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Juno-nominated folksinger's tour celebrates 100 years of labour history

One of Alberta's best-known folk singers is coming to Calgary to present stories about the early years of Alberta labour through song.

Maria Dunn will lead a trio of performers into the CUPE 37 Hall, headquarters for Calgary's outside workers, on Saturday evening, May 5, 2012 as part of a Province-wide tour to celebrate the Centennial of the Alberta Federation of Labour. The tour, which consists of 13 concerts, will wrap up in the Crowsnest Pass during its Doors Open Festival on the August long weekend.

"I am thrilled to be a part of the AFL's Centennial celebrations," says Juno-nominated Maria Dunn. "It is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the efforts and accomplishments of the labour movement in Alberta, to remind ourselves about where we come from, and to ensure that we preserve these precious, hard-won rights - the right to collective bargaining, unemployment insurance, equal pay for women, public education, living wages, workers' health and safety standards and compensation, public health care, pensions, and so much more."

The Calgary stop will cap off a day in which area trade unionists will be taking the "Calgary Labour Walk," a project for which local trade unionists and activists have identified places in the City where events of significance to labour have taken place. These will be incorporated into a large fold-out map to be used during the tour. Plans are to engage Calgary Transit buses to take people to various sites - then back to the CUPE 37 Hall for the Maria Dunn concert.

The concert Maria will present is Troublemakers: Working Albertans, 1900-1950, which documents the history of working people in Alberta's early days, depicting the resilience and hope which brought them through experiences of immigration, internment, exploitation and the Great Depression. She will sing of union organizers, feminists and radicals who led the earliest struggles, attracting the attention and punishment of the authorities. Appearing with Maria Dunn will be Shannon Johnson (fiddle) and Terry Morrison (guitar), both well-known artists in their own right.

This multimedia event will utilize video to introduce as well as situate songs in their historical context, with visual images of the people and the locations in which the stories occurred. In each case, Maria will add her own personal introduction before presenting the song, a combination which will make for an engaging and educational 60-minute presentation.

A Juno-nominated storyteller through song, Maria's lyrics are set to melodies inspired by Celtic and North American folk traditions. Many of the songs in Troublemakers appear in Maria's 2004 CD, We Were Good People, Producer: Shannon Johnson with the McDades, Craig Korth, Byron Myhre, Michael Jerome Browne and others.

This concert, as well as GWG: Piece-by-Piece, the other presentation for this tour, continues a tradition of labour music that has played an important part in the history of work and workers' organizations. Maria has entertained in hundreds of union and political gatherings, fundraisers and concerts across Alberta and Canada, as well as in other parts of the world. She writes her own material and has worked with Ground Zero Productions, Shannon Johnson and such writers as Catherine Cole to produce the concerts that will make up the 2012 Centennial Tour.

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For more information or for tickets, call:

Maria Dunn, 780-430-8560

Susan Keeley, Retired CUPE Representative 403-248-2472 [email protected]

Nick Lepora, CEP, VP, Calgary Labour Council 403-278-5216 [email protected]

Winston Gereluk, AFL Office at 780-483-3012 [email protected]

At least one Alberta group isn't happy with today's changes to federal temporary foreign worker laws.

The Alberta Federation of Labour says lowering the wages for the workers makes Alberta's workforce less competitive and essentially steals jobs from the province.

Secretary Treasurer Nancy Furlong says the rules help big corporations save money at the expense of the unemployed.

"They're going to get a discount. They'll be able to bring foreign workers in and pay them less than what they would get if they were Canadian and living in this province, which is just a terrible decision and will drive wages down and keep them down," says Furlong.

The AFL wants to see a more reasonable development pace in the oil sands and better training for temporary foreign workers so they can get their tickets and stay in Canada.

630AM CHED, Wed Apr 25 2012

Juno-nominated folksinger's tour celebrates 100 years of labour history

One of Alberta's best-known folk singers is coming to the Olds to present stories about the early years of Alberta labour through song.

Maria Dunn will lead a trio of performers into the Olds College Theatre on Monday evening, May 7, 2012 as part of a Province-wide tour to celebrate the Centennial of the Alberta Federation of Labour. The tour, which consists of 13 concerts, will wrap up in the Crowsnest Pass during its Doors Open Festival on the August long weekend.

