GRAHAM THOMSON
Clock started ticking the moment he was outmanoeuvred by Kenney for UCP leader
It was always a matter of when, not if.
Brian Jean’s days in politics were numbered the moment he lost the leadership of the United Conservative Party to Jason Kenney.
You could see it in his face as he stood on the stage, a mixture of surprise and heartbreak trying to hide behind the thinnest veneer of a smile.
Jean officially tendered his resignation from politics Monday afternoon when he quit as MLA for Fort McMurray-Conklin.
But the political spark in his eye was extinguished Oct. 28.
The leadership loss was the latest in a series of humiliations heaped on him by Kenney, who erupted on the provincial scene in the summer of 2016.
Before then, Jean saw himself with a fighting chance of becoming premier in the 2019 provincial election as leader of the Wildrose. Opinion polls indicated he was well liked and seemed a good fit with Alberta’s conservative movement that likes to think of itself as self-reliant.
Heck, Jean wasn’t just a successful businessman but one who liked nothing better than to head out into the bush to catch or shoot his own supper.
Then he watched as Kenney demolished his dream brick by brick.
Through a series of shrewd manoeuvres, Kenney seized control of the Progressive Conservative party, outmanoeuvred Jean on the unification of the PCs and Wildrose, and elbowed Jean aside for the UCP leadership.
What must have been most galling for Jean was that in his mind he was already leader of the party that could win the next election.
Of course, that’s not how Jean is describing his decision to resign.
“Alberta and Albertans are always close to my heart and mind,” he said in a news release Monday evening. “But I believe now is an important time in my life to draw closer to my family, my kids and my grandchildren.”
In an interview with Vincent McDermott of Fort McMurray Today, Jean talked about the sacrifices made by his family during 14 years in federal and provincial politics. “I’m stepping aside because, frankly, I have to focus on my family and my life.”
That sounds like the boilerplate comments we hear from suddenly-departing politicians all the time.
So, too, this: “I would like to wish Jason Kenney and the rest of my UCP colleagues the very best as they prepare for the next election.”
Jean might have best wishes for his former colleagues — it’s more difficult to imagine him having warm thoughts for Kenney.
While Kenney was careful never to personally attack Jean during the UCP leadership race, he had surrogates eager and willing to do the job for him.
Besides losing every round of every fight against Kenney, Jean watched last fall as the newly elected UCP boss tossed out pretty much anyone in the caucus staff who had supported Jean.
To Jean, it must have seemed like a personal bloodbath.
Kenney did offer Jean an olive branch, inviting him to “play an important role in our shadow cabinet, and hopefully in our future government.”
That was no doubt sincere. Even though Kenney trounced Jean by a margin of two to one in the race, Kenney knew it was better to have Jean inside the tent than outside tossing rocks.
But Jean couldn’t bring himself to enter.
He stayed on as a UCP member and was given a seat on the front bench, but he did not want to be a member of Kenney’s shadow cabinet. Instead, he announced he’d focus on being the MLA for Fort McMurray. He needed time to think. Kenney agreed.
But Jean couldn’t remain in that political limbo forever.
With the spring session of the legislature starting this Thursday, Jean had to make a choice — either bend to Kenney’s will and become a dutiful member of the UCP caucus, or quit.
That’s why speculation about his future has been building for weeks.
Jean’s resignation shouldn’t come as a shock. It was inevitable.
Jean is well-liked by Albertans. His departure is Kenney’s loss.
Considering how Jean had evolved into a thoughtful and more moderate politician over the past few years on issues such as climate change, it’s a loss for Alberta conservatives, too.
Alberta and Albertans are always close to my heart and mind.