Progress Alberta was founded in 2016 with the support of contributors across the progressive political spectrum. Our founders and supporters were concerned that in response to the election of Alberta’s first ever NDP government in 2015, the province was about to suffer a flood of reactionary media and misinformation.

That’s a prediction that has unfortunately borne true.

Alberta is a frontier for resource and extraction capitalism, making it a site of conflict on labour rights, Indigenous sovereignty, and the protection of the environment.

Alberta is also a place with a long history of religious conservatism, white supremacy, anti-Indigenous racism and Christian nationalism.

Progress Alberta seeks to oppose these reactionary forces by sharing information and analysis freely with the public, and by empowering and promoting social movements which align with our principles.

Those principles include:

• Anti-authoritarianism: Progress Alberta recognizes that all people deserve freedom and autonomy.
  
  
• Anti-racism and anti-colonialism: Progress Alberta recognizes that racism continues to hold our society back even today, and that many of the harms of Canada’s colonial history remain unresolved today, demanding to be addressed.
  
  
• Social democracy: Progress Alberta recognizes that governments have a responsibility for the welfare of all residents, and supports strong public services, government measures to reduce poverty, and social welfare.
  
  
• Worker autonomy: Progress Alberta recognizes that systems of private ownership have historically led to the exploitation and disempowerment of working-class people, and supports the expansion of labour rights, as well as egalitarian economic models including public ownership and cooperative ownership.
  
  
• Climate justice: Progress Alberta recognizes that climate justice is class justice—that the harms of damage to the environment are falling upon regular people, while the profits go to the elite—and strongly advocates for a just transition away from ecologically destructive activities.
  
  
• Protection and inclusion of marginalized communities: Progress Alberta recognizes that a number of social groups in Alberta, including but not limited to Indigenous people, people who live in poverty, transgender people, and people who use drugs are presently underrepresented and unfairly treated by our political system, and that this must be opposed.

If you are an activist or labour organization seeking advice on communications strategy, we may be able to help. Please reach out to [email protected].

Progress Alberta's primary project is currently The Progress Report, an Alberta-focused political journalism platform which we hope to build into a self-sustaining and independent worker cooperative. If you would like to pitch to the Report, please see our submission guidelines on the Report's website.