"I am thrilled to be a part of the AFL's Centennial celebrations," says Juno-nominated Maria Dunn. "It is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the efforts and accomplishments of the labour movement in Alberta, to remind ourselves about where we come from, and to ensure that we preserve these precious, hard-won rights - the right to collective bargaining, unemployment insurance, equal pay for women, public education, living wages, workers' health and safety standards and compensation, public health care, pensions, and so much more."

The Olds concert was organized in conjunction with the Alberta Division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which will be kicking off its Annual Labour School at the College that week. As well, school participants will be encouraged to visit the Olds Library, which will be hosting a labour history display from May – June 30, 2012.

The concert Maria will present is Troublemakers: Working Albertans, 1900-1950, which documents the history of working people in Alberta's early days, depicting the resilience and hope which brought them through experiences of immigration, internment, exploitation and the Great Depression. She will sing of union organizers, feminists and radicals who led the earliest struggles, attracting the attention and punishment of the authorities. Appearing with Maria Dunn will be Shannon Johnson (fiddle) and Terry Morrison (guitar), both well-known artists in their own right.

This multimedia event will utilize video to introduce as well as situate songs in their historical context, with visual images of the people and the locations in which the stories occurred. In each case, Maria will add her own personal introduction before presenting the song, a combination which will make for an engaging and educational 60-minute presentation.

A Juno-nominated storyteller through song, Maria's lyrics are set to melodies inspired by Celtic and North American folk traditions. Many of the songs in Troublemakers appear in Maria's 2004 CD, We Were Good People, Producer: Shannon Johnson with the McDades, Craig Korth, Byron Myhre, Michael Jerome Browne and others.

This concert, as well as GWG: Piece-by-Piece, the other presentation for this tour, continues a tradition of labour music that has played an important part in the history of work and workers' organizations. Maria has entertained in hundreds of union and political gatherings, fundraisers and concerts across Alberta and Canada, as well as in other parts of the world. She writes her own material and has worked with Ground Zero Productions, Shannon Johnson and such writers as Catherine Cole to produce the concerts that will make up the 2012 Centennial Tour.

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For more information or for tickets call:

Maria Dunn, 780-430-8560

Ed Hanson, Education Officer, CUPE Alberta Division [email protected]

Jason Heistad, Vice-President, AUPE, Olds College 403-373-2532 [email protected]

Or call: Winston Gereluk, AFL Office at 780-483-3012 [email protected]

NISKU – Alberta businesses, frustrated by red tape and delays in hiring temporary foreign workers, got a break Wednesday from the federal government.

Human Resources and Skills Development Minister Diane Finley announced that companies with an unblemished two-year history of hiring temporary workers from abroad will be allowed to apply for fast-tracked hiring permission.

"Employers with a strong track record in need of high-skilled workers will be able to obtain a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) within 10 business days," Finley said. "Even better news, this is effective immediately."

The Alberta Federation of Labour, however, said the announcement isn't all good news.

The new rules will result in lower wages for skilled workers and aggravate problems associated with a temporary foreign workforce, including people staying on illegally after their contracts expire, said AFL secretary-treasurer Nancy Furlong.

"If there is an ongoing need for workers, why not bring them in as permanent citizens?" asked Furlong, noting that labour groups were not invited to consultations over the changes.

Until now, companies had to pay workers what is known as the "prevailing wage." But that requirement now changes in the high-skill trades category.

"For added flexibility, wages up to 15 per cent below the average wage rate will be accepted so long as it can be clearly demonstrated the same wages are being paid to Canadian workers," Finley said at Wednesday's news conference in Nisku.

Furlong argued that 15-per-cent rule "interferes with supply and demand forces in the economy."

But getting that break on wages is a key factor to Ron Buchhorn, whose company runs a manufacturing business in Alberta and desperately needs welders and heavy-duty mechanics.

"Manufacturing cannot compete with wages in the primary industries — oilsands and mining and potash," said Buchhorn, vice-president of human resources for Advanced Engineering Products. His company is looking for 80 skilled workers for its operations here and in Saskatchewan.

In Alberta, "we can't compete with fly-in" work camps around Fort McMurray, which pay high wages and cover housing costs for workers, he added.

The company, which received the first speedy LMO on Wednesday, has looked for workers in Ontario and the Maritimes, but can't find the people it needs. These new rules "will enable us to increase our manufacturing capacity and increase service so we'll be more successful."

Under federal rules, employers must apply for LMOs before they can hire a foreign worker. The company must prove it has made an effort to recruit locally and within the country. If that was not successful, the company must then apply to Service Canada for permission to hire someone for a two-year period from outside the country.

