You have to wonder if Jason Kenney’s paranoia about the federal government is sometimes rooted in fact, not fallacy. Take this week, for example. On Tuesday, the Alberta premier announced a new and ambitious job-creation proposal to recycle plastics. But on Wednesday, the federal government announced a new ban on plastics.

Once upon a time, politics in Alberta was such a relatively tame affair that the leader of the Opposition was kicked out of the legislative assembly for calling a cabinet minister a “mouse.” That was in 1991, when Liberal leader Laurence Decore used “unparliamentary” language to describe then-environment minister Ralph Klein.

It’s probably fair to say Premier Jason Kenney has a love-hate relationship with the new federal speech from the throne — meaning, he doesn’t just hate it, he loves to hate it. For Kenney, the Liberal government’s throne speech is too good a target to ignore with its talk of a carbon-neutral future, a “feminist, intersectional response to the pandemic,”…

Well, here’s the first political response issued from inside Alberta soon after the speech ended: “Alberta has been the hardest hit among all Canadian provinces, and yet there was no mention of specific support in today’s throne speech.” It was an entirely predictable response from a province that has suffered low (and even negative) oil prices, record debt, and high…

Alberta conservatives are feeling a little bit more optimistic this week. They should enjoy the feeling while it lasts. On Tuesday, federal Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole revealed a new 43-member shadow cabinet that not only includes 23 members from the West but nine from Alberta. Those Alberta MPs given prominent positions include Michelle Rempel Garner (health), Greg McLean (natural…