ALBERS: The lost art of governing — why competence became Canada’s most unfashionable virtue

James Albers is a Calgary-based management consultant specializing in leadership development.There is a phrase that has gone missing in the political lexicon of this country — competence-based governance. It’s the quaint, almost old-fashioned idea that leadership should rest on skill, performance, and the ability to deliver results rather than on ideology, loyalty, or the practiced ease of the soundbite. A government, in this view, should be chosen not for what it promises but for what it can actually deliver.Nowhere is this more relevant than in Alberta — that persistent Western province which has so often stood as both the engine and the conscience of Canada. Alberta’s prosperity never flowed simply from oil or gas; resources are found everywhere. What set Alberta apart was a culture of pragmatism, fiscal restraint, and technical competence. The province’s most resilient chapters — whether in expanding the energy sector, negotiating pipelines, diversifying the economy, or balancing the books — were led by people who understood the files, knew the math, and surrounded themselves with engineers, economists, and builders.When Alberta has drifted from that tradition — when governance bowed to ideology, populism, or empty slogans — the results have been depressingly familiar: capital flight, policy chaos, and a public growing ever more cynical about the very idea of leadership. Which brings us, inevitably, to the present moment — one where competence, not charisma, is again the test of real leadership..A Federal Façade of CompetenceAt the national level, we were promised seasoned, pragmatic leadership — a government that would restore international credibility and manage complex trade relations with maturity and skill. What we received instead was a mask of competence, a carefully polished façade concealing fiscal recklessness and diplomatic ineptitude. Seven months in, and the “steady hands” have become fumblers. Tariffs rise, our relationship with the United States frays, and our federal budget — while speaking in the euphemistic poetry of “generational investment” — reads like a eulogy for restraint. To call it Orwellian is almost too kind; it’s the linguistic gymnastics of a government congratulating itself for overspending while claiming thrift.The Neighbours: Ford and EbyIf one looks eastward, Ontario provides little comfort. Premier Ford’s governance oscillates between folksy theatre and costly indulgence. From whisky-pouring photo ops to a $75 million advertising spree that only managed to irritate our American neighbours, competence is clearly not the guiding star. His public squabbles with the Prime Minister over the fallout — two men throwing each other under the bus they both helped steer off course — merely confirm the absence of adults in the room.And westward, there is Premier Eby — self-anointed guardian of BC’s coastal sanctity — proclaiming that tankers from Alberta threaten pristine waters even as American vessels sail those same routes unbothered. He insists there is no case for pipelines, no room for compromise, and, apparently, no awareness of irony. Add to this his astonishing lack of foresight regarding recent land rights rulings — which any competent leader would have anticipated — and we have a Premier who appears to govern by denial. Among the current crop, his competition for “least competent” is fierce, but he still manages to stand out.The Alberta DifferenceAnd so, to Alberta — where, mercifully, competence still seems to have a pulse. Danielle Smith, whatever one’s partisan instincts, has brought a measure of pragmatic leadership back to the province: cautious budgeting, energy literacy, and a willingness to take decisions rooted in reality rather than political choreography. Compare this to the chaos around her, and the distinction is striking.Of course, within Alberta, competence faces its own saboteurs. We now witness the theatre of a looming general strike, orchestrated by union chief Gill McGowan and his newly aligned comrade, NDP leader Naheed Nenshi — a pairing that evokes less the spirit of solidarity than of opportunism. McGowan’s bombast has long outweighed his usefulness, and Nenshi’s grandstanding seems to fade the moment he steps up to the podium. Their attempt to weaponize a teachers’ strike for political gain is transparent. One might ask those teachers — where is your strike pay? Where did your dues go? Into political ads, no doubt — the same ones condemning the UCP, while their NDP predecessors delivered that most generous of gifts: a raise of exactly zero percent. And now they cry “injustice.” Irony, meet incompetence..The Last Competent ProvincesSo here we are — a federation starved of grown-ups. Across this country, governments campaign on slogans, govern on spin, and blame everyone else when the results appear. Only a few provinces — Alberta, Saskatchewan, perhaps the Yukon — still seem animated by the idea that good government requires more than charisma and applause lines. Out here in the West, competence still counts. And perhaps that explains the growing impatience of Albertans with a country that too often confuses performance with leadership and noise with achievement, who represent a culture we scarcely recognize.If the rest of Canada wishes to see its way out of decline, it need only look west. There, amid the oil rigs, grain elevators, and wind-swept plains, the old idea still flickers: that government exists not to posture, but to perform.Competence — simple, stubborn, unfashionable competence — built this province. And it might just be what saves the country or births a new one.James Albers is a Calgary-based management consultant specializing in leadership development.

ALBERS: The lost art of governing — why competence became Canada’s most unfashionable virtue

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