits, proximity to stranded sources of natural gas, pipeline infrastructure, water, and a fiber-optic network within just a few kilometers of the Greenview Industrial Gateway,

00:06:53.200 we will be in the ground and up and running sooner than any scale project of its kind.

00:06:59.040 The $70 billion investment includes funding for infrastructure, power, data centers, and ancillary structures.

00:07:05.640 Sticking with the Alberta government, for our next story, the Legislative Assembly of Alberta has passed a trio of bills to strengthen the rights of parents,

00:07:13.720 promote fairness in sports against transgender athletes, and prevent minors from undergoing gender transitions that they may live to regret. 0.99

00:07:21.600 Bill 26, the Health Statute Amendment Act, Bill 27, the Education Amendment Act, and Bill 29, the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act,

00:07:29.720 each passed their third reading and will come into effect following royal proclamation expected on September 1, 2025.

00:07:36.600 The three bills were among the 13 bills the Alberta government plans to introduce in this legislative session.

00:07:42.560 The remaining bills focus on personal autonomy, property rights, and legal firearm ownership.

00:07:47.180 Bill 27 requires parents' consent for children aged 15 and under to change their name, gender, and pronouns at school.

00:07:55.060 16 and 17-year-olds will not need parental consent, but their parents will be notified of any such changes.

00:08:01.620 Parents currently can opt their children out of the sexual orientation and gender identity curriculum.

00:08:06.580 The legislative changes will require parents to opt them in.

00:08:09.300 Former NDP leader Rachel Notley claimed that the legislative changes breach the Charter and other fundamental human rights.

00:08:15.740 She said, quote,

00:08:17.080 Today I watched as the legislator sunk to its lowest point ever.

00:08:21.140 Trans rights are human rights and the UCP cares nothing for either.

00:08:24.900 Minister of Education Dimitrios Nikolaides said he challenged the opposition to provide evidence and facts to support their claims against introducing the legislation.

00:08:34.500 He said, quote,

00:08:35.240 He said the changes will allow parents to have the final decision regarding their child's education.

00:08:49.140 Nikolaides said, quote,

00:08:50.340 You guys may remember we previously discussed on the show when Executive Director of Parents for Choice in Education, John Hilton O'Brien,

00:09:12.540 previously criticized the Edmonton Public School Board's motion opposing Smith for implementing parental rights policies.

00:09:18.920 He said, quote,

00:09:20.540 What they're claiming is that a child's right to privacy is against the parents, and that they, as bureaucrats, could exercise that right.

00:09:27.540 But in fact, the right of privacy is a claim against the state, and for the parents to exercise, not the bureaucrats.

00:09:34.480 They're flipping the very idea of human rights completely on its head.

00:09:38.000 Now we're going to cover a quick story on this show's favorite personality, Randy Boissoneau.

00:09:43.200 I know what you guys are thinking.

00:09:44.700 This guy again?

00:09:45.820 Look, Liberal MP Randy Boissoneau is defending his portrayal of his connection to Indigenous ancestry while condemning his former business partner.

00:09:54.080 In a post to X, Boissoneau stood by his description of himself as, quote,

00:09:57.900 Non-status adopted Cree, arguing that it implies no Indigenous status for himself but honors the Indigenous family that raised him.

00:10:05.700 The Liberal MP said he arrived at the term after working with an Indigenous researcher,

00:10:10.860 although the researcher said in a National Post interview that he did not advise the use of the term.

00:10:16.620 Conservative MP Garnet Genouis called out Boissoneau in Parliament.

00:10:21.180 Here's a bit of them arguing.

00:10:22.180 In an interview with the National Post, Professor Cowie denied your version of events.

00:10:27.340 The National Post quotes him as saying,

00:10:30.160 I would not say that I gave him the term that he was non-status adopted Cree.

00:10:37.740 Did Professor Cowie tell the truth to the National Post, and do you now want to correct your opening statement?

00:10:44.940 It's the Family and Friends event at Shoppers Drug Mart.

00:10:47.900 Get 20% off almost all regular-priced merchandise.

00:10:51.380 Two days only.

00:10:52.460 Tuesday, February 24th, and Wednesday, February 25th.

00:10:55.960 Open your PC Optimum app to get your coupon.

00:11:00.800 My opening statement was very clear, Mr. Genouis.

00:11:03.300 I said that I chose the term non-status adopted Cree after having a conversation with Mr. Cowie.

