After months of political turmoil, Prime Minister Jason Kenny will learn the results of a review of his leadership later today.
Kenny faces a different sentence in his 25-year political career. This could end his time as Alberta’s prime minister, compromise the future of the party he co-founded in 2017, and put the province in a 12-month political chaos leading to the May 2023 provincial elections.
The United Conservative Party will announce the results of a review of Kenny’s leadership between 4 and 6 p.m. MT live on Spruce Meadows in Calgary. Eligible party members run ballots by mail between April 9th and May 11th.
The review comes after months of political turmoil from local members, UCP voters’ associations and UCP’s Kenney MLAs.
Kenny faced a low number of polls with most public opinion polls in the 18 months, suggesting that the Rachel Notley-led NDP could regain the majority government next year. Voices within the UCP say the party needs to find a new leader to prevent this.
Political observers believe Wednesday’s outcome will not solve anything and will only create more turmoil. Kenny further blurred the water by saying he would accept a 50 percent plus one result.
Brian Jean, UCP MLA for Fort McMurray-Lac la Biche and Kenny’s main rival, said Kenny should resign if he does not win a strong mandate from members.
“He can get more than 50 percent plus one,” Jean said. “But you can’t exercise the powers of a party leader without a large number. You need that large number to get that moral authority to lead.”
Concerns about integrity
Kenny believes the “no” vote is due to Alberts, who opposed public health restrictions imposed by his government, such as masquerade passports and vaccines, to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The party changed its original plan for a one-day personal vote in Red Deer on April 9 by postal vote amid fears that 15,000 new members will fill the seat chosen for the event. Many believed that a majority of these new members had signed up to vote against Kenny.
Kenny expressed confidence that he would survive his examination. After speaking before the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee in Washington on Tuesday, he said fears about COVID were diminishing.
“I think most of the divisions in my party come from COVID politics, and that’s understandable,” he said. “But I think it’s already in the rearview mirror.
“We are leading Canada in economic growth, and I think most of my party members just want to move forward in the future.
Questions remain about the integrity of the vote, despite the party’s transparency efforts, which included the services of audit and consulting firm Deloitte to collect ballots and broadcast live from the room where volunteers confirmed members’ identification and eligibility.
Jared Wesley, a political scientist at the University of Alberta, said criticism of the party’s late decision to switch to postal voting and the RCMP’s ongoing investigation into the UCP leadership race in 2017 had damaged people’s confidence in the process.
“I don’t think it matters what the actual outcome is,” Wesley said. “There will be critics who will not believe the result, no matter what the result.”
Kenny is expected to deliver a speech after the results are announced, but will not answer questions from the media. Kenny said UCP dissidents would be expected to line up or leave the group if they won the review.
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