CALGARY (CU)_The United Conservative Party (UCP) is a political party in the Canadian province Alberta. It was established as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party. Just five years after co-founding the UCP, party leader Jason Kenney, who became Alberta’s premier in 2019, has decided to resign after failing to secure substantial support from members.
The party on Wednesday evening, revealed that Kenney received support from 51.4 per cent of party members who voted in a recent internal review. Accordingly, he conceded that such a slim victory was not sufficient for him to hold on to power. “I’m sorry but, friends, I truly believe that we need to move forward united,” the Alberta Premier told a small crowd at the Spruce Meadows show-jumping venue near Calgary. “We need to put the past behind us. And our members – a large number of our members – have asked for an opportunity to clear the air through a leadership election.”
Having served as a cabinet minister under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Kenney abandoned federal politics to pursue his vision of merging the Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose Party. While he led the UCP to victory in the 2019 Alberta general election, divisions within the party and the province have depended since then, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Legislative Assembly members of the UCP have publicly challenged his leadership, with some calling for his resignation.
Kenney has not provided an effective date for his resignation. According to chief government whip Whitney Issik, the UCP is expected to hold a caucus meeting Thursday, during which the next steps will be discussed. “The Premier has spoken,” Issik, who is also the UCP MLA for Calgary-Glenmore, said. “I will tell you this: At this time, we are united in the fact that Albertans’ priorities are the most important priorities for all of us.”
