KENNEY WINS WITH A MAJORITY
Alberta vote unfolds as experts predicted
It was not a close call. Despite all the hand-wringing, all the reminders that polls had gotten it wrong before, in the end the Alberta election unfolded precisely as expected: Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party won, handily.
Within minutes of polls closing, broadcasters were quickly calling for a win for Kenney. Not long afterwards it was clear he was heading for a majority.
At the Calgary Stampede Grounds, Kenney supporters roared “UCP! UCP! UCP!” while farewell chants to Rachel Notley’s NDP broke out every few minutes.
Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel was one of a handful of well-known conservative faces to appear early at the grounds.
Even before polls closed, she was optimistic about a UCP victory.
“I think Jason (Kenney) has run a very strong campaign (and)… has done something incredible in terms of unifying the right,” she said.
“I think he’s also presented a strong vision that Albertans are going to buy into.”
Rempel was also optimistic about what a Kenney victory would mean for federal-provincial relations, particularly in the conservative-fuelled fight against the carbon tax.
“I think any time we get an ally looking at pragmatic policy in this country … that’s a very positive step in the right direction for the country writ large,” she said.
“I think we’ve got good things to come.”
In an email Tuesday night that seemed somewhat resigned, Notley thanked supporters for their efforts over the 28-day campaign.
“This has been the biggest fight of my life, and I couldn’t be happier to have had you by my side,” Notley said in the email address. “I am so proud of our record. I am so proud of this campaign. I am so proud of all of the volunteers, staff, and candidates.
“As my team and I prepare to hear the results (and catch our breath), I know that regardless of what happens tonight, Alberta is a better place because of the work we have done together.”
Kenney’s victory marked the culmination of a yearslong plan. The former Conservative cabinet minister left his seat in Ottawa in 2016 — after holding it for nearly two decades — with hopes of uniting Alberta’s fractured provincial conservative movement.
The 2015 election saw the Progressive Conservatives, who had governed the province since 1971, hobbled by a split with the breakaway Wildrose Party.
Vote-splitting between the two right-wing parties allowed Notley’s New Democrats to take power for the first time in the province’s history.
Kenney has said his next step is to get back on the campaign trail, this time to get the federal Liberals defeated in the fall.
“It is in the vital economic interests of Alberta that the Trudeau government be replaced this October,” he said earlier this week.
Tuesday marked the end of a rollicking 28-day campaign that veered frequently into personal attacks. Kenney was beset by controversy through much of the campaign. The NDP zeroed in on his past, unearthing and releasing Kenney’s political record and retrograde comments on LGBTQ rights.
Kenney insisted it was simply a “fear and smear” campaign, meant to distract from the NDP’S economic record. The economy has long been top of mind in the province. Since 2016, when the bottom fell out of the international oil market, Alberta has been in a prolonged recession; recovery, economists say, has stalled coming into 2019, with unemployment hovering around seven per cent.
Kenney has argued that Notley’s government has made a bad situation worse with higher taxes, more regulations and increases in minimum wage. Notley, in turn, has said Kenney’s plan to freeze spending and pursue more private healthcare options would have a profound effect on students and patients.
An early casualty of the night was Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel who was defeated in the constituency of Edmonton-mcclung. The 73-year-old served as mayor of Edmonton for three straight terms and was elected Alberta Party leader in February 2018.
It was also shaping up to be a two-party legislature in Alberta. Neither the Alberta Party nor the Alberta Liberals were on track late Tuesday night to win any seat in the provincial election.
Both parties held seats in the last legislature.
Meanwhile, Notley began Tuesday by voting at the Old Timers Cabin, in her riding of Edmonton-strathcona. “Can’t change my mind now,” Notley told reporters at the ballot box. She won her seat.
Notley’s future will be one immediate question. She told the Post she would be staying on as a member of the legislature, regardless; it’s not yet known if she’ll stay on as party leader, even if there is no obvious successor.