The UCP government is on a mission to centralize power over everything from university research to municipal elections and local agreements with Ottawa.

There were at it again Thursday, introducing measures to change the date of the next election, assert control over emergency response, and give themselves more power over Alberta’s water and its distribution.

Some of these changes seem almost entirely positive, although the wide authority over water will have to be watched with skepticism.

In a severe drought water becomes very political. Residents of one area could be alarmed when the province transfers water to another basin.

But even that change is defensible if the result is provincewide fairness of supply, not local favouritism based on support for the government.

There are already claims that the move to hold the next election in October 2027, rather than May, is just an excuse for the UCP to govern for five more months.

Some people are already calling for the date to be moved up to October 2026, thus giving the government less time rather than more.

They’ve got a point, but the politics aren’t the main element here.

Premier Danielle Smith gave a harrowing description of being in charge of........

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