NEW: I collected data on all campaign contributions made to Edmonton council candidates, coded each donation for donor type, and put this all in searchable tables. Want to know who is funding your future mayor and council? Explore the data here:
theijf.org/search-edmon...

This Sept. 2021 federal campaign return for the oil and gas industry funded third party advocacy group Canada Strong and Proud also lists Marciano as the groups financial agent. It's worth saying a bit about the donors on the campaign return...

Lobbying records for Tourmaline Oil, Canadian Gas Association, and Enbridge list Olson as a lobbyist, state they are lobbying Alberta Energy and Minerals, and declare lobbyists named in the filing have or are expected to lobby MLA's, their staff, Executive Council members, or their staff.

Alberta Energy and Minerals Chief of Staff Marciano and Travis Olson, now a lobbyist with Alberta Counsel, have been the primary contact and CFO of the political third party ARAF since the group registered in 2021. They both signed ARAF's annual financial return in March 2025.

The number of overtime hours worked by Edmonton paramedics in 2024 is equivalent to hiring about 60 new regular full-time paramedics.

Brown did not answer detailed questions I sent for the story, only replying with a statement explaining why he took an active role in promoting the One Health project. I followed up to again ask about the unanswered questions. Here's what told comms staff (and me via reply all to the thread) 6/

After getting the interview request, which meant news of the renovation pause and proposal would be public, Brown emailed One Health's Smith and Kyne to coordinate a response, saying he was concerned about the narrative and that they should stay vague. He denied this as well. 4/

Here's the original interview request, sent 4.5 hours before his office declined. 3/

On Jan. 30,2024, Brown declined an interview request about the province pausing renovations at the Airdie health centre to consider a pitch for a privately delivered alternative. Brown then denied this to the Airdrie paper. 2/

The McJesus merch is inexplicably popular in Edmonton.

www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

My short-read rec for the long weekend: The Captain and the Glory by Dave Eggers.

If you wish you could laugh but can't pry your attention away from ascendant fascism and attacks on democracy, this will help.

Sometimes you need to illustrate important historical moments. Like when Coke and Pepsi confounded Trudeau by sending him unopenable pop cans to protest the consumer tax holiday.

Reminder Alberta has an office dedicated to interfering in collective bargaining, and the finance minister is authorized to issue "secret and binding bargaining directives to all public-sector employers."
Report from 2024" www.parklandinstitute.ca/a_thumb_on_t...

Eric mere seconds before this post:

The contraband smokes line is the most successful tobacco industry marketing campaign of our time. Imperial laid out in internal documents how they planned to use the issue to push for softer regulation and tax breaks and it never fails to get free press.

Data released by the province today on children, youth, and young adults who died while receiving intervention services shows that 22 Indigenous youth have died since April, matching the total number of deaths for all of last year.

Notice any differences between the campaigns from the now deleted accounts and the recent examples provided to me for this story?