Pigs were flying all over social media May 5 as Albertans reacted to the newly elected New Democratic Party majority government.
The premise was that, if an NDP government can get elected in the province thought to be the most right wing in all of Canada, then surely pigs could also fly.
“Orange crush” and “Notley Crue” quips were also rampant, as were ponderings from many Albertans about moving to a more “right wing” Saskatchewan to avoid four years of economic ruin at the hands of rabid socialists.
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Over-the-top comments are understandable, given many Albertans have never known anything but a Progressive Conservative government.
Now reality has set in. Albertans await the new government’s first moves, and those in the agriculture business are as attentive as anyone, save possibly those in the oil and gas sector because of a potential royalty review.
Few of Alberta’s new NDP MLAs have direct experience with agriculture, and most of them were elected in urban areas. Four of the province’s five largest cities elected full slates of New Democrats, as did 14 (or possibly 15, pending a recount) of Calgary’s 25 ridings. Forty-five of the new government’s 54 MLAs are from urban or primarily urban ridings.
That strong urban representation in government gives rise to worries about how well its members will understand agricultural issues and respond to them.
It is well documented and long lamented in rural Alberta, and indeed across the Canadian agricultural sector, that many urban dwellers have little understanding of farming, ranching and modern production methods.
Wildrose, the official opposition, captured seats in most of rural Alberta, so it will be incumbent on those MLAs to ensure farming interests are explained and protected.
Farm groups should also be more willing to make requests and voice criticism now that the two-headed hydra of cronyism and the old boy’s club has been dispatched.
New blood in the legislature also means new ideas and approaches, which will be welcomed. As always, they’ll have to be analyzed on their merits, not just on their novelty.
What are the NDP’s agricultural policies? There are four items listed under that heading in campaign literature, right there on page 20 of the 23-page document.
They include plans to conduct a review of federal rail and transportation policies, strengthen landowners rights to fair compensation and due process, support farmers’ rights to save and sell seed and eliminate barriers to local food production for small producers.
To be fair, there are limits to campaign literature about policy. Doubtless there is more to the NDP agricultural plan than a few points in a brochure, two of which fall into the federal realm.
For example, recognition of agriculture as a factor in diversifying Alberta’s economy would be welcome. So would recognition of the sector’s reliance on domestic and international trade and the resulting need for policies to foster it. Improved access to labour is another issue needing attention.
The new NDP government has much work ahead, and that work will be undertaken knowing that rural residents are more wary of parties that are left of centre. This is true in all three prairie provinces, for various reasons.
Look no further than Manitoba’s NDP government, heavily influenced by an urban electorate, which used farmers as scapegoats for environmental problems.
We will expect better from Alberta’s new government. And so the work begins.