But the process to get an LMO has been taking months, which is too long for many companies, says David MacLean, spokesman for the Alberta Enterprise Group, a business group that lobbies on economic issues.

"The temporary foreign worker process, as it stands, was too burdensome, too cumbersome, too complicated and there was too much red tape," said MacLean. "It just wasn't working to meet the needs in this economy."

The new rules apply to skilled labour categories only and the federal government expects to process about 150,000 temporary foreign worker applications from across the country this year, said Finley.

Bill Stewart of Merit Contractors Association calls the changes a step in the right direction, but just one piece of the puzzle to solve the looming labour shortage. His organization of non-union construction companies is eager to see details about how companies qualify to get on the preferred list.

"Recruiting internationally is not the first choice for construct industry as it's not cheap," he said.

Stewart says the merit contractors are also heartened by the efforts of federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who is looking at changing immigration rules to let more skilled tradesmen into the country. Only a fraction of the 250,000 immigrants admitted annually are skilled workers, Kenney said, and that has to change.

Finley said the new system will cut paperwork for businesses since they'll be able to apply online. New compliance monitoring will ensure companies are treating workers fairly. She also said businesses who violate the rules will have their ability to hire temporary foreign workers suspended for two years.

Calgary Herald, Wed Apr 25 2012
Byline: Sarah O'Donnell and Sheila Pratt

Changes to TFW program will allow employers to slash wages

The federal government has put corporate profits ahead of the needs of Canadian workers with the changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program announced today, says Alberta's largest labour group. "We have said all along that the TFW program was being used to drive down the wages paid to Canadian workers and, today, the federal government confirmed this in writing," says Nancy Furlong, Secretary Treasurer of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) which represents 145,000 workers. The background document attached to the government's media release says: "A new wage structure will also be introduced to provide employers with greater flexibility. Wages that are up to 15 per cent below the average wage for an occupation in a specific region will be accepted." Furlong says: "This government claims it believes in the free market, but doesn't want to allow the free market to apply to workers and their wages. Instead, it interferes to drive down wages in the interest of its corporate paymasters." She said she was disappointed, but not surprised, to see that these changes came after consultation with employers. "The Harper government didn't even bother to consult with Canadian workers. They consulted only with employers, many of whom are foreign-owned. We asked to take part in these consultations, but they weren't interested," says Furlong. "We think Canadians and Albertans should be concerned with this blatant disregard for the needs of citizens and how the federal government has put corporate profits ahead of its own people. "There are 1.4 million Canadians looking for work. Giving employers quicker access to foreign workers and allowing employers to slash wages by up to 15 per cent means most of them will remain out of work. That means they will continue to be a strain on Employment Insurance or government support programs, instead of working and paying taxes. The government is telling these Canadians that they are not needed," she says. "In a report last year titled Impact of the TFW Program on the Labour Market in Alberta, the provincial government said the TFW program is bad for our economy. It also leaves vulnerable foreign workers open to all kinds of abuse. So why are we expanding it? We will soon have 100,000 TFWs in this province. How many do we need? "The real solution to the labour shortage in Alberta is to follow the advice of former premier Peter Lougheed and set a more reasonable pace of development in the oil sands. We hope the newly elected Redford government is listening to him," says Furlong.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Nancy Furlong, AFL Secretary Treasurer, 780-483-3012 or 780-720-8945

Juno-nominated folksinger's province-wide tour celebrates 100 years of labour history

One of Alberta's best-known folk singers will be touring southern Alberta in early May to present stories about the early years of Alberta labour through song.

"This tour is part of the 100th anniversary celebration of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) and I am thrilled to be a part of it," says Juno-nominated Maria Dunn.

"It is an excellent opportunity to celebrate, through songs, the efforts and accomplishments of the labour movement in Alberta, to remind ourselves about where we come from, and to ensure that we preserve these precious, hard-won rights — the right to collective bargaining, unemployment insurance, equal pay for women, public education, living wages, workers' health and safety standards and compensation, public health care, pensions, etc."

Dunn will lead a trio of performers into five centres in southern Alberta as she kicks off the province-wide tour. The tour, which consists of 13 concerts, will begin in Medicine Hat on the evening of May 3 and then be in Lethbridge on May 4, Calgary on May 5, Drumheller on May 6 and in Olds on May 7.

She will present Troublemakers: Working Albertans, 1900-1950, which documents the history of working people in Alberta's early days, depicting the resilience and hope which brought them through experiences of immigration, internment, exploitation and the Great Depression.

