HITLER, HOCKEY AND SLAVERY

Incendiary remarks, charged rhetoric and ensuing outrage have put fire under vote run-up

The two parties vying to form the next Alberta government are offering voters a stark choice, but it’s as much a battle of personas as it is politics.

As former Progressive Conservative premier Alison Redford said this month, “It’s not as easy to distinguish what is an NDP idea from a conservative idea anymore.”

This election, which concludes as voters head to the polls Monday, has seen the United Conservative Party appealing to nurses, childcare workers and skilled tradespeople, while the NDP has offered tax incentives to certain businesses for low-emissions projects. Both parties sell themselves as strong supporters of education, health care, and the oil and gas sector, and both fiscal plans are heavily dependent on oil royalties to balance the budget.

Instead of focusing on policy, the UCP has concentrated more on its right-wing brand, labelling the NDP as a left-wing party that will tax and spend on the backs of Albertans. The NDP, in contrast, has sought to distinguish the personalities of Danielle Smith and Rachel Notley, with their ultimate message being that Notley is more trustworthy.

One area the two parties do significantly differ is in their approach to dealing with the federal government. Smith has opposed a federal gun-buyback program and has been critical of Canada’s equalization system. She introduced the Sovereignty Act, which would let the legislature disobey federal laws it deems unconstitutional, but then walked back a provision that would allow her cabinet to bypass the legislature.

Notley has explicitly opposed the act, as well as the federal government’s emissions targets, but has also said threatening to separate from the rest of Canada is not a productive approach.

Here are some of the moments and issues that have defined the past month’s election campaign.