Alberta Progressive Conservative Leadership Election - March 18, 2017

[RogueBeaver]

Kenney's path to the hulk's bridge is basically clear. Unite Blue!

[RogueBeaver]

Or not, cause scuttling and the yugest firefight are still in the cards.

[136or142]

Kenney's path to the hulk's bridge is basically clear. Unite Blue!

From the article: "Meanwhile, the NDP-friendly detractors of Kenney sometimes compare him to Donald Trump—though this is unfair, because Kenney doesn’t engage in demagoguery, nor is he policy-incompetent."

I agree that Kenney is policy competent, but I find him to be every bit as sleazy and every bit as much a demagogue as Trump.

[DC Al Fine]

Kenney's path to the hulk's bridge is basically clear. Unite Blue!

From the article: "Meanwhile, the NDP-friendly detractors of Kenney sometimes compare him to Donald Trump—though this is unfair, because Kenney doesn’t engage in demagoguery, nor is he policy-incompetent."

I agree that Kenney is policy competent, but I find him to be every bit as sleazy and every bit as much a demagogue as Trump.

[136or142]

Whatever you may think of David Climenhaga (I personally think he's fairly honest)
This kind of silent dog-whistling, though, is nothing new for Mr. Kenney. Indeed, it’s among his go-to techniques.

Consider, in the recent past:

His “corrosive” social media misrepresentation of an Islamic religious ceremony.
His accusation that “people like” Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi were “politicizing” the niqab controversy his own party had ginned up for political purposes during the 2015 federal election.
His Tweet suggesting Indigenous people are just “settlers” too.
His characterization of “perfect, unaccented English” as an essential quality of being Canadian.
His catcalls in Parliament mocking the minister of national defence’s manner of speaking by demanding “English-to-English translation.”

http://albertapolitics.ca/2016/06/jason-kenneys-bizarre-brexit-broadsides-explanation-dog-whistle/

[Gary J]

From England, I would say that Canadians do not speak English without an accent. They speak English with various Canadian accents.

No one speaks a language without some sort of accent. The question is to what extent different accents and dialects of the same language are mutually intelligible.

I doubt that a Minister of the Crown, representing a riding in the Anglophone part of Canada, could not make himself understood in English even if that was not his native language.

[RogueBeaver]

Another Kenney rival drops out, leaving path to the hulk's bridge completely clear.

[Njall]

Kenney seems confident. Globe claims he's won 2/3 of delegates so far.

How many pc's do you think defect to the ndp if Kenney successfully merges with wildness?

I'm no expert, so Njall or RogueBeaver please correct me if I'm wrong...

If the federal conservative merger is any indicator, one or two prominent people will quit, and a similar amount will sit as independents and not run again.

Of course, the PC's only have eight MLA's now that Jansen has defected, so we could probably make educated guesses for all of them. I assume McIver and the two MLA endorsements Kenney has would stay. What about the rest?

Sorry, I completely missed this post from a while back. Kenney currently has the official support of four of the eight PC MLAs: Mike Ellis, Prab Gill, Richard Gotfried, and Dave Rodney. Interim Leader Ric McIver is, for all intents and purposes, also a Kenney backer. Richard Starke is obviously not a Kenney supporter, and Starke has the endorsement of MLA Wayne Drysdale. The remaining MLA is Rick Fraser, who is said to be a closet Starke supporter, but cannot officially confirm this due to his neutral position on the Leadership Election Committee.

Fraser, Starke, and Drysdale are all potentials for sitting as independents or choosing to go somewhere like the Alberta Party if the PCs merge with the Wildrose, though I doubt that all three of them will end up doing this.

Former leadership candidates Stephen Khan and Donna Kennedy-Glans seem unlikely to stick around in a Kenney-led party. Kennedy-Glans decried her perceived lack of support for centrist policy when she dropped out, and in the last debate when Khan was asked if he would support the eventual winner of the race, his response was that he would if that candidate exhibited "true progressive conservative values," which Kenney does not (at least in his opinion).

I'll also be interested to see what the party's Board members, Constituency Presidents, and former MLAs do. Many of the Board members do not support Kenney, and there are sizable pro- and anti-Kenney factions amongst CA Presidents and former MLAs

[RogueBeaver]

The hulk is Kenney's.

[RogueBeaver]

Kenney's in no rush to enter the Leg.

[Njall]

Richard Starke has been rolling out the endorsements (or in some cases re-announcing endorsements) from a number of prominent PCs on Twitter over the last two days. Not quite sure why he has chosen to do so this late in the race, but for those interested here's a current list of the Starke-backers  (those who are previous elected officials) that have been announced:

Wayne Drysdale, current MLA for Grande Prairie-Wapiti
Doug Horner, former Deputy Premier and MLA for Spruce Grove-St. Albert (2001-2015)
Jacquie Fenske, former MLA for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville (2012-2015)
Stephen Khan, former leadership candidate and MLA for St. Albert (2012-2015)
Linda Johnson, former MLA for Calgary-Glenmore (2012-2015)
Heather Klimchuk, former MLA for Edmonton-Glenora (2008-2015)
Peter Elzinga, former Deputy Premier and MLA for Sherwood Park (1986-1993). Also Ralph Klein's former Chief of Staff
Iris Evans, former MLA for Sherwood Park (1997-2012)
Jim Horsman, former MLA for Medicine Hat (1975-1993)
Cathy Oleson, former MLA for Sherwood Park (2012-2015)

EDIT (two more came out):
Pearl Calahasen, former MLA for Lesser Slave Lake (1989-2015)
Ray Danyluk, former MLA for Lac la Biche-St. Paul (2001-2012)

[Njall]

When asked about their preferences for leader of a hypothetical united party, Albertans prefer a generic 'someone else' to both Jason Kenney and Brian Jean

[RogueBeaver]

Cournoyer on what's next.

