Alberta’s leadership fight: Who took the ‘United’ out of the UCP
Posted Sep 21, 2022 6:04 am.
Last Updated Sep 21, 2022 6:15 am.
In today’s Big Story podcast, as they choose a new leader and prepare for a looming 2023 election, Alberta’s United Conservative Party is looking … anything but. Never mind leadership hopefuls taking shots at one another, outgoing leader Jason Kenney is still premier and is openly deriding some of the proposals from his would-be successors.
Meanwhile, Albertans care about the rising cost of living more than they do about picking yet another fight with Ottawa, so who among the UCP hopefuls is ready to help them, and how? And what is the leadership fight doing to the UCP’s prospects in the next election, which will come no later than next May?
Jason Ribeiro, political commentator and doctoral researcher at the University of Calgary, joins The Big Story to discuss.
“Jason Kenny stepped down as leader of the United Conservative Party here in Alberta in May after getting 51% of the vote from members. This was technically a number that would have allowed him to stay on, but practically would not have allowed him to govern effectively. And so very quickly, you saw seven candidates put their name forward and meet the minimum
criteria to run in quick order,” said Ribeiro.
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