00:11:09.840 Oh, okay, okay.

00:11:11.100 So now it's clearer than it was.

00:11:13.540 So you sat down with Professor Cowie, and he gave you some advice.

00:11:18.860 You ignored that advice and came up with this term independently on your own.

00:11:24.020 And then you came back to committee and said, well, in the context of conversation, I came up with this term.

00:11:30.240 That's, I mean, frankly, that's what we've come to expect from you, Mr. Boissoneau, but I think it's now further revelation of what we have come to expect.

00:11:42.140 The Conservative MP pressed Boissoneau further, asking him why an Instagram post from the Liberal Party from 2016 claiming that he is Indigenous has not been taken down.

00:11:52.080 Boissoneau said he doesn't know why that post is still up, but that he worked, quote,

00:11:56.520 very quickly to remove himself from a list of Indigenous candidates in the 2019 election.

00:12:02.240 Former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould was also on the list of Indigenous Liberal Caucus members from 2016.

00:12:11.140 She previously called Boissoneau's claims, quote, shameful and extremely destructive.

00:12:16.420 She said, quote,

00:12:17.500 Instead, we get to watch white people play Ancestry Wheel of Fortune. 0.79

00:12:31.120 Boissoneau also claimed in his letter that he did not attempt to leverage his family's history for personal or political gain and that he never identified as Indigenous on any application.

00:12:40.700 He added that none of his businesses ever benefited from such claims.

00:12:44.340 He shifted the blame to his business partner, Steven Anderson.

00:12:47.920 Boissoneau said, quote,

00:12:49.360 Mr. Anderson has used my name without my consent to further the business's interests.

00:12:54.220 I believe he has conducted himself unethically and may have misled many people.

00:12:58.560 I take my obligations as a public official seriously.

00:13:01.260 I did not operate any business while serving the public.

00:13:04.580 Anderson, of course, was the one who previously revealed that the elusive Other Randy did not exist.

00:13:09.960 Boissoneau reiterated that he left Global Health Imports in 2021,

00:13:13.600 Despite resigning from the company in 2021, after regaining his seat, Boissoneau remained a 50% shareholder until June 2024.

00:13:22.040 The federal government suspended contracts with the company following an investigation by the Edmonton Police Service.

00:13:27.600 The company rented a mailbox in 2020, which was later revealed to be shared with a company registered under Francesca LeBlanc.

00:13:34.680 A Toronto-bound charter plane was found to have 200 kilograms of cocaine in April 2022 by authorities in the Dominican Republic while LeBlanc was aboard.

00:13:44.860 Federal funding designed to boost the Indigenous economy requires companies to be at least 51% owned by individuals with Indigenous heritage.

00:13:52.520 So for Global Health Imports to qualify, of course, both Boissoneau and Anderson would need to be Indigenous. 0.99

00:13:57.560 Anderson wrote, quote,

00:13:59.820 Global Health is a wholly owned Indigenous and LGBTQ company in a bid for Global Health Imports Corporation to supply face masks in June 2020.

00:14:09.740 Boissoneau said that Global Health Imports received no funds from federal contracts before his election in 2021.

00:14:16.040 Despite stepping down to clear the allegations against him, Boissoneau said he remains focused on doing the job he was elected to do.

00:14:22.800 Canadians, however, don't appear to be buying what Boissoneau is selling, considering his ex-post had over five times as many comments when I initially wrote the article, primarily containing comments of users calling him out.

00:14:34.380 It's now closer to a 7-to-1 ratio.

00:14:37.200 Hopping into our last story here, former Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley officially resigned as an MLA on Thursday.

00:14:44.380 Now I know what you're thinking, Notley hadn't resigned yet?

00:14:47.080 Notley announced her resignation with, quote, mixed feelings, almost a year after officially stepping down as Alberta NDP leader in January 2024.

00:14:56.360 She became an NDP member in 2007 and served as the party's leader since 2015, leading the province's premier between 2015 and 2019.

00:15:05.860 Notley's victory in 2015 ended 44 years of rule in Alberta by the Conservatives.

00:15:10.440 She subsequently lost the 2019 and 2023 provincial elections before resigning as NDP leader.

00:15:17.080 One of Notley's first legislative moves was to introduce a carbon tax, while simultaneously pledging to eliminate burning coal by 2030.

00:15:25.080 The carbon tax was set at $20 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions as of January 1st, 2017, and rose to $30 per tonne the following year, resulting in the largest tax hike in the province's history.

