"You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit."
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

As predicted in this space three years ago, it was only a matter of time before we Albertans had added to our premier provincial collection new portraits of first ministers Alison Redford and Dave Hancock.

Alberta has had a carbon tax for two days now and as Environment Minister Shannon Phillips observed at a news conference yesterday, notwithstanding the predictions of the two principal right-wing parties, the province remains standing.

In this regard, I suppose you could say, Alberta is like British Columbia, which is similarly still standing after having had a carbon tax for 3,108 days.

Well, it's obviously going to take more than a dose of Trudeaumania 2.0 to get the good burghers of Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner to vote for someone who's not a Conservative.

Just to put an end to the suspense, all the polls hadn't yet reported as this story was put to bed, but it was pretty obvious the Conservative Party candidate has rolled to victory that can only be described as comfortable in yesterday's by-election in the geographically large rural-urban riding in Alberta’s deep south.

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One year ago today, Premier Rachel Notley and her New Democratic Party government swept in to power in Alberta.

But celebration of Alberta's unexpected and historically earthshaking Cinco de Mayo moment -- and, of course, other emotions too on the part of those who don't support the NDP government -- is bound to be muted today in the wake of the continuing fire catastrophe in Fort McMurray.