Return of the Trojan Hourse

A Right-wing populist, in an oil-rich province, Ralph Klein has been a one-man wrecking crew, dismantling Alberta’s public sector and remaking the province into a freewheeling, capitalist paradise. This book re-examines Klein’s Alberta after a decade of deficit-slashing, tax--cutting -conservatism.

First elected in 1993 on a platform of “common sense revolution,” a decade later Ralph Klein’s Conservative party remains in power, but the gloss is off its “revolution.” Deficits and debt have been eliminated, but new problems and new issues have arisen, such as energy deregulation and water shortages. Efforts to export the revolution-to remake Canada in Alberta’s image-have stalled, with the defeat of the Harris Conservatives in Ontario and the collapse of the Reform and Alliance parties federally. Meanwhile, at the worldwide level, neo--liberal globalization-all the rage in the early ’90s-is now in retreat, replaced by war, threats of terrorism and growing economic instability.

The Return of the Trojan Horseexamines the long-term lessons of the Klein revolution and suggest where Alberta and Canada may be headed in the next decade. An original compilation of critical essays on Alberta’s policies, written by some of Alberta’s (and Canada’s) best authors who come from a wide spectrum of viewpoints and backgrounds, all blending insight with journalistic flair.

“Peel away the careful packaging of the Klein government’s record and what have you got? This book tells the story. Facts, clear prose, and the courage to tell it straight make it essential reading.”-Canadian Forum

Trevor Harrisonis currently an associate professor at the University of Lethbridge and research director for the Parkland Institute, an Alberta-based think tank dedicated to examining public policy issues. He is the author ofOf Passionate Intensity: Right-Wing Populism and the Reform Party of CanadaandRequiem for a Lightweight: Stockwell Day and Image Politics.