Opposition Leader Jason Kenney and NDP Leader Rachel Notley hammered home different visions for Alberta on Tuesday, after the latter announced the province will go to the polls on April 16. The start of the campaign came one day after the governing NDP delivered its throne speech in the legislature and amid a near-constant stream of controversies in recent days involving Kenney's United Conservative Party. Notley set the stage early for a battle between different visions for the province outlined by the NDP and the UCP, while Kenney painted a different picture in response later in the day. VOTE COMPASS | Find out how your views on campaign issues line up with the platforms of Alberta's major parties The NDP leader focused her attention on the controversies swirling around the UCP when she called the election before a cheering crowd at the National Music Centre in Calgary, saying she hopes to earn the support of disaffected conservatives. "A growing number of conservatives here in Calgary and across Alberta are coming to have serious doubts about Jason Kenney as premier," she said. She used those controversies to draw a hard line between her party and the UCP. Alberta Votes 2019: CBC News brings you news, analyses and columns you need "The politics of love and hope and optimism always trump the politics of anger, division and fear, and that's why I'm running to be premier," she said. Kenney has been weathering controversy over allegations that his campaign collaborated with that of fellow candidate Jeff Callaway in the party's leadership race. CBC News broke the story last weekend after obtaining documents that show top Kenney campaign staff were in frequent contact with the Callaway campaign, providing Kenney's purported rival with resources including strategic political direction, media and debate talking points, speeches, videos, and attack advertisements — all aimed at undermining Kenney's main political rival, Brian Jean. 'Problem with racism' Separately, on Monday night, one of Kenney's star candidates dropped out of the running in the Calgary–Mountain View riding following the release of private messages from two years earlier when she talked about a double standard for white supremacist terrorists and said she was saddened by the "demographic replacement of white peoples in their homelands." In response to a question Tuesday about the statements made by Caylan Ford, Notley said: "I personally do not believe that Jason Kenney is racist, but I believe that the UCP as a party has a problem with racism." Kenney was eager to return to what he says will be the main focus of his campaign: jobs, the economy and pipelines — a trifecta he hammered home over and over again at a news conference that used oil and gas workers as a backdrop. He said the NDP would run a campaign of "fear and smear" in order to distract from their record, but did say he condemned Ford's remarks. "This campaign is not about politics, it's about people, the people who have been damaged by the ideological job-killing policies of the NDP and their alliance with the Trudeau Liberals," he said. 'Are you better off than you were four years ago?' CBC News Edmonton 1:00 UCP Leader Jason Kenney says jobs, economy and pipelines will be the focus in his party's bid to become government. 1:00 Notley, mostly backed by families and children, also focused on the role that a re-elected NDP government would play in what she characterized as a more inclusive province — from rights to incomes. She said the election would be fought on the basis of investments in health care, education, diversification of the economy and, of course, pipelines. Listen to The Ledge podcast , as CBC's legislative reporters bring you expert analysis and insiders' insight Sign up to get our election newsletter The Scrutineer delivered directly to your inbox twice weekly "The question is this: do Albertans stick together or do we turn on each other?" she said. "Jason Kenney wants two Albertas — one for the wealthy and one for the rest of us. He wants two Albertas divided over people's rights. "I want to continue to build one Alberta." 'My friends, it is time for an election' CBC News Edmonton 1:14 Rachel Notley says the province will go to the polls on April 16. In her campaign launch, she outlined the different visions the NDP and UCP have for Alberta. 1:14 The UCP has been busy making policy announcements in anticipation of the election call, including corporate tax breaks, different minimum wage levels based on experience and age, and a promise to undo some of the NDP's signature bills, including the controversial carbon tax. Kenney highlighted those policies again on Tuesday afternoon and said there would be a more fulsome platform around the mid-point of the election. The NDP has also promised to go beyond touting its record and unveil a policy platform once the election is underway. The election isn't just about two parties going head to head, however. 