Dunn will sing of union organizers, feminists and radicals who led the earliest struggles, attracting the attention and punishment of the authorities. Appearing her will be Shannon Johnson (violin, vocal) and Terry Morrison (vocal, guitar), both well-known artists in their own right.

"When I began exploring our vibrant people's history for the songs ... I wanted to share with my fellow Albertans what I had learned about our long and fascinating history of labour organization, citizen action, the diversity of voices that shaped our province and their tireless efforts to gain the human rights and community benefits that we currently enjoy," says Dunn.

This multimedia event uses video to introduce and situate songs in their historical context, with images of the people and the locations in which the stories occurred. In each case, Dunn adds her own personal introduction before presenting the song, a combination which makes for an engaging and enjoyable 60-minute education on Alberta labour history.

In several centres, the AFL celebration is being coupled with a local event. The Medicine Hat stop for example, is scheduled as part of a year-long Program at Medalta Potteries to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Medicine Hat Pottery Company in 1912.

In Lethbridge, the birthplace of the AFL, Maria's concert will take place on the eve of a March of Unions and Picnic in the Park that is being organized by a local group.

In five concerts on the 13-date tour, Dunn will perform a different labour-themed show, called GWG: Piece-by-Piece. It is a 60-minute ballad depicting the experiences of immigrant women who worked in Edmonton's GWG clothing factory over its 93-year history. The plant, founded in 1911 and closed in 2004, was a microcosm of immigration patterns in Alberta's cities, and tells a story of the urban immigrant women who are seldom portrayed in history books. Appearing with Dunn will be Shannon Johnson and Sharmila Mathur on the sitar.

Dunn has performed at union and political gatherings, fundraisers and concerts across Alberta and Canada, as well as in other parts of the world. She writes her own material, and has worked with Ground Zero Productions, Shannon Johnson and such writers as Catherine Cole to produce the concerts that will make up the 2012 Centennial Tour. (See Dunn's website at www.mariadunn.com)

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Media contacts:

Winston Gereluk, 2012 Celebrations Co-ordinator, 780-668-8119 [email protected]

Maria Dunn, 780-430-8560

For the first time in 91 years, the liberals have won an election in Alberta.

Yeah, sure, the name of the party that won a majority of seats last night is actually called the Progressive Conservative Party. But make no mistake, Alison Redford won last night's election in much the same way she won the leadership of the PC party. She appealed to both big and small-L liberals to back her. Her strategy worked, obviously.

Big public sector unions, like the members of the Alberta Federation of Labour, took out ads and robocalled much of the province urging all "progressive Albertans" to keep the Wildrose Party out by voting strategically for the PCs.

During the last provincial election, the AFL urged its members to vote NDP. My, how things change.

Videos of young people swearing and saying that though they hate to do it, they're voting PC, is another example of the political left throwing their support behind a party that has long been their most hated enemy.

What's interesting about the commentary of this historic election is how many pundits are declaring this a "crushing" defeat for the Wildrose. But that's sophistry. In just a little more than three years, an upstart party with a leader who has never sat in the legislature gave the oldest political dynasty in Canada's history a real fright. That's a huge win in many ways.

As Danielle Smith said last night during her concession speech, "change might take a little longer than we thought."

But as she pointed out, "today I stand at the helm of the official opposition." Not bad for a party that was born out of the anger of the oilpatch because of the changes former Premier Ed Stelmach made to energy royalties.

Smith admitted in her speech in her riding of Highwood in High River last night that she was disappointed. "Am I discouraged?" she asked rhetorically. "Not a chance."

Remember, just a little more than one month ago, predictive website threehundredandeight.com stated that the Wildrose would win only 17 seats — which was considered a healthy gain for the upstart party that was expected to win maybe 10 seats late last year, if they were lucky.

They won more than that last night, but the numbers weren't official at deadline. That some polls had her winning a majority up until Saturday, meant that the Tories should have learned a lesson. But they likely won't.

Had Smith and her advisers spent more time focusing on the cronyism and corruption that plagues the PCs today, it's possible they might have been able to pull off the upset. But another C-word crept into this campaign — clowns — as in bozos.

The so-called "bozo eruptions" by two Wildrose candidates took Smith off message and off her game. But that's not all. Many of the Wildrose policies simply represented too much change, too fast. Smith and her party must now re-examine their platform and make adjustments away from the ones that unsettled too many Albertans.

The Wildrose would have done well to heed the wise words of Dalton Camp when he said: "In my experience, governments are not defeated. They must grab themselves by their own lapels and hurl themselves from office."

