Don Martin: Premier Jason Kenney deserved a better death
There’s a lesson for Canada's political leaders in the short life and quick death of Jason Kenney as premier of Alberta.
It’s one-strike-you’re-out politics now after Kenney got the weakest vote of confidence possible with a 51 per cent thumbs-up to his leadership from the United Conservative Party base.
It’s an almost-unfathomable act of internecine leadership homicide, with all the usual suspects cheering on Kenney being given last rites as they plotted their run as his replacement.
This is not just any party, but the one Kenney FOUNDED and carried to a strong majority over the governing NDP just three years ago.
Now, it seems, you can’t even survive a leadership review following a massive election victory.
And Kenney was booted out for what, exactly? Some say there’s a personality flaw in this walking, talking ego which had to be humbled. Others suggest he just wasn’t true-blue conservative enough. Or perhaps he tilted too far hard-right.
But mostly it’s because he, like every other premier, couldn’t find a balance between public restrictions and freedoms during a raging pandemic nobody had experienced before.
He was doubly challenged because Alberta was the pandemic’s most divided province. Rural areas chaffed against restrictions while incubating the Freedom Convoy. Big city voters were supporting the science and demanding aggressive action to flatten the waves.
Kenney, being a mere mortal, could not bridge a black-and-white polarization without any grey areas.
Complicating Kenney’s early reign was an oil price which briefly skidded into the abyss, virtually unsellable to U.S. refineries at any price.
So now, at the precise moment pandemic paranoia fades into mostly-normal behavior and the Alberta oil patch starts firing on premium energy prices, UCP members have ditched their leader because the polls show he’ll be a future failure in an election that’s still a year away.
And who is their preferred savior? Brian JEAN?? The man was a featherweight MP, sitting far back and silent on the Stephen Harper backbench while Kenney was scouring Ontario’s ethnic communities, sacrificing his waistline to find votes which had traditionally gone to Pierre Trudeau Liberals.
Or will they embrace Danielle Smith, the former Wild Rose party leader who tried and botched the original attempted merger with the Progressive Conservatives and ended up being ditched by both parties?
Either of those loser-history hopefuls rate as NDP leader Rachel Notley’s dream rival and perhaps offer her an even better shot at reclaiming government.
Look, Kenney is not without considerable sin as a leader. He didn’t understand the team concept or view his caucus as anything more than a one-man echo chamber. He repeatedly rubbed Albertans the wrong way with tone-deaf policies and plans.
But if the driving force behind his dismissal was being too-hard or too-soft and never-just-right on pandemic fighting policies, well, that’s just crazy.
Kenney clearly needed his ears boxed so he could hear the voters better and some super-coarse sandpaper to smooth down his abrasive style. But he also needed time to learn from his mistakes.
Rather than give him the chance to win or lose the next election, which he deserved, he was dumped because the polls, which can rarely predict an election result a year out with any accuracy, see orange trouble ahead.
It’s instructive for leadership aspirants of all stripes, but particularly Conservatives, to view the killed-Kenney experience, in tandem with the quickly-knifed Andrew Scheer and Erin O’Toole leaderships, as their new reality and potential fate.
And if not being kumbaya-enough is a fatal leadership flaw, well, wait until Conservatives get an up-close-and-personal encounter with Pierre Poilievre, who doesn’t exactly ooze team player charisma.
(Watching Poilievre stumbling around the starting gate, boasting about talking in “Anglo-Saxon words”, backing free-falling crypto currencies as an inflation hedge and vowing to take a flamethrower to Bank of Canada management, suggests he’s one election away from getting the Kenney treatment himself.)
Canada’s Conservatives appear to have turned national and provincial leadership reviews into poll-driven popularity contests where their next election’s winnability is the only criteria for renewing a leadership lease.
And we wonder why the calibre of contenders for our political leadership is so pathetically low.
I’m told, by the way, that Jason Kenney was blindsided by the 51 per cent number. He was privately predicting he would score in the mid-60 percentile range just a few days ago.
Perhaps that shows he was indeed sadly out of touch with the mutinous mood of his party.
But as the UCP founder who led them out of the opposition wilderness to a crushing 63-seat majority and through unprecedented economic and health care challenges, Premier Jason Kenney deserved a better political death.
That’s the bottom line….
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Robert Pickton to remain in medically induced coma until later this week: police
Serial killer Robert Pickton will remain in a medically induced coma for at least the next few days following an attack in a Quebec prison Sunday, according to police spokesperson Hugues Beaulieu.
Charlie Colin, founding member of the pop-rock band Train, dies at 58
Charlie Colin, bassist and founding member of the American pop-rock band Train, best known for their early-aughts hits like 'Drops of Jupiter' and 'Meet Virginia,' has died. He was 58.
'Five feet nothing': Pickton's safety likely behind Quebec transfer, says ex-prison judge
When serial killer Robert Pickton was transferred from British Columbia's Kent Institution to a maximum security prison in Quebec about six years ago, correctional authorities gave no public explanation or confirmation at the time, citing privacy.
'I feel betrayed': Ottawa-area customers out thousands of dollars warn of bad faith contractor
A group of people from eastern Ontario and western Quebec is issuing a warning about Dennis Walker and his company Vue Windows.
Fancy pigeon outfitted in custom diaper has free rein in B.C. family home
When Chrissy Chin volunteered to take in a fancy pigeon abandoned on a park bench, she never imagined she would one day be ordering custom-made diapers for the bird – who lives in her house and has become a member of the family.
'We'll need all hands on deck': Details emerge after deadly boat crash near Kingston
Police say they have wrapped up their on-scene investigation into a deadly boat crash in eastern Ontario as details of the incident begin to emerge.
WestJet planning new fare category for travellers willing to forgo carry-on bag
WestJet Airlines plans to launch a new cheaper fare category that would be available to travellers willing to fly without a carry-on bag.
5 dead and at least 35 hurt in Iowa tornado: officials
Five people died and at least 35 were hurt as powerful tornadoes ripped through Iowa Tuesday, with one carving a path of destruction through the town of Greenfield, officials said.
Woman found dead in Lake Ontario in 2017 matches identity of missing person in Switzerland
Genetic genealogy has helped Toronto police identify a woman who was found dead in Lake Ontario in 2017.
Local Spotlight
'Best experience ever': B.C. baker on making it to the finals of Netflix's 'Is it Cake?'
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.
Winnipeg chef delivers Manitoba cuisine to Houston diners
A city known for its history, ties to outer space and southern barbecue, is also home to a Winnipeg chef dishing out dozens of perogies.
Montreal photographer captures dramatic Canada goose vs. fox fight on video
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Beyond books: Halifax libraries lends instruments, sports equipment, memory kits and more
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
'A special bird': The unbreakable bond between purple martins and humans
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
7-year-old Pokémon prodigy heading to Hawaii for world championship tournament
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
VIDEO Born without front legs, this dog has been inspiring the world for 3 years: Dresden farm owner
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
From DVDs to rehearsals: Halifax theatre company transforms Video Difference building into arts hub
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
'Another pair of eyes watching over me:' How a B.C. woman's service dog saved her from drowning
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.