Jun 24 2022 — Don Braid — National Post — Casting a long shadow over the debate was MP Michelle Rempel Garner’s devastating explanation for why she won’t seek the leadership. Thursday’s UCP candidates debate on a so-called Sovereignty Act was quiet and calm, the way you might talk with a keg of dynamite in the room. In the end, Danielle Smith had only one […]
Jun 19 2022 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — UCP leadership hopeful Danielle Smith’s pledge to declare Alberta “sovereign” and nullify federal laws could create chaos and scare off investors, says candidate Travis Toews. Toews, the former finance minister, said in an interview: “Some initiatives I would align with, but others would be very challenging both from a legal and constitutional standpoint, and from […]
Jun 9 2022 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — There’s talk of Michelle Rempel Garner running for the UCP leadership, but so far the federal MP for Calgary Nose Hill is atypically elusive. She answers text queries about her plans with informative asides such as “hahahaha!” One source close to Rempel Garner says she’ll be in the race to replace Premier Jason Kenney, but […]
Jun 4 2022 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — Jason Kenney. What an incredible story — from the peak to the pit in three years. How does that happen? Here’s a man who left federal politics to come back to Alberta, win the leadership of one provincial party, merge it with another, form a new party from the merger and win a thundering majority […]
Jun 2 2022 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — Many UCP politicians and activists are furious at Premier Jason Kenney for blaming his forced exit on anti-vaccine militants. “Why is this guy still allowed in front of a microphone, saying things like this?” says one prominent UCP MLA, who asks not to be named. “It’s frustrating and divisive and not reflective of where Alberta […]
May 31 2022 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — Finance Minister Travis Toews registered with Elections Alberta late Monday as an official UCP leadership candidate. He’s first in the ring for Premier Jason Kenney’s job. The others who say they’ll run – Brian Jean and Danielle Smith – haven’t officially registered. But there’s no particular rush because the UCP central party hasn’t yet set […]
May 20 2022 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — ‘Wednesday he quit, and today they’ve spent five hours debating the definition of quit,’ said one observer. You thought Premier Jason Kenney quit Wednesday night? So did most of Alberta. After being shocked by only 51.4 per cent approval from his party, the premier said he will quit, without explaining just what quitting means to […]
May 19 2022 — Don Braid — National Post — There was only one way to upstage the hockey Battle of Alberta. Premier Jason Kenney found it, to his sorrow, by saying he will eventually step off the stage. Despite predictions of a solid victory, only 51.4 per cent of more than 34,000 UCP members who voted in the leadership review said they approved of […]
May 18 2022 — Don Braid — National Post — While Premier Jason Kenney confidently talks about a majority win for his leadership Wednesday, some people in his caucus and government have another subject entirely. They’re speculating about who will be the new premier as early as Thursday, when a full UCP caucus meeting is scheduled at McDougall Centre from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
May 13 2022 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — Premier Jason Kenney will be in Washington May 16 and 17 to testify before the Senate energy committee. He flies home May 18, the very day leadership votes are being counted. Well, he does have a day job. But this is either supreme confidence or a sign of denial as the end draws near. After […]
May 5 2022 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — NDP Leader Rachel Notley asked a direct, simple question in the legislature Tuesday. “Can the premier commit that the UCP will never act to reduce access to abortion in this province? Yes or No.” Premier Jason Kenney did not say yes, no or maybe. He talked about something else in the way politicians have when […]
Apr 30 2022 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — Veteran conservative activist Al Browne is fed up with “vile” legislature behaviour, Premier Jason Kenney’s leadership and the divisive mood in the UCP during the leadership review campaign. Browne recently quit as riding president for Calgary-Hays, the seat held by Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver, so he can finally speak his mind publicly.
Apr 28 2022 — Don Braid — National Post — Ottawa’s promised “just transition” to a new, low-carbon economy is now revealed as a useless sham. Coal miners in Alberta and Saskatchewan have faced transition for several years now. But the feds have done nothing to help them, and have no working plan to start despite many promises. That’s the conclusion of the federal auditor […]
Mar 24 2022 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — What looked like Alberta’s political blowout of the century is now just another trip to the mailbox. After months of organizing in-person voting in Red Deer on April 9 — with space reserved, contracts signed, security organized — the UCP abruptly pivoted to mail-in ballots to decide on Premier Jason Kenney’s leadership.
Mar 22 2022 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — The United Conservative Party will wrestle Tuesday with how to handle the biggest political party event in Alberta’s history — the vote on Premier Jason Kenney’s leadership on April 9. Cynthia Moore, president of the UCP, says board members will decide on extra voting venues outside the Cambridge Hotel in Red Deer, the main site […]