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Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean

@womenofabpoli.ca
4.3K followers 1.7K following 4K posts

Informed opinion columnist. Acerbic UofC Alum, Schrodinger’s politics; may piss everyone off at some point. WomenOfABpoli on Substack. Biased against false statements & equivalencies. Canadian-Albertan political commentator.

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Reposted by Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean
Jason Markusoff @markusoff.bsky.social · 21h
Certainly, vocal support for Alberta separatism had risen during Liberal regimes, at least as far back as '80s Trudeau. Mulroney getting in dampened the mood, so did Harper. But for him to claim it was zero — that's just factually off.
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Jim Thompson Goodchild 🇨🇦 @shiftfocus99.bsky.social · 13h
Seen in Calgary. No attribution. But no explicit link to the referendum. Anyone know who’s behind this?
Roadside sign reading
“Does Canada really have unity? What does real unity look like? Respectful dialogue is good”
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Max Fawcett @maxfawcett.bsky.social · 21h
Also complete and utter bullshit.
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Jason Markusoff @markusoff.bsky.social · 22h
Stephen Harper has, as we've long awaited, weighed in against Alberta separatism. But man oh man, do I have to strongly quibble with him claiming sentiment was zero when he was PM. Here's a 2014 poll putting belief in separation at 23%, which is where it sits now. nationalpost.com/opinion/step...
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Mary Gillis @marygillis.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Summer is dead. Winter struggles to be born. Now is the time of soup.
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Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean @womenofabpoli.ca · 02/10/2026
"I can only assume (UCP MLA's) are hanging out in their local circle jerk of a Facebook group and basking in the, uh, glowing support they are receiving there." #cdnpoli www.womenofabpoli.ca/p/this-week-...
womenofabpoli.ca
This week in AB: October 1, 2026
Pipelines, potholes, and pickles.
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“faster care for one patient isn’t a system-wide reduction in waiting if someone else simply waits longer. Choice is not the same as capacity. And activity is not the same as progress.” #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...
edmontonjournal.com
Opinion: Will Alberta's dual-practice model cut surgery wait times — or only for the rich?
When my time matters most, will my place in line be determined by how urgently I need care — or by how much I can afford to pay for it?
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Jared Wesley @jaredwesley.ca · 28/09/2026
Finding reliable, non-partisan information about this fall's referendums in Alberta can be difficult. I tried my best at a townhall this afternoon. Here are my notes. drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/making-sen...
drjaredwesley.substack.com
Making Sense of Alberta’s Referendums
A Voter’s Guide
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New episode! Healthcare! Referendum confusion! And we take a look at the divisive atmosphere that Danielle Smith and the UCP have cultivated and how that’s allowed separatist leaders who are more than a little problematic to bubble to the top! #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Q - Won't making businesses pay $1900 a year extra for their workers just cause them to have to increase costs & pass those on to consumers? Smith - Your business should be able to handle that. It's not that much. So Albertans will pay either way. Great referendum.
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Jared Wesley @jaredwesley.ca · 23/09/2026
I'm in Alberta. Our guy's on meth and season 8.
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Martin Grasdal 🍁 @mgrasdal.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
@mitchellab.bsky.social with another great analysis. Smith is attacked for performative white woman (crocodile) tears or she receives condescending sympathy reserved for women by her sexist supporters. Not good news for her either way. womenofabpoli.substack.com/p/in-politic...
womenofabpoli.substack.com
In politics, image is everything
Danielle Smith has miscalculated the moment she created for herself.
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Senator Paula Simons 🇨🇦 @senatorpaulasimons.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I was up bright and early this morning to be Lisa Dublin’s guest on The Basement Chronicles, a show aimed at Edmonton’s Caribbean community, to talk about separation and the “noxious nine” other referendum questions. My thanks, again, to My Radio 580 for hosting these important conversations.
Paula Simons, in a blue sweater, red scarf and white mask, sits behind a bright blue My Radio 580 micSimons, left, stands with radio host Lisa Dublin, a St. Lucian-Canadian in a black dress. They stand either side of a My Radio poster.
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Senator Paula Simons 🇨🇦 @senatorpaulasimons.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
My latest column for Forward Weekly. Why you should absolutely vote in Alberta’s referendum, even if the process seems absurdist and performative. Indeed, BECAUSE it is absurdist and performative. #cdnpoli #abpoli #ableg #Alberta #Canada
forwardweekly.ca
We Can’t Boycott Our Way Out of a Meaningless Referendum | By Paula Simons | Forward Weekly
Forward Weekly feature for September 20, 2026.
