By Rick Strankman MLA, Drumheller Stettler
Some time ago in a column entitled, “The DNA of the NDP,” we revealed the origins of the party we see before us today. Its origins lay in the C.C.F. (Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation), an organization that laid out its intent clearly in what was known as, “The Regina Manifesto¹,” which was published in 1933. This manifesto, stated in plain language, their desire to “replace the current capitalist system.”
The C.C.F., having limited elected success, eventually merged with the NDP in August of 1961, which is still the modern-day party we see today. As you can imagine, the marriage was based on a lot of commonalities in philosophy and ideological vision.
Within the Regina Manifesto that the C.C.F. adopted at its founding convention in 1933, they spelled out their utter contempt for capitalism and the free market. In the opening statement of the preamble of the Manifesto, it says; “We aim to replace the present capitalist system.”
That viseral contempt can be found throughout the Regina Manifesto with the final paragraph beginning with, “No C.C.F. Government will rest content until it has eradicated capitalism.”
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The modern-day NDP has since replaced the original C.C.F. Manifesto with what is known as the LEAP Manifesto¹. The Premier of Alberta, Rachel Notley, is still listed as a signatory of the document, which includes the who’s who of radical eco-activists, who have openly stated they are determined to destroy Alberta’s oil and gas industries.
Like the Regina Manifesto, the LEAP Manifesto openly advocates ending the capitalism and free market activities that generate the revenue that fund Alberta’s Education, Health Care, and Infrastructure that greatly contributes to the higher quality of life of all Albertans. Within the document, it clearly states, “There is no longer an excuse for building new infrastructure projects that lock us into increased extraction decades into the future. That applies equally to oil and gas pipelines.”
Does this sound like something a person that is earnestly advocating for pipelines would put their name to? Unfortunately, that is exactly what Rachel Notley did and her name is still on the registry of signatories³ to this very day. During the fall session, Minister after Minister, while avoiding the actual content of the questions, took great pleasure in stating that they were fighting for pipeline development to get Alberta’s oil to market. Never once mentioning that their leader had signed on to a document that openly advocates against pipelines explicitly!
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In order for Albertans to make an informed decision in the next election, they need to be fully aware that the NDP have fully embraced their belief in the LEAP Manifesto and all that it stands for. Capitalism and the opportunity to create personal wealth drive the incentive that fosters innovation that allows us to be self-reliant.
The fact that the Premier’s name still is associated with a document that shows that same contempt for capitalism as the C.C.F.’s Regina Manifesto, should deeply concern all Albertans as we move forward toward a provincial election, I know it concerns me greatly.
¹ https://www.socialisthistory.ca/Docs/CCF/ReginaManifesto.htm
² https://leapmanifesto.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Manifesto-en.pdf
³ https://leapmanifesto.org/en/whos-on-board/