We may not elect Liberals here, but when it comes to leadership, Alberta sure matters. So it’s not surprising that the potential leadership candidates have been making pit stops in Alberta as they criss-cross the country.

Stephane Dion was in town on Tuesday, after doing a gig up in Edmonton the night before. While his Alberta organization is fairly non-existent right now, he spoke very well and impressed at all of the events he did in the province. His youth event in Calgary drew over three times what Brison’s got (and that was pre “UWillBHappyG8”) and he got several big ovations. Like pretty much every single candidate out there, Dion (and Brison for that matter) have been talking up the innovation agenda and environmental sustainability, which is nice to see. Dion has also played up his loyalty to the leader throughout the civil war and he certainly spent a lot more time talking about Quebec than Scott Brison did. And while I really like Dion’s hard line on issues like the fiscal imbalance, a common theme on his trip out here was about the federal government getting out of provincial jurisdiction. That likely means the end of any sort of federal post-secondary education strategy and a lot of decentralization, two things I’m not overly keen about.

Dion and Brison are the first two candidates I’ve had a chance to see on their trips out West and I think if the LPC should seriously look into finding a way to transplant Stephane Dion’s brain into Brison’s body. Between Brison’s speaking skills and charisma, and Dion’s intellect and penchant for not leaking sensitive government information, “Brion” would be nearly unstoppable.

In Other Leadership News
The Gerard Kennedy team is quietly assembling itself together in Alberta. Obviously Kennedy won’t be able to do much until the Ontario budget, but it looks like he will do well in Alberta if he declares.

The Stronach team is also building a credible organization in Alberta. Not only are they promising to “bake a bigger economic pie”, but it sounds like it will include a side of “innovation ice cream”.