Not Giving Money for an NHL Arena and Not Funding a Canadian Expo are Hardly the Same Thing

After flapping his gums about funding NHL arenas, Harper has had to step back.

But if he can't have his arenas, no Expo. And the media spin is staggering.

Harper a fiscal conservative?

On what planet?

More divide and conquer politics I think.

The Edmonton Journal asks: In Ottawa, who stands up for Alberta?

Well, well, well! This is what being "In" in Ottawa looks like for Edmontonians. After Stephen Harper's cold shoulder to the jaw on the Expo 2017 bid, it will be blackly amusing to watch the city's invisible backbench MPs in the next election trying to explain to voters how crucial it is to have their Conservative "voices" in the government caucus.

In a town and province where publicly condemning Conservative governments is a rare step of last resort, an infuriated Mayor Stephen Mandel wasted no time in laying blame for the feds' refusing to financially support the city's bid for the $2.3-billion event. He blasted Alberta MPs, Edmonton Conservative MPs and, specifically, Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose for their failure to sell the project.

Yikes!