It’s open season in Alberta politics for the next three weeks, starting with Tuesday’s Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche byelection, surely one of the weirdest ever conducted.
Former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean is running for the UCP, the party he co-founded with Jason Kenney, now the premier.
If elected, Jean vows to help get rid of Kenney — not that he hasn’t been trying to oust the premier without being an MLA.
The big chance comes April 9 with a vote on Kenney’s leadership in Red Deer. Jean’s presence there as a newly minted UCP caucus member would be embarrassing at the very least. Almost 7,000 party members are now registered to vote.
Jean’s public opposition to Kenney threw a cloak of unreality over the Fort Mac campaign. The premier, after accepting Jean as a party candidate, could hardly launch a campaign against him.
What would the slogan be? “Show your support for the premier — vote against his candidate.”
[Interesting Read]
Update 3:23 am, March 16th, 2022:
(1) United Conservative Party candidate Brian Jean wins Alberta byelection in landslide