The Tories did that to themselves. But the Wildrose hauled them back in, mostly owing to the disgraceful, bigoted comments by those two Wildrose candidates that Albertans simply won't abide.

While Redford may have won the election — and many Tories are relishing this hard-fought win — the Tories should be humbled by what happened last night. But don't count on that. After so many examples of corruption, arrogance, bullying and entitlement, it's likely many in the party will assume it's business as usual. Why change something that's worked for them repeatedly?

So, Redford will proceed with her national energy strategy. Just imagine what a political football that could wind up being — should Quebec's separatist PQ government win the next provincial election in la belle province.

Redford, if she keeps her promises — which thankfully, she doesn't always do — will spend billions more than she budgeted to spend in her deficit budget, which she passed just days before dropping the writ.

Last night in her victory speech, Redford made no mention of the party being humbled at all. Why would she? They won at deadline time 61 of a possible 87 seats. That's less than Ed Stelmach won in 2008, but with voter turnout much higher, it can be viewed as a much stronger mandate.

So, the big unions, the big spenders, the social engineers and the nanny statists finally have won power in Alberta.

The big difference now, compared to years past, is there will be a strong opposition party on the right holding this government to account.

Calgary Herald, Tues Apr 25 2012
Byline: Licia Corbella

EDMONTON - Wild predictions of eight or more seats died out as results rolled in for the NDP Monday night, but the party still doubled its number of MLAs.

NDP Leader Brian Mason called four seats a "bittersweet" victory.

"I'd hoped for more. I think we had some excellent candidates and they were very close," Mason said. "But we have four. That gives us official party status and we can be that voice in the legislature that stands up for public health care."

NDP supporters crowded around the TV screens at the Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel late into the evening as many tight races kept updating. A victorious David Eggen brought back the mood of celebration when he walked in and got the crowd chanting. Eggen was leading by 541 votes with 77 of 81 polls reporting. Newcomer Deron Bilous also knocked out incumbent PC Tony Vandermeer in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview by a narrow margin.

NDP incumbents Mason, in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, and Rachel Notley, in Edmonton-Strathcona, won their seats easily earlier in the night.

Edmonton-Gold Bar candidate Marlin Schmidt walked in with a glum face, but the crowd cheered him anyway. He lost a tight race against Tory candidate David Dorward. Shannon Phillips also fell behind in Lethbridge-West, despite her endorsement by popular former mayor Bob Tarleck.

The NDP had hoped for a strong third-place finish to give them the balance of power in a minority government, but the strong showing by the Progressive Conservatives eliminated that possibility.

"You never underestimate the PCs," said Notley, whose win was declared just 40 minutes after the polls closed.

Getting the balance of power was a long shot anyway, said Brian Stokes, party provincial secretary. "A minority or majority, we ran on principals and we'll promote them in the legislature."

Edmonton Journal, Mon Apr 23 2012
Byline: Elise Stolte

Merit Alberta and the Wildrose Party have filed complaints with government officials claiming that the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) is violating election rules with a province-wide telephone poll.

"AFL President Gil McGowan is leaving robocall messages attacking the health care policies of the Progressive Conservative and Wildrose Alliance parties," said Merit Contractors Association president Stephen Kushner.

"This is clearly political advertising, yet the AFL is not registered as a third party advertiser as required under the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act."

The AFL conducted an automated telephone poll that called about 1.5 million households or every number in the Alberta phone book from April 17-18.

"It wasn't a political advertisement, it was a political poll," said McGowan.

"I find it ironic that the complaint was made by the Wildrose party, which purports to stand for freedom of speech. I guess this only applies to people who want to talk about gays and lesbians falling into a lake of fire, or people who say Caucasians are better suited for leadership positions than people of colour or climate change deniers, but not to medicare."

He was referring to comments made by some Wildrose Party candidates in the lead up to the election.

When someone in a household answered their phone, the automated poll asked them to participate in a political survey or poll.

If the call went to an answering machine, McGowan left a message that said unions have been at the forefront of the fight to build medicare and protect it from those who want privatize it for profit.

"If you care about medicare, Wildrose is not the answer," he said in the message.

"Their spending promises can only be advanced with major cuts to healthcare and education. Please don't support a party that would destroy medicare as we know it."

Both Merit and the Wildrose Party argue that this telephone poll is a form of third party political advertisement, so the AFL should have registered with Elections Alberta. Violators of the law can face fines of up to $100,000 in court.

