The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Kenney’s party shows up united and affable in first gathering since victory
United Conservative Party still riding high following election win
CALGARY — While the federal Conservative party fights among itself over the future of Andrew Scheer’s leadership, the United Conservative Party — still riding a high from a resounding victory in the Alberta election — gathered for its second annual convention, balancing a carnival air with sombre policy debate.
On both nights, the afterparties were packed.
Jason Kenney did some gladhanding Saturday night in a beer tent, while his security stood by, and those in the room drank the custom labelled Unity Lager and speculated over whether the stuff inside had originally been Budweiser, Labatt Blue or Kokanee.
After what was, for some delegates, a late and boozy night Friday following the well-received keynote speech of Scheer himself, they were back Saturday to debate various new policy resolutions, steadily moving through them while others milled about in the hotel lobby, the clamour of friendly chatter drifting through the ballroom doors.
And they did so while hundreds of protesters circled the hotel near the Calgary airport, romping through a frigid chill and chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, Jason Kenney’s got to go!” while security kept a weather eye out and prevented anyone from entering the hotel.
They failed at one point in the evening, as a group made it inside and chanted while delegates looked on. Ric McIver, the transportation minister, tweeted “we welcomed some surprise carolers.”
In large part, the protesters were public sector union members, waving signs and decrying the provincial budget that sees an almost three-per-cent spending cut over the next four years, and has union groups and the New Democrats crying foul.
We will get through this time of adversity. We have each other,
The policy debates and “bear pit” session — in which Kenney’s cabinet fielded questions from party members — seemed to demonstrate the party, barely two years old but already in power, is comfortably settling into its identity and future. The policy resolutions were mostly without controversy, aside from some polite disagreement and a tense moment over education policy.
In that instance, the policy resolution asked delegates to consider parents the paramount stakeholder in education policy, with one side saying it was in fact the kids. One speaker argued the NDP would use such a resolution against them, and was booed down.
“Let’s cool down the temperature,” said the emcee.
One other speaker said “I’m sick and tired of having the NDP try to hijack this convention outside this building, I’m not going to have them do it inside this building.”
On Saturday night the stage was given to Kenney, the man who returned to Alberta specifically to create a united right out of two warring conservative parties, and then led that party to a landslide election win earlier this year. After an introduction from Laureen Harper, wife of former prime minister Stephen Harper, Kenney delivered an hour-long speech reviewing highlights of the spring election against the NDP, what his government has accomplished so far and vowed that “come hell or high water, Alberta will get a fair deal” for Confederation, his current proposal to stand up to Ottawa’s treatment of the province.
The premier received multiple standing ovations over the course of the speech and rattled off more than a dozen accomplishments, while the crowd chanted with him: “promises made, promises kept.”
As the speech wound down, he talked about the necessity to rein in public sector pay and implored unions to avoid a confrontational approach, saying that the cuts the government is making over the next four years were “soft-hearted but hardheaded.”
“We will get through this time of adversity. We have each other,” said Kenney. “And we have the vision and sacrifices of those who went before us.”
The crowd gave him a standing ovation, and outside the ballroom, a band struck up a tune. Conventioneers took some time to charge phones, get drinks and headed for the parties around the hotel, which went late into the night, with many still sitting around chatting as the beer tent closed, and the hotel bar stopped serving.
At the bear pit on Sunday the only real grilling Kenney and his cabinet faced from delegates was on the subject of health care. One speaker questioned why the government wouldn’t defund abortion; another asked why the government didn’t back Bill 207, a private member’s bill from UCP MLA Dan Williams that was defeated in committee, but would strengthen the ability of health-care workers to opt out of providing certain services to a patient if they conscientiously object to them.
“My job as minister of health is to make sure Albertans have access to health-care services,” responded cabinet minister Tyler Shandro. “That includes health-care services that have been determined in this country to be legal for decades.”
Other speakers lined up to laud the government for its actions, thanking them for their work on various files.
Afterward, Kenney told reporters the weekend was a huge success, saying some 1,700 delegates had come by for a “wideopen debate” on policies and party governance.
“I think what we’ve heard from our members is that they want us to focus on getting Alberta back to work and getting a fair deal for Alberta in Canada,” said Kenney. “Those are the priorities of the government.”