Cory talks about what he observed during the UCP frontrunners, leadership debate.
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Summary
The UCP Frontrunners debate was held at the rooftop YYC pub in downtown Calgary, Alberta on Tuesday night. I was there to review the event and give my thoughts on what went well and what didn't go well.
Transcript
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reviewing last night's UCP Frontrunners debate that was held at the rooftop YYC pub downtown
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here in Calgary. I was given the task of sitting there with a timer and a sheet, so I wasn't
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terribly much of a visible part of it, but I like to think it was Integro. So to start with,
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the venue though was awesome. If you haven't been there, it's essentially a large rooftop
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greenhouse in downtown Calgary. There are bars on each side of a big long space with a food
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section in the back, and it makes it for efficient service despite the place being packed, and it was
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with attendees. It's a unique spot, and I'd highly recommend it to folks if they're having a pint in
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downtown Calgary. Check it out, it's a good place. The stage though was somewhat small, and it's part
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of the reason that we limited the debate to three contenders. It's perfect for a band, but it would
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never have accommodated seven people spread out in debate format. The only other downside was the
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occasional ambulances passing by and interrupting the debate, with all of us being essentially
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inside a giant tent. You do get a lot of peripheral noise from the outside. I mean, to pat our own
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backs though, the debate went great. Aside from moderator Derek Fildebrand getting a little mixed
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up in assigning the opening statements, he maintained flow and order during the affair
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excellently, and it was very engaging. It was a good watch. There were no weird gimmicks, no sad
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trombones, no intervention cards. Questions were presented, and occasional extra rebuttals were allowed
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when a candidate one had singled out another. While there were some shots fired, I think things
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remained relatively civil between the candidates, actually. I know it feels unfair to exclude
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four out of seven candidates in an event like this, but there can be no doubt that having
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only the presumptive top three in the stage made for a much better debate than the official party
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won, including all seven candidates when they did that. It allowed for more questions and direct
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discourse to be covered. Now, with independent polling, I'll just cover it one more time, Brian Jean,
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Daniel Smith, and Travis Tays all are well beyond the remaining four candidates in support among the
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members. Nothing's impossible, but it's very unlikely any of the remaining contenders are going to fill
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that gap. Todd Owen was in attendance. He was there last night. I chatted with him, and he was
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certainly well-received by everybody. And when the subject of his ejection from caucus came up in the
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debate, all of the candidates on the stage made it clear he'd be welcome back, though they did make
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it clear. They're also going to leave that to the caucus to decide. And Todd's a congenial smart man,
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and if a fourth candidate would have been added to the mix, he would have fit in quite well.
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All three candidates, they presented themselves well and solidly. I mean, I didn't really feel that
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any single one stood out, not like that first debate anyways, and could be considered an outright
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winner. In the room, it was clear, I mean, in reading the room, the supporters were dominated,
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the room was dominated by Daniel Smith supporters. I mean, there were cheers and occasional boos,
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and again, it was typically cheers for Smith and boos for anybody being contrary to her. But
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Taves and Jean were both very well-represented with supporters in the room as well.
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Now, in the official party debate in Medicine Hat, Smith was the clear target as she sustained attacks
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from every candidate. And last night's debate, I thought it was more Travis Taves who was more
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on the defensive. I mean, he's the clear establishment candidate, and he was facing off against basically
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two party outsiders. It was a tough line to straddle. Taves asked to distance himself from the UCP
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actions that led to the ousting of Kenny, while he'd also been a senior cabinet minister during
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those years. Now, being a Western standard debate, Ottawa versus Alberta, the theme was,
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of course, dominant. All candidates, of course, agreed that Alberta is getting a raw deal in
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Confederation, and it needs to change. Smith stuck to and continued to defend her proposed
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Sovereignty Act, calling for the province to refuse to cooperate with any federal actions or
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policies that might be detrimental to Alberta. Brian Jean used the word autonomous, or autonomy
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generously, and that's the main theme of his campaign. And he often expressed we need
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constitutional reform in Canada, and felt it could be achieved through the courts. He often made
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legal references and reminded the crowd a lot of his background in law. Taves took an approach
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embracing more negotiation and compromise. Again, that middle of the road, more of the same old
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as we've done, maybe strongly worded letters. He spoke on how things can be improved, though,
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by working with other provinces to bring about more united front when it comes to battle with
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Ottawa. Part of unity, that discussion got tough, and that's where Smith was taken to task by both
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Jean and Taves for disastrous floor crossing in 2014 that arguably led to the four-year term of the
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Rachel Notley government the following year. Jean and Taves didn't have the easiest job in
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presenting themselves as unifiers either, though. Taves is the establishment candidate in a party
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that just kicked out its own leader. And Jean took part in an extended campaign to encourage the
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ejection of that leader. I mean, he fostered a lot of division. It's easier to tear a party apart than
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to unify it. So whoever wins the race is going to have their work cut out for them. Now, firearms,
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healthcare, self-defense, free press, and abortion, yeah, it was covered, were all debated as well.
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I'm not going to break down into all of those or take up the whole show. What I will conclude is
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stating it was a very good debate with a lot of ground covered. If a person's undecided in this
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race, they can get a really clear picture in watching that debate of where the top three
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contenders stand on the issues. So the debate isn't full. It's fully available on all of the
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Western Standard social media channels, and I suggest taking the time to watch it when you can.
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It's an enjoyable watch, and even as one cynical political watcher told me, she was surprised it was
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a two-hour debate. The time actually flew by because it was engaging as opposed to being more droning
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than a lot of other past debates could be. So check it out on the YouTube channel, the Facebook,
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we have it on Rumble. We streamed it everywhere, guys, and it'll help you make up your mind,
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at least among those three candidates, on who you may want to support.