[Njall]

Wayne Drysdale, current MLA for Grande Prairie-Wapiti
Doug Horner, former Deputy Premier and MLA for Spruce Grove-St. Albert (2001-2015)
Jacquie Fenske, former MLA for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville (2012-2015)
Stephen Khan, former leadership candidate and MLA for St. Albert (2012-2015)
Linda Johnson, former MLA for Calgary-Glenmore (2012-2015)
Heather Klimchuk, former MLA for Edmonton-Glenora (2008-2015)
Peter Elzinga, former Deputy Premier and MLA for Sherwood Park (1986-1993). Also Ralph Klein's former Chief of Staff
Iris Evans, former MLA for Sherwood Park (1997-2012)
Jim Horsman, former MLA for Medicine Hat (1975-1993)
Cathy Oleson, former MLA for Sherwood Park (2012-2015)
Pearl Calahasen, former MLA for Lesser Slave Lake (1989-2015)
Ray Danyluk, former MLA for Lac la Biche-St. Paul (2001-2012)

In addition to the list above, Starke has also announced the following endorsements leading up to yesterday:

Former MLAs:
Genia Leskiw, Bonnyville-Cold Lake (2008-2015)
Verlyn Olson, Wetaskiwin-Camrose (2008-2015)
Ron Ghitter, Calgary-Buffalo (1971-1979), also a former Senator
Teresa Woo-Paw, Calgary-Northern Hills (2008-2015)
Dave Quest, Strathcona-Sherwood Park (2008-2015)
Bridget Pastoor, Lethbridge-East (2004-2015)
Arno Doerksen, Strathmore-Brooks (2008-2012)
Cal Dallas, Red Deer-South (2008-2015)
Ron Casey, Banff-Cochrane (2012-2015)
Jack Hayden, Drumheller-Stettler (2007-2012)
Thomas Lukaszuk, Edmonton-Castle Downs (2001-2015), also former Deputy Premier
Doug Griffiths, Battle River-Wainwright (2002-2015)
LeRoy Johnson, Wetaskiwin-Camrose (1997-2008)
Bill Purdy, Stony Plain (1971-1986)
Hector Goudreau, Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley (2004-2015)
Rob Lougheed, Strathcona (1997-2008)
Mike Allen, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo (2012-2015)
Stephen Mandel, Edmonton-Whitemud (2014-2015), also former Mayor of Edmonton
Clint Dunford, Lethbridge-West (1993-2008)

He's also received the endorsement of Edmonton Councillor Michael Oshry (who was at one point a prospective leadership candidate), and by my count, he has the formal or informal endorsements of 25 Constituency Presidents (versus 7 for Kenney) and 20 members of the Board of Directors (versus 3 for Kenney).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting Starke to win, but I wanted to document his support (especially amongst former MLAs) here as this level of expressly-stated support is generally unusual to see for non-frontrunner candidates.

[136or142]

When asked about their preferences for leader of a hypothetical united party, Albertans prefer a generic 'someone else' to both Jason Kenney and Brian Jean

Rachel Notley! 

[RogueBeaver]

Globe and Don Braid on tonight's coronation.

[MAINEiac4434]

Globe and Don Braid on tonight's coronation.

I now feel terrible for Byron Nelson

[trebor204]

Results should be known in the next 5-10 minutes.

Live on Facebook Live

https://www.facebook.com/pc.alberta/

[RogueBeaver]

KENNEY WINS.

[MAINEiac4434]

And so dies one of Canada's great parties. The Conservative Party of Alberta (with a wild rose as the logo, natch) rises in its place. What happens to PC Moderates? Do they pull a Jansen and cross the floor to the NDP or the hapless Liberals? Do they form their own party? Do they join the nascent Alberta Party?

[RogueBeaver]

Kennedy-Glans serves on Kenney's transition team and voted for him.

[DC Al Fine]

75% of the delegates. That's a sizeable mandate for merger.

[DC Al Fine]

And so dies one of Canada's great parties. The Conservative Party of Alberta (with a wild rose as the logo, natch) rises in its place. What happens to PC Moderates? Do they pull a Jansen and cross the floor to the NDP or the hapless Liberals? Do they form their own party? Do they join the nascent Alberta Party?

My guess is many of them hold their nose and vote Tory or whatever the new party will be. The remainder will be split between NDP and one of the non-NDP/conservative parties.

[MAINEiac4434]

Kennedy-Glans serves on Kenney's transition team and voted for him.

Interesting. I guess she wants a united party into the merger.

[Njall]

Kennedy-Glans serves on Kenney's transition team and voted for him.

Interesting. I guess she wants a united party into the merger.

She seems to believe that it's the ideal way for her to ensure that a centrist voice is heard in the process that is now unfolding. In any case, many of those who supported and volunteered for her early on are absolutely unhappy with this, especially the fact that she kept it secret from those who had given time and energy to help her.