'Albertans are tired of it' The Alberta Party, led by former PC cabinet minister Stephen Mandel, is largely perceived as the third party in the race, followed by the Alberta Liberals. On the right, ousted conservative MLA Derek Fildebrandt will go into the election as the head of the Freedom Conservative Party. Mandel, launching his party's campaign on Tuesday, said he wasn't interested in getting involved in controversies and shouting matches. "What's been happening the last number of years is this negativity and I think Albertans are tired of it," he said. "We will make every effort to stay away from it. We will slip and we will make a mistake and say something that we regret, but at the end of the day, we hope we don't." Stephen Mandel is the leader of the Alberta Party. (CBC) Mandel said the Alberta Party would focus on its forthcoming platform and trying to convince Albertans the party is the best centrist choice. "Albertans are in the middle. Albertans are where we are," he said. "We think the future is in our hands." 'Change election'<doc-sep>“Let me just say this: I personally do not believe that Jason Kenney is racist,” NDP Leader Rachel Notley told reporters on the morning she launched Alberta’s election campaign. The premier did not feel the need to also state that as far as she understands, Jason Kenney does not hate children like the ones who stood awkwardly but patiently behind her during this campaign kickoff. Here’s how she did continue that thought: “But I do believe the UCP, as a party, has a problem with racism.” It’s going to be that kind of bare-knuckle campaign, Alberta’s NDP have concluded, if they want a serious shot at survival. Well behind in the polls—as they have been almost since the dawn of their first-ever term ruling Alberta—the New Democrats want to keep voters focused on something other than the province’s tepid economy and resurgent unemployment, which the election had long seemed destined to be fought over. The NDP’s preferred ballot question is: Sheesh, do you guys really want Alberta to be governed by a gang teeming with extremists, rogues and racists and led by a conniving, duplicitous neanderthal? Notley got some timely bits of help in the days leading up to the election call as she tries to frame the political battle to best suit her. With fresh evidence that Kenney and organizers plotted to run a dubious “kamikaze” candidate in the United Conservative leadership race in order to bash his key rival, Notley has a quite credible excuse to call her opponent a cheater who lied when caught at it. (Even if rules allow such trickery, surely it tramples upon every principle of fair play and democracy to so brazenly do this.) And on the eve of the election call, the NDP-aligned, journalism-inspired outfit PressProgress leaked private messages from UCP candidate Caylan Ford that conveyed unnerving amounts of sympathy for white-supremacist causes, forcing her to resign in a competitive riding. That follows other past stories of such unseemly and hateful connections for UCP candidates or hangers-on, many initially promoted by the NDP. And there’s still four weeks to go, election watchers say as sweat beads on their foreheads. The left will bring out more damage-attempting revelations against Kenney and his cadre, and it seems so will disgruntled conservatives on the sidelines of his United Conservatives—they were the primary sources, after all, who revealed the sham-candidate scandal, and leaked Ford’s private Facebook musings. After years of steadily trying to chip away at Kenney’s credibility with such attacks, his UCP comfortably lead the NDP in two polls conducted this month: 18 points province-wide according to Ipsos/Global, and 12 points according to Leger—and both polls show that no NDP seats are safe anywhere but Edmonton, the party’s traditional base. Kenney’s own popularity polls behind that of his party, and Notley is more well-liked than the NDP—so much so that candidate signs prominently say “Rachel Notley’s team” and leave the party logo tiny and tucked into the corner. This fuels New Democrat strategists’ belief that dragging down Kenney is the best way to weaken his party, but the orange side’s own brand liability remains far more dire than any of the other key entities at play in the Alberta election. Those Ipsos and Leger surveys, and others before them, depict an Alberta populace uniformly obsessed with jobs, the economy and pipelines. And lo, what three words were in block letters on a placard at Jason Kenney’s lectern the day before the election? JOBS ECONOMY PIPELINES. And they were represented in corporeal form at Kenney’s first campaign event Tuesday: workers in coveralls at the site of an oilfield services company that’s shuttered rigs and office branches in the last few years. Former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall had a habit of rhyming off good-news economic indicators to start his speeches, like an economic development agency booster. Kenney plays the inverse role: reminding Albertans their average take-home wages are down $6,400 since 2015 and more than 180,000 residents are unemployed. He blames NDP tax increases and regulations much more than any economist would, and then promises a dramatic corporate tax cut and regulation shredding to bring back Alberta’s competitive edge. Unlike his erstwhile ally Doug Ford, he’s not promising “open for business” highway signs; Kenney’s nameplate in the premier’s office will suffice. “Simply the election of a United Conservative government will itself send a signal to job creators they can invest in this province again.” It was long obvious to Kenney (and the rest of us) that NDP personal attacks would aim straight at him, just