Prime Minister Harper speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons. REUTERS/Chris WattieHarper government 'muzzlers' are on the prowl at an international polar conference about everything from seabirds to arctic ice.

According to an article by PostMedia News, media instructions have been sent to the Environment Canada researchers attending the week long meeting in Montreal.

"If you are approached by the media, ask them for their business card and tell them that you will get back to them with a time for (an) interview," the Environment Canada scientists were told by email late last week.

"Send a message to your media relations contact and they will organize the interview. They will most probably be with you during the interview to assist and record," says the email obtained by Postmedia News.

The memo, signed by Kristina Fickes, an Environment Canada senior communications adviser, goes on to say that recordings of interviews are to be forwarded to the department's media relations headquarters in Ottawa. Fickes signs off with a signature tagline that says: "Let the sun

You couldn't blame Angus Reid VP Mario Conseco if he chose to go into hiding today.

He, like his pollster brethren, were embarrassed Monday night for badly misjudging the results of the Alberta election.

But Conseco says the pollsters did have it right — if the election was held on Saturday.

In a telephone interview with Yahoo! Canada News Tuesday, Conseco claims the poor analysis had nothing to do with bad science or poor methodologies - it was just that people made up their minds to vote PC after all the opinion surveys were concluded.

"The problem in Alberta is you're basically looking at a situation where you would have to go into field on Saturday night/Sunday morning because you have to publish [results] before midnight mountain time otherwise you're in contravention of Elections Alberta rules," he said.

"We took at as close to the finish line as possible. We went into the field Friday and closed it Saturday morning but it wasn't enough because obviously something happened in

PC Alberta leader Alison Redford reacts after winning the provincial election in Calgary, Alberta. REUTERS/Todd …Defying the polls and naysayers, Alberta's long-ruling Progressive Conservatives have won another majority government.

Here is some of the reaction to the PC victory:

From the leaders:

Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith:

"Change might take a little longer than we thought.  Am I surprised? Yes.  Am I discouraged? not a chance."

Premier Alison Redford:

"Tonight Alberta chose to build bridges. Albertans want change. They want positive change that moves Alberta forward. Change is difficult and we don't always get it right. But I'll tell you [the PCs] has introduced change, has promised change, and will make change in this province."

From Twitter:

National Post reporter Andrew Coyne:

"AB Tories at 44.1% in popular vote.  11 points better than predicted, but the worst for the party since 1967."

Wildrose supporter Deb Solberg:

"It was so hard to get anyone to talk about issues other than the social screwups."

From the Pundits:

Kelly McParland, National Post:

"In a result that pulled out all

Progressive Conservative party leader and Alberta premier Alison Redford. REUTERS/Todd Korol Last October, Alison Redford surprised many in her province by winning the race to replace Ed Stelmach as leader of the Tories and become Alberta's premier.

On Monday, she surprised the country by leading her party to a majority government in the general election.

For the next four years, Redford will be one of the most powerful politicians in the country as the steward of the oil sands and its billions in tax revenues.

So just who is this woman who keeps surprising?

Family Life:

Redford is married to husband Glen who works as a federal lawyer. She's also mother to a nine-year-old daughter named Sarah.

Path to political office:

Redford's path to political office is far different from that of most politicians.

After completing a law degree at the University of Saskatchewan, she worked on Parliament Hill — initially as a policy adviser to cabinet minister and former prime minister Joe Clark, then in Brian Mulroney's office.

The Mulroney government's vocal opposition to the apartheid

PC party leader and Alberta premier Alison Redford. REUTERS/Todd Korol It's over — CBC and The Canadian Press have called another majority government for the Progressive Conservatives in Alberta.

The results are a surprise to many.

At the beginning of the Alberta election campaign some pollsters were predicting the upstart Wildrose Party would win a majority in big numbers.

A Forum poll, from March 28, for example, had Danielle Smith's party capturing 55 of the 87 seats up for grabs.

And then polls from late last week still had Wildrose in the lead - albeit with a narrower margin.

But something happened on the way to election day - Wildrose blew it with its so-called "bozo-outbreaks."

The first such outbreak happened about 10 days ago when candidate Allan Hunsberger's homophobic blog about gays roasting "in a lake of fire" was discovered and shared with media.

Instead of distancing herself from those comments Smith stood up for her candidate.

The second  blow to the party came for candidate Ron Leech who opined on radio that being white gives him a leg up

In the real estate world, it's common knowledge that attempting to save money by delaying building maintenance is simply a false economy.

That's a concept, however, the federal government hasn't yet grasped.

According to a weekend story in the Toronto Star, nearly 5,000 federal real estate holdings are in serious disrepair.

These are sites that the Treasury Board defines as "poor" or "critical" where "operational and maintenance costs are high" and "risk of building and building systems failure is high."

The list of buildings with "poor" and "critical" designations include:

- RCMP headquarters in Ottawa

- Parliament's West Block

- More than 2,300 National Defence buildings, including housing for soldiers and their families on military bases in Ontario and beyond

-  370 buildings run by the Correctional Service of Canada, including prisons and treatment centres

- 600 structures maintained by Parks Canada

According to a recent article by CBC News, several other buildings in the national

Leaders: Wildrose Danielle Smith, NDP Brian Mason, Liberal Raj Sherman and PC Alison Redford. CBC photoWhile the latest polls indicate that Danielle Smith's Wildrose Party will form a majority government after Monday's election, there are still several unpredictable ridings in the province of Alberta.

Here are some of the high-profile ones we'll be watching closely on election night:

Edmonton-Meadowlark: (The Liberal Party's only hope?)

The race in Edmonton-Meadowlark is all about Raj Sherman.

Liberal Party leader Sherman was elected as a Progressive Conservative in 2008 but he was kicked out of the caucus and eventually won the Liberal leadership.

Marty Klinkenberg of the Edmonton Journal wrote that "it is anybody's guess whether Sherman will be rebuked for jumping ship or find forgiveness."

If Sherman doesn't win, it would spell disaster for the Liberals.

Highwood: (First campaign for Wildrose leader)

This historically Conservative riding, just south of Calgary, is where Wildrose leader has decided to run. Smith faces tough competition from Progressive Conservative candidate John

Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith smiles as she casts her ballot. REUTERS/Mike SturkBarring any weekend surprises, it looks like Wildrose leader Danielle Smith will be Alberta's next premier. Several polls have come out over the past 72 hours putting Smith's upstart Wildrose Alliance ahead of the governing Progressive Conservatives both in terms of popular vote and seat distribution in the provincial election.

The latest numbers:

- Abacus Data Poll:  Wildrose (41 per cent); PCs (31 per cent); NDP (13 per cent); Liberals (12 per cent)

- Campaign Research: Wildrose (41 per cent); PCs (34 per cent); NDP (11 per cent); Liberals (11 per cent)

- ThinkHQ/CTV: Wildrose (41 per cent); PCs (33 per cent); NDP (11 per cent); Liberals (11 per cent)

Regionally, according to the Abacus poll, the Wildrose Party has a commanding lead in Calgary with 44 per cent support followed by the PCs at 29 per cent, the Liberals at 13 per cent, and the NDP at 12 per cent. In Edmonton, the PCs continue to lead with 36 per cent, followed by Wildrose at 29 per cent, the Liberals at 17 per cent, and