With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the lives of residents in 2021, as it did in much of 2020, the new year comes with the widespread hope that things may actually start to return to normal in 2022.
Yet, as the rise of the Omicron variant has shown, predicting the course of this pandemic remains impossible. Hopefully the public health measures now in place, such as vaccinations and masking, will help bend the latest curve and usher in a return to better times.
While the future course of the pandemic remains anyone’s guess, the forecasting of what may happen in Alberta on the political front remains a much more promising proposition.
For one, the battle over the Kenney government’s proposed K-5 school curriculum changes is sure to reach new heights in 2022, with many UCP MLAs seemingly prepared to go to any lengths to defend this major education system change.
Education Minister Adriana LaGrange says the changes have the support of Albertans, while many educators and others continue to call for the curriculum plan to be scrapped outright.
Another fight certain to heat up in 2022 surrounds the possibility of Alberta forming its own police force. Justice Minister Kaycee Madu has repeatedly defended the government’s examination of a proposed new force, while opponents, including dozens of rural municipalities, have called for the RCMP to be retained.
And perhaps the biggest political battle coming in 2022 will focus on Premier Jason Kenney and his ability, or inability, to retain leadership of the UCP.
Specifically, this spring Kenney will face a leadership review from his own party members, all the while facing off against his principal rival, Brian Jean, who is already criss-crossing the province calling for Kenney to step aside.
With deep divisions shaping up across the provincial political scene in 2022, it’s comforting to know that councillors and trustees elected in towns and counties in 2021 are now on the job to help guide this province forward.
Dan Singleton is an editor with the Albertan.
