Commentary
Jason Kenney’s time leading Alberta ends this week. The hope and promise he represented was expressed in the support for his United Conservative Party (UCP) government in 2019. The UCP was a considerable political achievement: against substantial odds, Kenney united bickering factions, whose fracturing ushered Rachel Notley’s socialist NDP to power. The freshly created party then swept into office with 55 percent of the popular vote, earning them 63 of 87 seats. But by February 2021, Kenney’s popularity was halved, and less than a year later he resigned after anemic support in review of his leadership.
Kenney is a formidable politician, and the most talented person to become premier of Alberta since Peter Lougheed (1971-1985). In active politics for 35 years, Kenney is powered by boundless energy and a powerful work ethic. He is a personable, affable, likeable man with strong oratory skills and a quick mind. His policy talents are as enviable as his campaigning abilities. He blossomed as a young Reform MP in opposition and helped fashion the federal Conservative Party. He went on to become secretary to then prime minister Stephen Harper and later minister of immigration, employment, and defence….