as plain as it was to Notley that her rival would premise nearly all his campaign on grumpiness about Alberta’s carbon tax and oil-sector slump. His side is confident that the sham candidate controversy is too complex for people to understand and at day’s end nothing illegal occurred. (Sound awkwardly like how the Liberals feel about l’affaire SNC-Lavalin?). The UCP is also betting that Albertans will ultimately be more repelled by the NDP’s “fear and smear” campaign than they will be by anything that barrage reveals. In 2012, Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives escaped near-certain electoral demise when the opposition Wildrose Party was revealed to have a leader who doubted climate change science and a candidate who believed gays should burn in a “lake of fire.” But back then, Alberta was enjoying yet another year of solid, nation-leading economic growth—no job anxieties drove voters away from the governing party, as they do now. It appears that Rachel Notley and the NDP are headed for a big defeat unless something substantial changes before election day. They have four weeks to do so. If Kenney wins, his opposition will have nonetheless succeeded to persuade much of Alberta their new premier is a terrible human in charge of a caucus of even worse people.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email An Alberta election that some political pundits have said could be one for the ages will be held in 28 days, on Tuesday, April 16. “It is time for an election,” NDP Leader Rachel Notley exclaimed at an event in Calgary, where she dropped the writ on Tuesday morning. “I am pleased to announce that Albertans will go to the polls on April 16.” Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I am pleased to announce that Albertans will go to the polls on April 16." Much of Notley’s speech was aimed at conservative voters who may have lost faith in the current conservative options in Alberta. READ MORE: How Global News is covering Alberta election 2019 WATCH BELOW: The gloves are off and the battle for Albertans’ votes has begun. Tom Vernon reports on Day 1 of the provincial election campaign. 2:40 2019 Alberta election campaign gets underway 2019 Alberta election campaign gets underway – Mar 19, 2019 “If you consider yourself to be a progressive or a moderate voter, I hope to earn your support in this election campaign. We share common values and priorities –values that Jason Kenney fundamentally rejects.” Story continues below advertisement She also pointed to what many have called Kenney’s divisive style of politics, asking supporters at her speech whether Albertans should stick together, or turn on each other. WATCH BELOW: When dropping the writ, Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley spoke to UCP supporters who may not like Jason Kenney as party leader 1:31 Notley targets conservative voters dissatisfied with Kenney Notley targets conservative voters dissatisfied with Kenney – Mar 19, 2019 Another big topic was pipelines, with Notley promising that another NDP government would get a pipeline to tidewater built, saying that after four years of pushing, a pipeline is closer than ever before. “I think that we will get it built. I will keep talking to Canadians. I will keep pushing people in B.C., I will keep pushing the federal government and we will make darn sure that thing gets built. It is fundamental to Albertans’ futures and to Canadians.” Story continues below advertisement WATCH BELOW: On Tuesday morning, Premier Rachel Notley announced the Alberta election will be held April 16. Kendra Slugoski reports. 2:19 Alberta Election: Premier Rachel Notley drops writ Alberta Election: Premier Rachel Notley drops writ – Mar 19, 2019 Notley called the election one day after Lt.-Gov. Lois Mitchell delivered the Speech from the Throne, which outlined the accomplishments of Notley’s government over the previous four years. The 2019 election will see Notley and the NDP attempt to be re-elected, after winning a majority for the first time in the party’s history in 2015. The party’s stunning election win four years ago put an end to the Progressive Conservatives’ 44-year reign in Alberta. READ MORE: Alberta election promise tracker — Where do the parties stand on the major issues? View image in full screen Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley holding a news conference in Calgary to drop the writ, triggering the 2019 Alberta election. March 19, 2019. Jenna Freeman, Global News Since the 2015 election, the Progressive Conservatives merged with the Wildrose Party to form the United Conservative Party. Story continues below advertisement WATCH BELOW: Political experts discuss strategy for Alberta’s 2019 election 3:54 Political experts discuss strategy for Alberta’s 2019 election Political experts discuss strategy for Alberta’s 2019 election – Mar 19, 2019 READ MORE: Alberta election fact check For the UCP and leader Jason Kenney, which has served as the official opposition for the past two years, the 2019 election will be its first chance to try to return a conservative government to Alberta. Kenney, speaking at an event in Leduc on Tuesday afternoon, said the main question his campaign wants Albertans to think about is: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” “The NDP has the worst economic record since the Great Depression nine decades ago,” Kenney said. “So if you’re worse off today than you were four years ago, vote for change.” Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "So if you're worse off today than you were four years ago, vote for change." Story continues below advertisement Kenney said details of his party’s plan – which he referred to as a “fight-back strategy” would be outlined later this week. But he promised the creation of a “war room” in the government that would be resourced to “respond in real time to all of the lies and myths told about our ethical energy industry.” WATCH BELOW: Global News’ Jenna Freeman has reaction from Calgary to Alberta Premier Rachel Notley dropping the writ and calling an election for April 16. 1:32 Calgary reaction to Alberta premier setting election date Calgary reaction to Alberta premier setting election date – Mar 19, 2019 When asked if he thought the Callaway scandal that broke over the weekend would affect his campaign, Kenney said no. He said Albertans will be voting in this election based on jobs, economy and pipelines. “They’re going to vote for change to have a government that will stop apologizing for this province and start defending it.” Story continues below advertisement According to an Ipsos/Global News poll released Tuesday morning, Kenney and the UCP have a considerable lead over Notley and the NDP leading up to the election. The numbers didn’t concern Notley though as she joked that if polls more than 30 days out of an election were accurate, “I’d be leaving here today for a meeting with Mayor Bill Smith.” READ MORE: Find your riding and candidates for Alberta election 2019 The Alberta Party, led by former Edmonton mayor and PC MLA Stephen Mandel, the Alberta Liberals led by David Khan, and the Freedom Conservative Party led by former UCP MLA Derek Fildebrandt, are also vying for votes. View image in full screen From left to right: NDP leader Rachel Notley, UCP leader Jason Kenney, Alberta Party leader Stephen Mandel, Freedom Conservative Party leader Derek Fildebrandt, Alberta Liberal leader David Khan. The Canadian Press<doc-sep>Share this Story: Kenney, NDP throw barbs over carbon tax Kenney, NDP throw barbs over carbon tax Photo by AMBER BRACKEN / THE CANADIAN PRESS Article content Alberta’s carbon tax is a job-killing product of Rachel Notley-Justin Trudeau collusion that will be axed as soon as the UCP takes power, party Leader Jason Kenney pledged Wednesday. The vow was quickly ridiculed by provincial Environment Minister Shannon Phillips, who accused Kenney of being eager to kill renewable energy jobs and enrich lawyers to fight a resulting federal carbon tax if Alberta’s is scrapped. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Kenney, NDP throw barbs over carbon tax Back to video The UCP leader said doing away with the levy, which currently taxes emissions at $30 a tonne but will reach $50 per tonne in 2022, will create 6,000 jobs by 2024. He also said cancelling the levy will mean a $1.27-billion boost to the province’s GDP and ignite consumer spending to the tune of $269 million. “Elderly Albertans are being punished for putting the heat on,” Kenney said during a visit to an iron workshop in Lethbridge. “The NDP carbon tax is killing jobs . . . it’s had zero effect in reducing emissions.” Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content A tax already rejected by two-thirds of Albertans would become even more hated when rebates fail to keep pace with an increase in the levy, said Kenney. He repeatedly invoked the name of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, insisting he and Premier Rachel Notley have been in “cahoots” in saddling Albertans with a tax that’s proven a bust in providing so-called social licence for badly needed pipelines. If Ottawa follows through on its threat to impose its own carbon tax if Alberta drops its version, Kenney said he’ll follow in other provinces’ footsteps and sue the federal government all the way to the Supreme Court. The NDP’s Phillips, whose home riding is Lethbridge-West, accused Kenney of dishonesty over the scandal surrounding his 2017 leadership campaign, and said it extends to his attack on the carbon tax. The climate change plan funded by the tax, she said, has reduced Alberta greenhouse gas emissions by seven megatonnes, “or one-third of Manitoba’s entire emissions for a year.” “The number of things Mr. Kenney said that were demonstrably false are part of a pattern,” added Phillips. About 3,600 renewable energy jobs have been created by the province’s climate plan, while $3 has been saved in energy costs by its implementation for every dollar invested in it, said the minister. “Jason Kenney would rather give those people pinks slips,” she said. She noted Canadian jurisdictions that imposed the levy have often led the country in economic growth. