www.ChrisLaBossiere.com

Tonight may well have been a watershed moment for the Alberta PC Party. One of their strongest constituencies, and without a doubt one of their strongest MLA's, came under attack. Dave Hancock had the guts to stand in front of hundreds of unhappy constituents on the topic of healthcare.

This was not his event, and nor is healthcare his portfolio, but they are his constituents. Like he always has, he chose to take his lumps and be there to answer to many of those who voted for him. Something tells me that he does so out of obligation to the constituency and not necasarily out of obligation to his party. As you can tell, I have a lot of respect for Dave Hancock, but in politics that may not matter.

But, from what I can see, the people of Edmonton Whitemud are probably not looking even further right for the answers. Edmonton Whitemud has always been about as close to the political center as you can envision. So then what's next for Edmonton Whitemud, and Alberta for that matter?

This is where I think the answer is not yet in front of us. There are two very interesting things happening in Alberta that are non-partisan in nature. They deserve our attention. Both of them are very telling of the dissatisfaction many Albertans have with existing parties.

1. Reboot Alberta, a Progressive think-tank that has inspired many moderate Albertans, is gathering much momentum and hosting their second event in Kananaskis. This non-partisan community has quickly come together online and offline. The first Reboot had four groups within it, and one of them were many who think we could use a new moderate party. All of Alberta, urban, rural, young and old, the business person and the everyman, were in attendance at the first Reboot. 
2. Also of interest, and a first for the acclaimed Manning Center for Democracy, is a weekend long conference on Alberta's Future. The Manning Center has not yet been involved in Provincial politics, and something tells me that its namesake, a trusted conservative statesman, is unhappy with where things are heading in Alberta as well. Manning as of late has shifted his position to a "Green Conservatism".

I continue to feel that we need something NEW. Someone said this to me last weekend, about the existing party choices, and I tend to agree:

The Wildrose Alliance are unhappy with government and seem to want to go back to the days of the parochial Social Credit Party of the 50's.

The Liberal Party has been unable to inspire Alberta on a platform with solutions. they have not been able to get past the distrust of the NEP, and seem to have responded with only criticisms, and are light on solutions. Even more light on leadership.

Sadly, and I say sadly because they own the political spectrum that most of us resonate with, the PC Party has stopped innovating democracy, and seem only interested in holding onto power

So, and again this is my opinion, it just FEELS like the solution for the next government of this Province is not yet in front of us. I am ok with that, and I am starting to see the value in the discussion that is happening amongst us.

I plan to attend both the Manning event and the next version of Reboot Alberta. I suspect that even after these events, I will not see a mainstream party today that can satisfy me. But I am becoming more and more confident that I will be surrounded by Albertans who are starting to ask what that might look like.