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Political tremors emanating from Alberta Monday night should serve as a warning shot for the rest of Canada.

Expect the United Conservative Party’s victory in Alberta’s provincial election to embolden the combative style of politics espoused by right-wing politicians across the country, especially Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Danielle Smith, who has been Alberta’s premier since winning the UCP leadership last October, secured a majority government Monday, winning 49 of Alberta’s 87 seats and earning 52.6 per cent of the popular vote. The NDP, led by Rachel Notley, Alberta’s premier from 2015-19, won 38 seats with 44 per cent of the vote.

Ms. Smith called the UCP victory “another miracle on the Prairies,” in her victory speech, echoing former premier Ralph Klein’s turn of phrase from 30 years ago after his Progressive Conservatives won in 1993, even if Mr. Klein’s “Alberta Advantage” austerity policies appear quaintly moderate when compared with the UCP.

Regarding the editorial “One Giant Leap For Brandon” (May 25, 2023), I wish to share a perspective on how we, as Brandon citizens, move forward. With book banning and homophobic/transphobic rhetoric seeping into our public discourse, many of us have pointed south to the United States for its source. Indeed, look no further than Texas: 801 books banned across 22 school districts, according to PEN America. And Florida? A close second with 566 titles.

And equally concerning is the apparent ease in the actions of these districts in response to objection. Recently in Florida, a district limited access to Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” — recited during Joe Biden’s inauguration — based solely on a formal parent complaint.

The editorial stated that “it must be said that the Brandon of 2023 is not the Brandon of 40 years ago.” Absolutely, but there are two additional trends from our southern source we should pay attention to that complicate matters: the erosion of public engagement in local democracy in the past decade, and, as a result, the attempts at infiltration of it by extremist political groups.

The first trend is certainly true in our city. In last fall’s municipal election, less than 18 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot for mayor. And seeing as book banning efforts targeted Brandon School Division libraries, even more meagre to consider is that some citizens only vote for a mayoral candidate; it’s reasonable to assume the percentage that voted for trustees is even lower.