In his bid to win the Progressive Conservative leadership, Jason Kenney has been crossing the province, visiting St. Paul on Saturday at the Galaxy Motel to discuss his plan to unite the right, as well as other issues pressing on the minds of Albertans.
Kenney spoke to an audience of about 30 locals, about growing feeling of mistrust between the provincial NDP government and Albertans.
“What can we do to get our province back on track?” asked Kenney. “The reason I’m here to make sure that the NDP doesn’t get re-elected, because they are a government that has done great damage to our province.”
“Alberta has always been a place of opportunity for those who grew up there, and for those around the country and around the world. It’s been the kind of place that helps you get ahead if you work hard, and the NDP’s social experiments are taking that away from us.”
Since last summer, Kenney has been vocal about what he thinks is the best way to “beat the NDP” and bring Alberta back under conservative leadership, calling for the Wildrose and PC parties to merge into one party.
“For too long, the PCs have been saying ‘You Wildrose guys are too rigid, and too uncompromising, and you left us, so you’re to blame for splitting the Conservative vote.’ Meanwhile the Wildrose guys are saying ‘Well, you PCs got too liberal and arrogant and you left us, so you’re to blame.’”
“But you know what? When we split the vote over petty differences like this, there is only one possible outcome: the NDP get another term. Look at the damage they’ve done in less than two years. Do you really think we can afford to have them for two, or heaven forbid, four more years?”
Kenney said that if conservative-minded people “sleepwalk” their way into the 2019 election, the NDP, led by Premier Rachel Notley, will easily win 35 per cent of the popular vote and form government once again.
“If you want to prevent further disasters from the Notley crew, unifying the Conservative parties is the most viable option. And I can guarantee that if this happens and the Conservatives win the 2019 provincial election, the very first thing we’ll do is begin an act to repeal the carbon tax.”
This statement, to no surprise, was met with a round of cheers and applause from those seated in the Galaxy Motel.
Previously, Kenney has served as the Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Minister of Employment and Social Development, and Minister of Defence under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. He said he now wants to focus more on the province of Alberta to restore its hard-working, conservative roots.
While the leadership race will not wrap up until March 18 at a convention in Calgary, Kenney has momentum with him, having 80 per cent of delegates that have been selected committed to him.
Allen Preston, president of the local Progressive Conservative constituency association, said he was not at Saturday’s meeting with Kenney. As PC association president, he said he was not making any announcements as to whom he was supporting, but rather, letting the membership decide for themselves.
But as for reports that Kenney has sewn up much of the committed support, he expressed some reservations.
“There are a lot of reports out there that show the race internally, is a lot closer than what the Kenney camp would like to believe,” he said, noting that delegate selection takes place until Feb. 16, and even after that point, delegates may choose to swing their support to another candidate.
“My word to everyone would be, we really have to give all three candidates their place in the sun, listen to them, and have the members vote at the remaining delegate selection meetings that are coming on.”
Fellow PC leadership contenders Donna Kennedy-Glans and Sandra Jensen had dropped out of the race earlier, with former St. Albert MLA Stephen Khan announcing last week that he was withdrawing from the race as well; all three were reported as saying they felt there was not enough room for a centrist, moderate voices that focused around policy discussion, aimed at rebuilding around the PC brand rather than merging with the right.
Vermilion-Lloydminster MLA Richard Starke and Calgary lawyer Byron Nelson are the only two left in the race, with Starke advocating that the PC party does not merge with the Wildrose. He is calling for the two parties to work as two separate but collaborating entities to avoid vote-splitting.
“I still believe the race is to be won by any one of those three,” said Preston.
Wildrose leader open to one conservative party
Wildrose leader Brian Jean gave fuel to the fire of uniting the right last week, with an online video message posted on Thursday saying that he supports te PC party, I am prepared to stand down as leader of the Wildrose, and to seek the leadership of our single, principled, conservative party in a race to be conducted this sumas prepared to follow his leader and the wishes of his constituents when it came to uniting the right. When reached this past weekend, he said he believed that Jean's announcement was well received, especially as the Wildrose has been "constantly asked” about I am very glad that our members will have an opportunity to decide, once and for all, on this question of unity. Brian's plan gives that opportunity, without risk of dissolving our party,” he said, adding the ultimate decision will be up to the membership to decide to accept this new path or continue on as the Wildrose party.
