Despite divisions and challenges, Alberta's conservative movement remains a powerful force
CBC
This column is an opinion by Michael Solberg, a partner and co-owner of New West Public Affairs, a government and public relations firm based in Calgary. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.
Apart from the looming 2023 general election, April 9 was supposed to be the most important date in Alberta's upcoming political calendar.
On that day, Premier Jason Kenney was to face an in-person leadership review that had the potential to attract up to 20,000 United Conservative Party (UCP) members to Red Deer.
Had it come to pass, the special general meeting would have marked the most attended political event in the province's history and among the single-most attended in-person voting events anywhere in the country.
Because the minimum cost for attending the event in person was to be $99, if that attendance number held true, the event had the potential to raise north of $2 million for the United Conservative Party in a single-day event.
That number is nearly as much as any Alberta provincial party has raised in a single quarter since 2019, let alone a single-day.
That number is absolutely bonkers.
Of course, this enthusiasm from members appeared to be unforeseen.
The logistics, security and safety concerns associated with hosting politically-charged crowds of that size ultimately led to the UCP board of directors voting to move the process to a mail-in ballot.
As a member of the UCP, I believe it was the right move.
Kenney also raised the stakes via comments he made to his party and caucus staff last week.
The comments, which were secretly recorded and leaked to the CBC, included Kenney making the claim that the UCP is a party under siege from "extreme, hateful, intolerant, bigoted and crazy views," that are seeking a hostile takeover of the party.
I will let others debate the merits of this argument – God knows many people are.
But what is clear to me is that the move to a mail-in ballot, which expands the franchise to tens of thousands of additional eligible voters, seems to support Kenney in his effort to stay at the helm to combat groups he sees as such a risk to the party's future.