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Jared Wesley @jaredwesley.ca · 20/09/2026
Why separatists bent on convincing us of the stability of the transition to independence are now openly musing about a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) is beyond me. www.stalbertgazette.com/alberta-deci...
stalbertgazette.com
Unilateral independence declaration would be 'destabilizing,' U of A prof says
Per the Supreme Court of Canada, a Canadian province cannot unilaterally secede without negotiation
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Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean @womenofabpoli.ca · 21/09/2026
There have been a few times when I think of the table of dudes from the U.S., who ended up at The National in Calgary on election night, who said they voted for Trump “for the economy”. This is also one of those times.
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Kikki Planet @kikkiplanet.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Donald Trump outright lied about getting potash from Belarus. Belarus President Lukashenko: “Even if we wanted to supply somewhere else, Western markets, we just don't have those volumes, everything has been contracted."
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Jared Wesley @jaredwesley.ca · 21/09/2026
This weekend, the premier said these referendums were called to "prove a point." Now, her party president is confirming they are all about "leverage." They share this rhetoric and the flawed strategy underlying it with the separatists. 🔗 calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...
calgaryherald.com
When 'leverage' isn’t leverage: Why the separatists’ push for bargaining power is an empty bluff
Why the separatists’ push for bargaining power is an empty bluff.
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Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean @womenofabpoli.ca · 21/09/2026
I don’t think targeting vulnerable populations and making life more expensive in Alberta is at all a departure from what Danielle Smith has done in government. It’s actually very on brand for them.
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Wherein Danielle Smith admits that at least one of the questions in her incredibly costly, incredibly divisive referendum… Won’t accomplish anything and she never expected it to. She just wanted to make a point. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli
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Jared Wesley @jaredwesley.ca · 20/09/2026
Alberta separatists refusing to talk about separatism during a referendum is like asking someone to help you light the fuse, then insisting everyone’s being hysterical about the explosion. If you don’t want to talk about what happens, maybe don’t ask us to light it.
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Ghouly Hoye 👻🇨🇦 @hollyhoye.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
113 days shall now be known as a Findlay, which is 10 Scaramuccis if you’re American and 2.3 Trusses if you’re a Brit.
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Senator Paula Simons 🇨🇦 @senatorpaulasimons.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Thank you again to the Heritage Roots Coalition and Edmonton’s Nigerian community for inviting me, and CPC MP Billy Morin to a great discussion of the implications of ALL the referendum questions. As Billy put it, “Say No to the Nine.” #cdnpoli #yeg #Edmonton #abpoli
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Shawna Gawreluck @shawnagawreluck.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I don’t want a fridge with a touch screen, I want one that lasts 30 years I want a stripped down small car with turn knob controls I don’t want to auto save everything on my computer to some random cloud or location I’ll never find again I want to be able to buy a part to fix my item myself 2/2
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Shawna Gawreluck @shawnagawreluck.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The often unrecognized factor of end stage capitalism is that industry collectively & intentionally stops giving the consumer what they want to force continual purchase of higher expense goods to ensure higher profit margins & stock inflation 1/x
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Kikki Planet @kikkiplanet.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
You guys, I think Member of European Parliament Damian Boeselager has quite the crush on Carney. And he even chose a song by a Canadian artist for his homage to our PM 😂
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Tim Carvell @timcarvell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Rough week to tell people that your application to join the FBI finally went through.
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NigelBankes @nigelb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Perhaps the Premier meeds to look in the mirror and ask who/what caused "progressive conservatives" (an oxymoron if ever there was one) to defect (aka vote splitting). #ableg #abpoli
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denyou.bsky.social @denyou.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
How about this—you wouldn’t have to split votes with anyone if you weren’t doing things to drive people in your party away from it.
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Jared Wesley @jaredwesley.ca · 15/09/2026
youtu.be/-ymiurKONUQ?...
youtu.be
5X for Canada: Stop Separation. Crush the 9 Questions. Defeat Danielle Smith.
YouTube video by 5X for Canada
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Jason Markusoff @markusoff.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
If every riding in Alberta swung away from UCP and toward NDP as much as they did on this by-election night, this would be an NDP-run province.
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Jason Markusoff @markusoff.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This by-election in Calgary’s deep suburbs, in a seat UCP won last time by 14%, had potential to become either a clear warning about Danielle Smith and referendum politics in urban Alberta, or about the NDP leadership of Naheed Nenshi. And well whaddya know. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Alberta NDP win in Calgary-Shaw byelection | CBC News
Unofficial results from Elections Alberta show NDP candidate Kyle Campbell has won Calgary-Shaw by a margin of 582 votes over the UCP's Mike Derry.
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
With a margin of 582 votes, the NDP have taken the traditionally conservative stronghold Calgary Shaw, formerly held by Rebecca Schultz. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Hey Central Alberta! You asked for it, you're getting it! October 3rd we're doing a live taping of the show in Red Deer! Tickets are SUPER limited, so get yours soon! #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli www.eventbrite.com/e/the-breakd...
