“We must do everything in our power to eliminate the risk of a second NDP term, which would be catastrophic to the long-term future of Alberta”. If Mr. Kenney can smooth over the fractures, he thinks it would be wise for Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives to rebrand.
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But the focus was on uniting the right.
The Wildrose emerged as a political force in Alberta about a decade ago when disaffected conservatives grew upset with the long-governing Tories and their perceived drift to the political centre.
Conservative MP Jason Kenney says he wants to unite Alberta’s Progressive Conservative party and the Wildrose to create a new free-enterprise party.
The Tories were reduced to third party in the legislature in the May 2015 election and have been without a permanent leader since.
There’s been speculation for months that he would return to his home province to try to broker a reconciliation between the more moderate PCs and the hard-line Wildrose.
The PCs have said they aren’t keen to merge.
According to The Canadian Press, Smith says she’s not sure Kenney is the right candidate to appeal to urban voters.
At a stop that drew between 200 and 300 people Wednesday night in Grande Prairie, Kenney dismissed Jansen as “a Trudeau Liberal” who is “outside the mainstream”.
The theme of the event was unity for those in attendance, with the former Harper Government cabinet minister describing Wildrose members and supporters as family and credited Wildrose Leader Brian Jean for his leadership.
“There’s way too much time wasted on imaginary effort … ideological labels here”, he said.
He says the PCs and the Wildrose will have to put their differences aside and put Alberta first.
“I can’t talk about his candidacy, but what I can say is it will definitely bring a lot of interest back to the party and what the party’s been up to since the election”.
Smith told CTV News Channel that convincing Wildrose supporters to pay to join the Alberta Conservatives and vote on the leadership race will be hard, but that earning the support of traditional Conservative voters to endorse the merge could be even tougher.
In a wide-ranging speech that quoted conservative leaders such as Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill, Kenney criticized Alberta’s “ideological” and “accidental” NDP government for shutting down the coal industry and increasing taxes – particularly the new carbon tax announced previous year.
“Friends, that is why I’ve made a decision to seek the leadership for the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta”.
Nick Boots, another young supporter and vice-president of the Wildrose Shaw constituency association, was “amazed” by Kenney’s speech. “They’re our friends”, he said.
“He understands the idea that as fiscal conservatives we are stronger together than apart”.
Notley wouldn’t be drawn into a direct comment on Kenney. Holding onto his federal seat would not be unprecedented.
Kenney said he doesn’t want to prejudge what such a party would be called, but then suggested that the Conservative Party of Alberta “has a nice ring to it”.
“Albertans I meet can not believe that we have a government that is systematically destroying the Alberta advantage that made this province a magnet for risk-takers and wealth-creators”, Kenney said.
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Rempel said she was there as an Albertan. “Obviously with the advent of the announcement from Jason Kenney, this is something that prompts one to think what this province needs and whether there is a role, any role, for me to play in it”.