00:15:37.240 Notley was also responsible for raising Alberta's minimum wage to $15 an hour, which increased incrementally from $10.20 an hour in 2015 to $15 an hour in 2018, and is, of course, not increased since.

00:15:50.840 Notley's reign carried on her family's legacy.

00:15:53.500 Her father, Grant Notley, also a former NDP leader, died in a plane crash in 1984.

00:15:58.400 She wrote in a post to X, quote,

00:16:00.500 It has been an indescribable honour to represent the people of my neighbourhood and community for almost 17 years.

00:16:07.520 Notley confirmed that her resignation will be effective as of December 30th, 2024.

00:16:12.720 She said, quote,

00:16:13.420 Nenshi won the Alberta NDP leadership contest on the first ballot with 86% of the vote.

00:16:42.120 In her resignation announcement, Notley expressed clear support for her successor.

00:16:46.520 She said, quote,

00:16:47.740 Nahid Nenshi's selection represents a tremendous opportunity for all Albertans seeking practical solutions to the affordability crisis,

00:16:55.180 along with a genuine commitment to fixing our healthcare so that all Albertans can get the support they need no matter where they live or how much they earn.

00:17:03.180 Notley's departure may provide an opening for Nenshi to seek a seat in the legislature.

00:17:07.780 Despite winning the leadership race in June, Nenshi is not an elected MLA.

00:17:13.440 No MLAs have vacated their seats to allow him to run, and he opted not to run in the Lethbridge West by-election currently underway.

00:17:21.400 Premier Danielle Smith commented on whether Nenshi will choose to run at an unrelated Thursday press conference.

00:17:26.980 She said, quote,

00:17:27.780 He chose not to run in the most recent by-election that we're having on December 18th.

00:17:32.060 I waited as long as I could to see if somebody would step down for him so that we could hold the two of them together.

00:17:37.880 No one did.

00:17:39.740 An Alberta minister recently called out Nenshi for celebrating his, quote,

00:17:43.280 first legislative session.

00:17:45.600 Minister of Transportation Devin Drieschen wrote, quote,

00:17:48.440 Nenshi never served one day in the legislature because he refuses to run in an election to become an MLA.

00:17:57.200 Alright, so that wraps up our stories for this week, but we'll hop into the comment roundup here.

00:18:01.460 Unsurprisingly, almost all of the comments last week were in regard to the principal cancelling the Christmas concert for it not being inclusive enough.

00:18:08.440 At MitchellWillie7208 said that, quote,

00:18:12.020 96% of Canadians celebrate Christmas.

00:18:14.840 Honestly, Mitchell, I'd guess it's closer to 100%.

00:18:18.440 Pretty much everyone celebrates Christmas.

00:18:21.660 Deeming it non-inclusive is obscene and, frankly, not even close to true.

00:18:26.260 At BigSid301 said, quote,

00:18:28.520 Christmas is the most inclusive belief system that exists.

00:18:31.900 Canada has a Christian heritage.

00:18:34.280 DEI means exclusion to Canadians.

00:18:36.860 Yeah, that follows up with the last thing I said.

00:18:38.700 I mean, I don't think you could name a more inclusive holiday than Christmas.

00:18:41.580 And speaking on the Christian or Catholic heritage of Canada, of course that's true.

00:18:45.960 All of the morals and values we hold sacred stem from biblical teachings.

00:18:50.580 To erase that history would be to erase the values we deem most important and the very lessons that teach us the difference between right and wrong.

00:18:58.800 At GemJam7534 was one of the commenters who chose to speak about something besides the school story.

00:19:06.260 They said, quote,

00:19:07.880 Crosswalks are for safety, nothing else, period.

00:19:10.920 That's true.

00:19:11.580 The sole purpose of a crosswalk is for pedestrian and driver safety.

00:19:15.560 They are not for political causes.

00:19:17.260 And many such things that are completely unrelated to politics should not be thrown into that world.

00:19:22.680 So that wraps up our comment roundup and this week's show.

00:19:25.540 Once again, my name's Isaac Lamoureux, your host of the Alberta Roundup.

00:19:28.940 Have a great weekend.

00:19:30.120 Thank you and God bless.

00:19:31.360 May Alberta prosper strong and free.

00:19:33.220 And Merry Christmas.

00:19:36.260 Merry Christmas.

The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - December 14, 2024

Is Gondek the most popular mayor in Canada？

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