Alberta premier under siege for his handling of province’s COVID crisis

EDMONTON — Hours after Todd Loewen, a northern Alberta United Conservative, called on Premier Jason Kenney to resign, his colleagues ejected him from the caucus, along with Drew Barnes, another maverick MLA, from Medicine Hat.

The drama began in the early hours Thursday, when Loewen, a veteran backbencher, posted a letter to Facebook that argued “many Albertans, including myself, no longer have confidence in your (Kenney’s) leadership.”

“I thank you for your service, but am asking that you resign so that we can begin to put the province back together again.”

It set off a day of high drama among politics watchers in Alberta, who’ve seen, in recent months, an unusual level of tolerance for dissent within the ranks of the UCP caucus.

That, seemingly, came to a halt on Thursday.

After a caucus meeting that ran from until shortly after noon until late in the evening, Barnes and Loewen were ejected from caucus by a vote of their colleagues.

“Members recognize the need for government caucus to remain strong and united behind our leader,” said a statement from Mike Ellis, the caucus whip. “There is simply no room in our caucus for those who continually seek to divide our party and undermine government leadership, especially at this critical juncture for our province.”

Loewen, who spoke to the Edmonton radio station 630 CHED Thursday morning, argued his concerns weren’t just about the pandemic response, but also Kenney’s perceived “weak-kneed” approach to Ottawa, controversial feuds with doctors and botched plans for coal exploration on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. He wrote that there was considerable “caucus dysfunction.”

“This isn’t just about COVID, this is about leadership, and that’s the main issue right now, is leadership within our caucus,” he told 630 CHED.

Kenney’s office put out a statement shortly after Barnes and Loewen were kicked out, saying he’s “proud to stand with his caucus colleagues and lead Alberta through the greatest health and economic crisis in a century.”

That a sitting MLA would call for the party leader — and premier — to resign was a major escalation in a simmering internal feud that has, at times, become public as United Conservative MLAS try to balance standing behind leader and party while being attacked by their constituents for lockdownstyle policies.

While Loewen’s letter does not directly address concerns about pandemic restrictions, it does nod to it, with an oblique mention of compliance issues the province has had. He also reiterates a prior complaint that caucus members have approached the premier with concerns, only to be rebuffed.