War, oil and the political pipeline which now will drive Canadian politics

It wasn't a political massacre but it was bitter and it was brutal. What was left was the Alberta Party and the Liberals basically decimated to the point of oblivion... the Liberals had 1 per cent of the vote which wasn't even enough to overtake the collective category marked "Other" which is made up of independents and the slimmest of fringe parties scattered across the province.

And Rachel Notley, with all of her wanting to right what she deemed every social wrong made by those right wing free enterprising small c conservatives within a four year, spending money at a dangerous clip.

The smugness wiped from Notley and transferred over to add extra smug and self-satisfaction to an evenmoreso smug Jason Kenney, standing with various levels of "smirk" in any photo taken Tuesday night.

It was a venom-filled campaign which did not end the following day with various cartoons and memes on social media taking shots at Notley (her being flushed, her in department store working clothes and so on).

Notley created a lot of emotion in Alberta and while there was a lot of good she did, there was a lot of uncertainty and winging it for another. They never got settled because they weren't ready to govern and were always off-balance. They figured the best way to appease people was to create more programs which in many cases were needed, but for some not so much.

Her special interest group past caught up to her as despite the fact she vowed to get the oil industry working and go again, the fact she was photographed at oil sand protests far before her NDP political career took off, her apparent closeness with Justin Trudeau, the destruction of the coal industry and her willingness to go along with the carbon tax hurt the energy sector which like it or not, is a big part of the Alberta economy.

Kenney, being a veteran in politics and having learned from some savvy tacticians in his time federally was able to muscle his way in uniting the right and convincing Progressive Conservatives and Wildrosers to reunited and while there were a lot of ugly warts along the way, he convinced Albertans the economy was headed for doom. Better to have the money in your own pocket and you decide what to do with it as opposed to have a social program that the government will provide.

Hence: final score UCP 63, NDP 24.

Now if Albertans are expecting fields of pardon the pun wildroses growing in fields full of pump jacks and pipelines, they are mistaken. If Kenney learned anything from Ralph Klein who won in 1993, when you are the most popular is when you do they toughest decisions.

Expect some major cuts and some unpopular decisions in the near future from the government. There will also be some test shots sent over the next while that will send some clear messages across the country that Kenney means

The war time references in describing political battles are overused. However the "Alberta Strong and Free" is a direct reference in showing the fight for independence/not being pushed around energy wise.

Suddenly, Saskatchewan's Scott Moe, Ontario's Doug Ford and federal leader Andrew Scheer are fist pumping celebrating Kenney's win as they have a major political allies while B.C.'s John Horgan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are probably bracing themselves for a barrage of verbal rhetoric from Kenney as well as the court challenges already in place.

We will find out what Kenney is all about within the next month. In the meantime, he will look over a province which is now divided by two sides which deeply doesn't like or respect the other, no matter the political stripe.

Let the healing in Alberta begin. Hopefully.

Because federally, the war rhetoric is just getting started.