Alberta’s Political Leaders Weigh In A Pop Culture Survey!

When it comes to politics, how well do you know our politicians? Sure we might know a bit about their policies, but as my dad says,  “all that goes out the window when they’re elected.” I’m asking, how well do we know them as people. What do they watch, who do they listen to, what colour is that dress?  These are the important questions I put forward to our political leaders here in Alberta, who are all very busy as they fight to win the provincial election on May 5th.

So I asked six of Alberta’s political leaders to fill out my Pop Culture Survey. They include (in alphabetical order of the party name) Alberta’s Party’s Greg Clark, The Green Party’s Janet Keeping, The Liberal Party’s Dr. David Swann, the NDP’s Rachel Notley, the Progressive Conservative’s Jim Prentice and the Wildrose Party’s Brian Jean.

Of the six parties, only one party didn’t get back to me. They were each given a week and a few nudges, but I never heard back from the PCs. In the emails, I promised to publish without opinion or bias, which I have done below!

What are the last three songs you played on your iPod/Phone/Zune?

Alberta Party’s Greg Clark:
1. Prayer in C – Robin Schulz (I have kids)
2. Down Under – Men at Work (I grew up in the 80s)
3. Mrs. Robinson (remastered) – Lemonheads (I went to university in the 90s)

Green Party’s Janet Keeeping:
1. k.d lang’s “Love is Everything”
2. “The Definitive John Coltrane” CD
3. The Temptations’ “The Way You Do the Things You Do”
And since I’d better tell the truth – I can’t stand sleazy politicians – I listened to the first two on a CD player and the third I heard on my car radio. I know! So excruciatingly 20th century

Liberals’s Dr. David Swann:
1.”Democracy is Coming” by Leonard Cohen
2. “Oh lord it’s hard to be humble” by Mac Davis
3. “Alberta bound” by Gordon Lightfoot

NDP’s Rachel Notley:
Listening to mix on the road as I respond to this.
1. Scenic Route to Alaska “Waking up my Heart”
2. Michael Bernard Fitzgerald “Making Spaces”
3. Kathleen Edwards “For the Record”

Wildrose’s Brian Jean:
1. Don McLean – American Pie
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
3. The Eagles – Hotel California

Last thing you watched on Netflix?

Alberta Party’s Greg Clark:
Better Call Saul

Green Party’s Janet Keeping:
The first and last thing was the BBC series “Broadchurch”;

Liberals’ Dr. David Swann:
Homeland

NDP’s Rachel Notley:
Chuck

Wildrose’s Brian Jean:
House of Cards – To better understand what I’d be up against in this election.

You’d take an hour off the campaign to watch what on TV:

Alberta Party’s Greg Clark:
The Flames playoff run

Green Party’s Janet Keeping:
Major league baseball – I am a Boston Red Sox fan

Liberals’ Dr. David Swann:
The Nature of Things

NDP’s Rachel Notley:
Game of Thrones.

Wildrose’s Brian Jean:
If I only get an hour, then definitely the third period of the Flames game.

What celebrity would you get most excited to meet?

Alberta Party’s Greg Clark:
Maria Bamford
(Who’s actually coming to Calgary in October.)

Green Party’s Janet Keeping:
I don’t care much about celebrities but I would love to have a chance to talk at length with Barak Obama or Angela Merkel;

Liberals’s Dr. David Swann:
Lenard Cohen

NDP’s Rachel Notley:
John Stewart

Wildrose’s Brian Jean:
The Great One. Wayne Gretzky

Aisle or Window:

Alberta Party’s Greg Clark:
Aisle

Green Party’s Janet Keeping:
Always the window.

Liberals’ Dr. David Swann:
Aisle

NDP’s Rachel Notley:
Window – not a happy flyer, seeing where I’m going helps

Wildrose’s Brian Jean:
Always the window.

What was your first concert?

Alberta Party’s Greg Clark:
Beach Boys (1985)

Green Party’s Janet Keeping:
I think it was Jerry Lee Lewis way back in the day

Liberals’s Dr. David Swann:
Bob Dylan

NDP’s Rachel Notley:
Rush

Wildrose’s Brian Jean:
Trooper, when I was about 16 or 17 years old.

What colour is the dress?

Alberta Party’s Greg Clark:
Gold and white

Green Party’s Janet Keeping:
Pistachio

Liberals’ Dr. David Swann:
Blue and black

NDP’s Rachel Notley:
White and Gold

Wildrose’s Brian Jean:
White and Gold. Though, I obviously respect those who see things differently. 😉

On a scale of one to ten, how annoying is it when your friends leave you a voicemail instead of just texting you.

Alberta Party’s Greg Clark:
11.

Green Party’s Janet Keeping:
It’s not annoying to me but I do like texting and many people my age don’t text at all. I don’t understand why they don’t – it’s easy

Liberals’s Dr. David Swann:
One

NDP’s Rachel Notley:
Voicemail? People check voicemail any more?

Wildrose’s Brian Jean:
1 – Because my voicemail is constantly full so most have to resort to just texting

Does anyone even know what Snapchat is?

Alberta Party’s Greg Clark:
Not sure, but I think it’s something I hope my kids never figure out.

Green Party’s Janet Keeping:
Not me, that’s for sure;

Liberals’s Dr. David Swann:
I don’t think so.

NDP’s Rachel Notley:
My daughter and she won’t tell me.

Wildrose’s Brian Jean:
I had to ask my son.

What reality show are you pretty sure you would win?

Alberta Party’s Greg Clark:
The Great British Baking Show

Green Party’s Janet Keeping:
I haven’t the faintest idea because I not only don’t watch reality shows, I don’t even know the names of most of them. But in what I take to be the same vein (you may disagree!), I’ll add that I love the annual Academy Awards show and think I’d make a really great acceptance speech given the chance and that should count for something in this context because that show and most of the
speeches are really tacky, embarrassing and awful – just like reality TV.

Liberals’s Dr. David Swann:
Big Brother

NDP’s Rachel Notley:
Win? Hard to say. Enjoy – Amazing Race

Wildrose’s Brian Jean
Mantracker, for sure. And probably the Amazing Race.

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So what did you think, did anyone’s answers surprise you?  Were they enough to change your mind? Do you like anyone more or dislike them less? Well, no matter how you feel, what matters is that you go out and vote!  Check out all the details on how to vote and make sure you have your voice heard!