I’m going to be blunt in this piece. As a resident of Alberta and someone trained to recognize threats to democracy, I have an obligation to be.

The United Conservative Party is an authoritarian force in Alberta. Full stop.

I don’t come by this argument lightly. It’s based on extensive evidence that I present below, followed by some concrete actions Albertans can take to push back against creeping authoritarianism.

There’s no hard-and-fast line between democracy and authoritarianism. Just ask people from autocracies: you don’t simply wake up one day under arbitrary rule.

They’re more like opposite sides of a spectrum, ranging from full participation by all citizens in policy-making at one end (democracy) to full control by a leader and their cadre on the other (authoritarianism).

Clearly, Alberta politics sit somewhere between these two poles. It is neither an ideal Greek city-state nor a totalitarian hellscape.

The question is: How much of a shift toward authoritarianism are we willing to accept? Where do we draw the line between politics as usual and anti-democratic activities?

At a bare minimum, we should expect our leaders to respect the rule of law, constitutional checks and balances, electoral integrity and the distribution of power.

Unfortunately, the United Conservative Party has shown disregard for these principles. They’ve breached them so many times that citizens can be forgiven for being desensitized. But it is important to take stock so we can determine how far we’ve slid.

Here’s a breakdown of those principles.