At a Canada Strong and Free conference in Red Deer, Alta., Kenney said he was proud of much of the legislation passed during his premiership, but said he would have gone further on health care reform if the pandemic did not suppress these efforts. However, the province is moving forward with its approved surgery initiative, which will outsource surgeries to the private sector and be publicly funded. “We could have gone further and deeper on health reform had it not been for COVID. And I think Canadians are now realizing the reality that we need fundamental health reform,” Kenney said. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks in Red Deer on Saturday. (Axel Tardieu/CBC) He also said that if he was re-elected – he wouldn’t stay long. “I never intended to be here for a long time. Honestly, it was always my intention if I went to the next election to leave, probably about a year to 18 months after that,” he said. “I never intended to be in this gig for a long time.”

“Debauchery” on the rise

Reflecting on the state of conservatism, Kenney said there is growing anger among the alt-right fueled by conspiracy theories on social media and “supercharged” by the pandemic. “Social media came about 20 years ago and it allows people with these kinds of behaviors to self-post and then find a virtual community online and then push each other into a constant state of anger,” Kenney said. Merchandise at the Canada Strong and Free conference in Red Deer on Saturday. (Axel Tardieu/CBC) He said that “the liberal mainstream media has almost been disenchanted with almost everything right of center.” This has resulted in the emergence of alternative media to fill the market, he said. “And for many of them, their business model is to monetize anger. And the revenue only flows if people are angrier and angrier.” “I know that’s an old-fashioned sentiment, but I actually think civility is a conservative value. And there’s a growing sense of deep profanity. And I’m very concerned,” Kenney said. He added that he feared conservatism could “become a caricature of a kind of ugly, angry populism that will steadily lose at the polls as well.” In May, Kenney announced his resignation as UCP leader after receiving 51.4 percent approval of his leadership from UCP members. Leela Aheer, Danielle Smith, Todd Loewen, Rebecca Schulz and Brian Jean, Rajan Sawhney and Travis Toews are all vying to be the next party leader.

Economy, health care among issues important to UCP voters

Some attendees showed up to hear from the contenders and where they stood on the issues. Calgary student Rahim Mohamed said his vote is still undecided and he wants to choose the person who has the best chance of winning the next provincial election. He also wants to vote for someone who will focus on the economy. “Finding a way to think more long-term … plan for some kind of long-term use of incoming oil revenue and who has the best long-term vision for growing and hopefully diversifying Alberta’s economy,” he said. Red Deer resident Gail Parks said she wants to see a change in the province’s health care system. Tunde Obasan, of Edmonton, attended the event in Red Deer on Saturday. (Axel Tardieu/CBC) “We’ve spent a huge amount of money on a system that doesn’t work. To have someone wait months and months and months for an MRI,” he said.
“I’m a cancer survivor. If I hadn’t been able to get early treatment, I probably wouldn’t have survived.” Tunde Obasan, of Edmonton, said he is looking for a candidate who will focus on jobs and the economy. “[Someone to make sure] Alberta is an environment where employers, job creators can find us a good environment to start a business or relocate their business, you know, and that’s going to create more jobs and stimulate the economy in the long run.” The UCP will choose its new leader on October 6.