"This is yet another example of union leaders spending mandatory union dues on advertising and political agendas that are likely not shared by their members at large," said Kushner.

In response to McGowans claims about medicare, the Wildrose Party said it supports the public health care system and has no plans to have it privatized.

According to McGowan, however, Wildrose is committed to using public funds as seed money to facilitate the growth of corporate for-profit care.

Elections Alberta is investigating the provincial telephone calls after receiving numerous complaints.

"We are not the only group out there using this technology, but we are one of the few that make it clear who is doing the phoning," said McGowan. "We wanted to tell people, who is delivering the message and we have nothing to hide."

In 2008, the Progressive Conservative government legislated a gag order to stop organizations such as the AFL — who represent several unions and employee associations — from advertising during a provincial election.

During the 2008 provincial election, the Alberta Building Trades Council and the AFL sponsored a campaign, which questioned the leadership abilities of Progressive Conservative leader Ed Stelmach.

The AFL then launched a second campaign, which sent 130,000 homes direct mail with the message that the Progressive Conservatives lack direction on oil patch development and the environment.

In response, the National Citizens Coalition and Merit Alberta launched a counter attack, which said unions are forcing workers to contribute to political ad campaigns and are using their dues to finance non-workplace activities.

Union leaders did not disclose the cost of their campaign, but is has been reported that the cost was about $2.5 million for prime-time TV spots, full-page newspaper ads and direct mail.

Some Wildrose Party members have been making waves in the lead up to the provincial election.

A year-old blog post recently surfaced from Wildrose candidate Allan Hunsperger, who is running in Edmonton-Southwest. Hunsperger wrote in the blog that gays and lesbians would end up in an eternal lake of fire, if they didn't change their sexual orientation. He also characterized the public education system as godless and criticized the Edmonton Public School Board's policy of protecting sexual minorities from bullying.

Ron Leech, who is running for the Wildrose in Calgary-Greenway, said on a Calgary radio show that he had an advantage in the election race because he is Caucasian.

Journal of Commerce, Mon Apr 23 2012
Byline: Richard Gilbert

Flanked by her team of Progressive Conservative candidates, Premier Alison Redford fired up cheering supporters at rallies in both Edmonton and Calgary Saturday to mark the final push ahead of Election Day on Monday.

A room in Edmonton's Expo Centre was transformed into waves of orange and blue Saturday morning, as roughly 200 supporters hoisted placards in the air and chanted "vote PC, vote PC."

Redford spoke to the crowd with 24 of her candidates lining the stage behind her, all of them clapping and cheering.

"It's fun being in a room like this with all of these people, talking with Albertans, listening to what Albertan's are saying, for me is really energizing - I enjoy it," Redford said Saturday morning in Edmonton.

"It is something that is a tremendous privilege and it's an experience like I've never had before and I have enjoyed every minute of it."

Redford is hoping to spread that PC enthusiasm this weekend, but won't be appealing to NDP or Liberal supporters to back her party to prevent a Wildrose victory.

"I am going to keep doing what we've done because what we're talking about is a positive message for the future of Alberta that we as Progressive Conservatives believe will impact the way people decide to vote on Monday," Redford said. "At the end of the day, it is their choice as to who to vote for on Monday when they go into that ballot box."

"We are going to continue to be positive and constructive and talk about public health care and education and infrastructure and our place in the world and we are very optimistic for Monday."

Even though polls are showing Calgary is coming up Wildrose, Redford doesn't seem concerned about losing representation in the city.

"Certainly, talking to our candidates in Calgary, they are very optimistic. I think we are going to see good representation for us as Progressive Conservatives across the province and we are going to carry on with doing the service that Albertans ask us to do."

But it wasn't all positive for Redford in Calgary. During a photo op at a Sobey's grocery store, she was asked to leave.

On Saturday, Redford also addressed reports that some third party advertisers, like the Alberta Federation of Labour, are being investigated by Elections Alberta.

"I think it's unfortunate — this has been a very heated campaign," she said. "As we move ahead I am sure they will do their job and I would just ask everyone to remember that we need to keep a civilized tone and follow the rules."

Redford and her team will continue to rally the troops in Calgary on Sunday when they stop at several more local campaign offices.

She is also looking forward to spending some time with her daughter, Sarah, ahead of Monday's election, who she says has been a very patient 10-year-old, while she has been away from home travelling around the province for the past 26 days.

Calgary Sun, Sat Apr 21 2012
Byline: Lisa Mrazek