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Many in the UCP, said Phillips, deny the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change, making them unfit to craft energy and environmental policy. “While Rachel Notley has sensible climate leadership policy, Jason Kenney appears to be riding unicorns,” said Phillips. Challenging Ottawa on the carbon tax would be a costly fool’s errand, she said, and merely “demonstrate that the Constitution exists.” Kenney spent all of Wednesday campaigning in Lethbridge, while Notley was also scheduled to be in the southern Alberta city later in the evening and Thursday. It’s considered a hotly contested city in the election campaign. Recent polls have shown comfortable leads in most of the province for the UCP. The candidates running in Calgary There is a mountain of information for voters to consider in a campaign. But on election day, it all comes down to the names on the ballot. Here are the candidates running in Calgary’s 26 ridings. We will update the list as more candidates are nominated. (Click or tap on the ridings for more information.) BKaufmann@postmedia.com on Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn Share this article in your social network Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Calgary Herald Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Calgary Herald, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. 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Share this Story: Alberta Election Day 2: Notley, Kenney, Mandel, Khan hit the trail running Alberta Election Day 2: Notley, Kenney, Mandel, Khan hit the trail running Photo by Ian Kucerak / Postmedia Article content It’s Day 2 of the 2019 Alberta election campaign trail. Here’s what the province’s political parties are doing today. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Alberta Election Day 2: Notley, Kenney, Mandel, Khan hit the trail running Back to video 2 p.m. — David Khan in Calgary Alberta Liberal leader David Khan is set to make an announcement on the party’s plan to improve education outcomes in Calgary today at 2:00 pm. According to a Wednesday afternoon news release, Khan said the Liberals would work to reduce class sizes and scrap class size guidelines in favour of class size caps. “Students cannot learn when they are jammed in with 40 other students,” Khan said, in the news release. “Teachers struggle to meet students’ needs under these difficult conditions. We will change that to improve outcomes for both students and teachers.” Khan also said his party would boost support for “true inclusive education.” “We will not tolerate seclusion or isolation in the classroom,” Khan said. “We will consult with educators to place resources for inclusive education where they are needed to achieve the best outcomes.” Article content 1 p.m. — Sarah Hoffman in Edmonton Edmonton-Glenora candidate Sarah Hoffman unveiled a new TV ad to reporters in Edmonton Wednesday. In the 30-second clip, Kenney touts his work with a pro-life group in the late 1980s to successfully overturn a law giving hospital visitation rights to gay couples during the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco. “Not only did Jason Kenney campaign to take away people’s rights, he boasted and bragged about it,” Hoffman said. “Anyone who brags or boasts about barring partners from visiting each other when they’re dying, I think is unfit to be premier.” In December, Kenney was asked by reporters if those actions were among the things he regrets from his life, and he said, “sure.” The video, which has appeared on social media before, ends with the line, “is this a premier?” When asked if Hoffman unveiled the ad because she’s taking on an attack role in the campaign, she said she wanted to announce the ad. “I’m proud to be here and showing you who Mr. Kenney is,” she said. “I know that Rachel Notley has a lot to show Albertans as well.” WATCH: Jason Kenney invited us to look at his record - so we did. Anyone who brags about barring people from saying their final goodbyes to their loved ones in hospital is just not fit to be Premier. #ableg #abvote pic.twitter.com/XBNgfGsPCI — albertaNDP (@albertaNDP) March 20, 2019 Article content 11 a.m. — UCP leader Jason Kenney in Lethbridge UCP leader Jason Kenney held a media availability in Lethbridge Wednesday where he railed against Alberta’s carbon tax calling it the “biggest lie in Alberta politics.” Kenney said the carbon tax has had “zero” impact on reducing emissions. Kenney asked when a UCP gvt would balance the budget. He says a fully costed platform will come soon but it would be 2022-23. Says Alberta can maintain current spending and grow the economy, and find admin waste in AHS #ableg — Emma Graney (@EmmaLGraney) March 20, 2019 Article content “It’s nothing more than a tax grab,” Kenney said, reiterating his party’s plan to repeal the carbon tax, if elected. According to a Wednesday news release, cancelling the Alberta carbon tax will be financed by a $1.1 billion reduction in climate spending, reduced corporate welfare and other spending. “We need to get Albertans back to work, we need to make life easier for them and we need to help them pay their bills,” Kenney said in the news release. “That’s what ending the carbon tax is all about. And it’s job one.” 11 a.m. — Stephen Mandel in Edmonton Alberta Party leader Stephen Mandel is in Edmonton Wednesday where he made a child care policy announcement saying his party would create a voucher system to improve families’ access to day care. Unlike the NDP’s $25/day plan, there would be a means test based on family income, and it would apply to all licensed spaces, he said. Parents could use vouchers at private daycare and out-of-school care operators in addition to not-for-profit centres.