Noteworthy: From buffalo to elephant? Republican Party of Alberta seems determined to take hold

By Bruce Penton on July 2, 2025.

If you’re someone who would be apt to vote YES! in all caps and an exclamation point on Alberta separating from the rest of Canada, the Republican Party of Alberta may be for you. Formerly the Buffalo Party, the newly-named Republican Party of Alberta ran three candidates in recent provincial byelections, and plan to be a force when the next provincial election is held.

This must be regarded as bad news for Premier Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party, who have seen this movie before. The New Democrats under Rachel Notley formed government in Alberta in 2015 when voters on the right had two parties from which to choose – the Conservatives and the Wildrose. Eventually, those two parties merged – hence the moniker ‘United’ in the new party’s name – and resumed their normal position as the party of choice in Alberta.

Leading the enthusiasm for the Republican Party of Alberta, which would certainly split the right-wing vote in the next provincial march to the polls, is Naheed Nenshi, the leader of the NDP who won election as an MLA in one of those aforementioned byelections. The right-wing vote in the province can’t afford a split, and even eight to 10 per cent going to the Republican Party of Alberta would be election horror for Smith.

Meanwhile, she is sending an ‘Alberta Next’ panel on the road this summer to test the separation temperature. This is the younger sibling of the Fair Deal panel of a few years ago, which accomplished little. Its call for a referendum on removing the concept of equalization payments from the Canadian constitution was realized and 62 per cent of Albertan voted supported that move. Nothing has happened since however, and that’s one of the issues of unhappiness among those pushing for separation, or at least a better deal for Alberta from Ottawa.

Had the Fair Deal tour of 2020 carried more weight, perhaps the Alberta Next panel wouldn’t be needed.

The right wing in Alberta though, should get its act together, because Nenshi and the NDP are lurking, just waiting for the infighting on the right to turn into a victory at the polls for the left in October of 2027.

â€¢ A report on Facebook Monday said Tigers’ 17-year-old sensation Gavin McKenna will choose between Michigan State and Penn State as to where he will play next season, although it points out he is only “weighing a jump” to college hockey.

Money, of course, is at the centre of his decision. The ability to cash in big time at a U.S. college hockey factory, thanks to the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) setup, will be at the heart of McKenna’s decision, but what if he decided to stay with the Tigers, scored 70-some goals and close to 200 points and filled rinks all around the league, a la Connor Bedard in his last season with Regina Pats?

Doesn’t it make sense for the owners of Calgary, Lethbridge, Red Deer and Edmonton, to name only the Tigers’ Central Division rivals, to go out of their way financially to keep McKenna in the WHL? Having the hyped-up Tigers’ star paying four visits a year, probably filling their rinks and making their cash registers jingle, should be incentive enough for the WHL to come up with a financial plan of some sort to keep the Whitehorse, Yukon native playing his 2025-26 season north of the border.

Notwithstanding a career-ending injury, McKenna’s future is secure no matter what decision he makes. Tabbed as the projected No. 1 pick in next year’s NHL draft, and being referred to as a “generational” player, means his NHL contracts after his entry-level deal will be in the multi-million-dollar range. Does he owe it to Medicine Hat to stay for his final season? No. But there would be a flood of tears from Tigers’ fans if he chose to accept a U.S. college hockey offer.

â€¢ Fun with figures: The gala event in Venice, Italy that was the wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to former journalist Lauren Sanchez (she’s still identified as a journalist, but we doubt whether she’ll have to work anymore) reportedly cost $76 million. It was a three-day celebration whereby Bezos practically rented the Italian city and played host to a lengthy list of invited A-list stars.

But will the $76-million wedding bill deliver much hurt to Bezos’s finances? The answer is no. It’s a drop in the bucket for Bezos, whose estimated net worth is $309 billion. A $76-million pittance is akin to a $100,000-per-year Hatter spending $24.50 on a large pizza at Morgan’s.

The Aman hotel is where the happy couple spent their time in Venice, and it came in at $6,377 per night. There was no charge for the bottled water in the room’s little fridge.

A few assumptions: 1. No one in the world has ever spent as much on a wedding; 2. There probably wasn’t a cash bar at the reception; 3. An iron-clad pre-nup was signed in advance.