Today is the fifth anniversary of the day the wheels fell off the Tory bus.

That is to say, today is the fifth anniversary of the day Alison Redford was sworn into office as Alberta’s 14th premier, the leader who was supposed to renew the Progressive Conservative Party one more time -- as Ed Stelmach, Ralph Klein and Don Getty before her had all been meant to do in their time.

Jim Prentice was supposed to play the same role too, but by then, notwithstanding his own blunders, it may have been too late.

 So all this means that yesterday was the last day steady old Eddie, Unlucky Premier No. 13, was at the wheel of Alberta's PC bus, and while it may have needed a coat of paint and a new set of spark plugs, it was still a perfectly serviceable vehicle.

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As most of us come to understand the hard way, timing is everything, and not just in in football and politics.

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Be my Valentine? Forget it!

With all the romancing going on these days, you'd think there'd be some romance! But it sure looks as if it's going to take more than cards and chocolate to stoke the fires of unity on Alberta's fractured and sometimes fractious right.

The decline in oil prices to the sub-$50-per-barrel level may not be a pleasant experience for those of us here in Alberta, especially the Progressive Conservative rulers of our province, but it does offer the potential for what might be called a useful teaching and learning moment for other Canadians.

Specifically, it sends a message to people outside this province, who have been subjected for years to a stream of propaganda about how they must adopt the economic policies that prevail in Alberta or else, just how badly, in reality, this province is run.