Saturday afternoon marked the start of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s leadership review.
There has been a lot of conflict within the United Conservative Party (UCP) over the last little while, as those further right in the party denounced Kenney’s COVID-19 response and started doubting his leadership.
“The only way I think it will end the in-fighting is if Jason Kenney loses the leadership review,” Lori Williams, Political Scientist at Mount Royal University said. “If he wins the leadership review, those who don’t trust the process or those who are running it, those who still have questions still about the 2017 leadership review and are concerned that similar manipulations might happen this time, they will not trust the result of the vote and they will continue to challenge Jason Kenney’s leadership.”
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UCP members were expected to drive to Red Deer for the leadership review, but a few weeks ago the party said the logistics of having 15,000 members vote in person over one day were impossible. So, the Special General Meeting (SGM) switched to an online meeting, and mail-in ballots are being sent out to those who registered.
“The party is riven with factions, it’s just fallen apart,” said Keith Brownsey, Political Scientist at Mount Royal University. “I think the best way I can describe the United Conservative Party–they’re not very good at governing, they’re pretty bad at it actually. But, what they are good at is plotting against each other.”
There are concerns the party could implode as the results of the review won’t be known until May 18.
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“That’s literally five weeks away, and we simply won’t know anything about this,” Brownsey said. “It’s dragging out this tension and division within the party. I think to a point where they are self-destructing, and they won’t be able to come back from this.”
The consensus among both political scientists is it would’ve been unfeasible to have 15,000 people in Red Deer over a weekend for the in-person SGM and vote. While the mail-in ballot is more sensible, both believe it’ll likely cause even more division.
“As much as people want this to be put to rest, unless and until Jason Kenney walks away from this, I don’t think it will be put to rest. And there’s a very good chance that these divisions–because they’re real and they’re substantive, I don’t know that those divisions can be put to rest,” said Political Scientist Lori Williams. “I think, that we’ve got two parties that have fundamental disagreements about a number of issues that are having trouble working together.”
