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Old habits die hard. In Rachel Notley’s case, it’s her habit of campaigning as if she were the opposition leader and not an incumbent premier.

In Thursday’s leaders’ debate, the NDP leader avoided talking about her government’s record. She never communicated a plan for her second term (should Albertans give her one) and she offered little defence of her close relationship with Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, other than some vague twaddle about how co-operation and consensus are key to the eventual construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

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Blah, blah, blah. That’s the social licence theory all over again. Thanks, but no thanks. Been there, done that, got the shaft.

In our minds, all this makes Notley the clear loser in the debate. There may not have been the knockout punch observers and pollsters were looking for, but the premier’s lifeless, often-tense, content-free performance may have ended her hope of re-election.