Walking into the Clarion Hotel Ballroom to Paul Brandt’s “Alberta Bound” on Wednesday, Jason Kenney announced he’s bound on uniting Alberta conservatives and preventing a second NDP term.
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Since the last federal election, Kenney’s name has been floated as a possible replacement for Stephen Harper in leading the federal Conservative Party.
“It’s what we have done already together in something called the Conservative Party of Canada”.
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.
Kenney recently renewed his provincial PC membership, and the job for leader of that party is now open.
There have been rumours in recent weeks that the Calgary MP might try to unite Alberta’s two right-leaning provincial parties.
The PC Party of Alberta has been without a leader since former Conservative MP and cabinet minister Jim Prentice stepped down in May 2015 after losing the provincial election.
The PCs have said they aren’t keen to merge.
“If somebody comes in and they make a decision that it’s not going to be the progressive party anymore then I won’t be a part of that”, Jansen said in a past interview.
“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.
Notley wouldn’t be drawn into a direct comment on Kenney.
The premier says she’s more concerned about doing her own job than who is running to challenge here.
“It’s about uniting Albertans of all backgrounds and walks of life”. Recently, Patrick Brown remained an MP while seeking the Ontario PC leadership.
Before making it official, Kenney’s lengthy preamble included references to his mother, multiculturalism, “the late, great Ralph Klein” and the future of Canadian conservatism.
Smith says she would like to see the parties unite, but the person to do it will need to understand how to balance rural and urban voters.
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“I encourage all conservatives to work together to forge a united path to victory”, she said. “That’s the first step towards any merger process, and I think at this point it’s kind of 50/50, maybe even less”.
