A new survey by the Angus Reid Institute must be one of the most discouraging to date for Mr. Kenney, as it shows Albertians dissatisfied with almost every aspect of the performance of his United Conservative government. Only 30 percent of respondents approve of the work he does – one of the lowest scores for any current prime minister in the country. When asked how the UCP was doing in the fields of energy, economics, environment / climate change, COVID-19, education and healthcare, the Albertans gave Mr Kenney a failed grade in each category. Among them, 73 percent said they did a bad or very bad job in managing health care, while 65 percent said they did the same with education. If there was any good news, it was on the issue of voter intent if elections were to take place today: Mr Kenney’s NDP and UCP are at a statistical tie. 40 percent said they would vote for Rachel Notley’s NDP, while 38 percent said they would vote for UCP. This poll comes against the backdrop of a gathering of UCP members on April 9 at Red Deer. This event was supposed to include a vote for Mr. Kenney’s leadership. On the contrary, it has changed into a ballot paper by mail, much to the surprise of critics of the prime minister in the party who are suspicious of the move. (It is believed that those who planned to spend the money to go to Red Deer were more inclined to want Mr. Kenney to leave. A postal vote would allow more moderate, pro-Kenney members to vote from their cities.) Indeed, the change was criticized by 33 equestrian clubs. There are reports that several UCP MPs are threatening to leave the party and sit as Independents or under a new banner if the Prime Minister tries to stay. I would suggest they start thinking of a new name now, because I do not think Mr. Kenney will go anywhere. He has already made it clear that he will continue with 50 percent plus 1 mandate in leadership. It is almost impossible to imagine that he does not achieve at least that. His politicians are working furiously on the phones trying to gather support. Recently, Alberta businessman and provocateur W. Brett Wilson published a letter of support for the Prime Minister – a letter that was widely circulated by Mr. Kenney’s communications team. I’m not sure I would get the support of someone who once suggested that those who opposed the province ‘s oil and gas sector be hanged for treason. But again, the beggars cannot be chosen. While the sad results of the poll are not new to Mr Kenney – a month earlier Think HQ Public Affairs reported that 61 per cent of Albertans wanted the UCP to replace him as leader – the latest from Angus Reid confirms the view of many within the party. have: that the Premier are very damaged goods. Every week there seems to be something. A recent CBC News report, for example, revealed that the Prime Minister had a lot more knowledge of a plan to have a politically active participation in the UCP leadership race in 2017 with the sole purpose of hurting his biggest rival for the job – the Brian Jean. . The RCMP is still looking into the matter, and the prime minister revealed this week that he had interviewed police in February. Mr Jean, meanwhile, is set to join the UCP parliamentary group after easily winning the by-elections in which he campaigned to oust the leader. Meanwhile, another former Wildrose leader, Danielle Smith, has announced plans to run for the UCP in the next election, but will seek leadership if Mr. Kenney is fired, which he clearly believes should be the case. Meanwhile, a conversation Mr. Kenney had with political staff earlier in the week was secretly filmed and leaked to the media. In it, the prime minister said that his party was under siege by “crazy people” who “were trying to seize asylum”. These extremist elements, according to Mr. Kenney, include homophobic and religious bigots. The Prime Minister suggested that he was the only person who could save the UCP from himself. Yes, someone with a 30 percent approval rating. As I say, I think Mr Kenney is surviving this leadership review, especially now that it has been transferred to a ballot paper by post. Whether his team survives intact is another matter. It is difficult to see what will happen if the prime minister insists on maintaining his meager power in power despite his high negatives inside and outside his party. Again, few gave him much chance to persuade the old Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties to disband and reunite under the UCP banner. He was known to have done the impossible in the past. We have a weekly newsletter for Western Canada compiled by the heads of our offices in BC and Alberta, providing a comprehensive package of news you need to know about the area and its position on issues facing Canada. Register today.