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Kikki Planet @kikkiplanet.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A federal judge has blocked the Kennedy Center board from putting President Trump's name on the building or grounds in any way, shape, or form. apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
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Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean @womenofabpoli.ca · 16/09/2026
In Canada it's illegal to offer to payoff voters this way.
static.klipy.com
Schitts Creek: David Rose - Very Awkward and Cringy
ALT: Schitts Creek: David Rose - Very Awkward and Cringy
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Nenshi today... "Danielle Smith and her extreme friends have taken over the conservative movement" And that at the doors he heard that people are looking for alternatives. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Fresh off what many considered to be an unexpected victory, Kyle Campbell was asked what effect the referendum had on the vote. His answer? "I certainly heard on multiple occasions people say, I voted conservative my whole life and cannot any longer because of separatism"
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Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean @womenofabpoli.ca · 16/09/2026
Guthrie (said) his Progressive Tory party didn't siphon votes from the UCP and that it comes down to Smith's party feeling that it is "owed" those votes. "That's not the case. You should earn the vote." Damned straight. #ableg #abpoli www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/politics/alb...
thecanadianpressnews.ca
Alberta premier's office blames byelection loss on vote split; others say referendum
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office is blaming vote splitting among conservatives for a surprising Monday byelection defeat in what is supposed to be one of their Calgary strongholds.
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Jim Thompson Goodchild 🇨🇦 @shiftfocus99.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I think vote splitting is a myth. People cast one affirmative vote. In a parallel universe with different parties on the ballot, many choices will change, but it can’t be assumed they would all move to a single alternative.
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Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean @womenofabpoli.ca · 16/09/2026
"What (the result in Calgary-Shaw) certainly means is that the NDP have secured their claim to a positive narrative for today and until the next election, and the UCP’s will be a little weaker for it. ... It's about freaking time." #ableg #abpoli womenofabpoli.substack.com/p/calgary-sh...
womenofabpoli.substack.com
Calgary-Shaw goes orange; UCP partisans go red
Typical and predictable, but more than that, there’s a spring in my step.
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Forward Canada @forwardcanada.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
A Public Service Announcement from Premier Smith #satire #abpoli #canpoli #cdnpolitics @clareblackwood.bsky.social
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Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Bad news from the Middle East + Fears about Iran = A rough weekend for the economy.
Line chart titled "After the weekend: Oil is up, and stocks are down" showing E-mini S&P 500 Futures and Crude Oil WTI prices in USD from September 11-14. The chart reveals an inverse relationship between the two assets: S&P 500 futures fell 0.8 percent from 7,660 to 7,600, while crude oil rose 4.1 percent from $100 to $104 per barrel, illustrating a breakdown in the typical correlation between stocks and energy prices.
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Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
A little explainer how energy costs ripple to the consumer.⁣ ⁣ Oil goes up, then gas prices go up, then airfare goes up, then diesel followed by shipping goes up, and eventually your avocado is somehow charging a fuel surcharge.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Grunch for Senate
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
“the pre-emptive disarmament that Smith keeps pressing for is already hurting people in BC, Ontario, Quebec & the Maritimes — all places that an Alberta premier intent on changing the constitution and seeing more pipelines built needs” #abpoli #cdnpoli www.nationalobserver.com/2026/09/11/o...
nationalobserver.com
Danielle Smith still doesn't get it
Alberta's premier might be the most Trump-friendly politician in Canada, but she still hasn't figured out what makes him tick — or why he's a far bigger threat to her province's oil and gas industry t...
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Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
New inflation data just landed, and it was hotter than hoped. Federal funds futures markets now put the odds of a rate hike at the next meeting at 86%, up from 72% last night. Don't trust my opinion. Trust the market's. youtu.be/RtbNyCq5ZzU
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Jason Markusoff @markusoff.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Trying to imagine if Alberta NDP proposed elbowing private companies out of way and 2 new gov't Crown Corps taking lead on natural gas pipeline planning & construction, effectively spiking power prices. @drewanderson.bsky.social's story on Smith gov proposal to do same: thenarwhal.ca/alberta-ai-d...
thenarwhal.ca
Leaked doc suggests Alberta has sprawling plans to pave the way for AI data centres, more oil production
Rewriting laws, creating Crown corporations that could rival TC Energy, building new natural gas pipelines and increasing prices for consumers: what a leaked document says about Alberta’s AI data centre and oil push
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Leslie AJ 🇨🇦 @leslieaj.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Thus is dedication! Thank you @mitchellab.bsky.social. Interesting and kind of sad. womenofabpoli.substack.com/p/i-spent-th...
womenofabpoli.substack.com
I spent the past two evenings at separatist events; here’s what I learned
I get defensive when people want to take advantage of my neighbours; and we all pay the price.
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Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean @womenofabpoli.ca · 10/09/2026
"People are confused about these questions and they are seeking answers. (And the only people answering them are separatists.) I hope that makes you a little defensive, too, because it’s obvious to me that we can and should be doing more." #ableg #abpoli
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