A Tale of Two Rallies

This article is not going to be about their platforms, just my impressions of the rallies , I’m not saying either one was better. The NDP rally Thursday night was the second political rally I've ever attended in my 60 years on this planet. (I attended a few civic election political rallies in 2021 but that was it.)

I could have done a better job covering the UCP rally but I was not as prepared as I should have been. I was more prepared for the NDP rally.

The first one was the UCP rally with Danielle Smith and Justin Wright. The UCP rally gave away free hamburgers at noon kitty corner from Swirls at their joint campaign office. It was held outdoors on a pretty smoky day so I was wearing a mask. They had an emcee that spoke to the crowd but many were in a line for food so they couldn’t really hear anything until he called everyone together, about 100 people. (Not everyone can take time off at lunch to attend.)

Security was roaming around, you could tell by the little coils behind the ear. Michaela Frey former MLA for Brooks - Medicine Hat was roaming around back-and-forth (Michaela Frey is a Senior Advisor to Danielle Smith, also her campaign manager).

People in blue shirts were directing traffic to parking spots and handing out name signs for people to hold up as well as ones that said

United Conservatives

Alberta Strong and Free”

Smith was out of sight inside the building until it was time for her to speak. Justin was mostly inside, I could see him looking out the large plate glass windows of the campaign office.

Justin Wright didn't really do any talking. He got up on the back of a pick up truck in the middle of a parking lot to introduce Danielle Smith. He then stood by and said nothing as Smith got up to speak, people cheering.

This good-natured guy wanted his picture taken, I happily obliged.

The NDP rally on Thursday night seemed to be more slick, more professional. It was held indoors, not at a campaign office. There were no free burgers, the bar was not even open. Over 200 people showed up for the 5:30pm rally which is a more convenient time for many people. Again I could see security guys roaming around.

Lots of volunteers with Vote T-shirts were handing out signs. In addition to the usual name signs many people held signs saying

A Better Future for Alberta

Alberta NDP

Some of those signs were orange, others medium blue.

Their emcee got the crowd going. It seemed to be easier when people are packed in a confined space and not bothering with food. The emcee set down some ground rules. He didn't want to hear boos every time another certain party was mentioned so he led the crowd in a great big loud “Shame!” and a great big loud “Booooooooo!” so the people could get it out of their system. (Gotta say I like that.)

(Again this is only the second campaign rally I have ever been to. I only attended these ones because I'm curious, because I like to see what people are thinking, because I have fewer obligations and more time, and because I'm part of the media.

At the NDP rally before anyone got up to speak, Jolynn Parenteau did a land acknowledgement, something that was missing at the UCP rally. After, both Gwen Dirk and Cathy Hogg got up and spoke about local issues before introducing Rachel Notley.

Like Smith, Notley had been out of sight and arrived to cheers. Notley spoke for about 25 minutes. In addition to her platform, she spoke about UCP supporters “lending her their vote”. She spoke about how people shouldn't vote according to a colour, how voters don't owe their loyalty to anybody. Your party of choice should be earning your vote every time.

There was a media scrum at the end, Ms Notley answered every question posed to her including by yours truly. (I did not get in on the scrum at the UCP rally, I’m not sure if there was one. Like I said, I could have done better. I’m learning more all the time.


#KASOSUMH #COMTV #CommunityTV #MichaelaFrey #DanielleSmith #GwenDirk #CathyHogg #RachelNotley #UCP #NDP #YXH #MedicineHat #BrooksMedicineHat #CypressMedicineHat #JustinWright #getoutandvote #VoteVoteVote