Kenney proud of accomplishments, suggests he will stay as MLA
Premier Jason Kenney, speaking a day ahead of the UCP leadership vote, said he is uncertain of his political future, but is proud of what he's done for Alberta.
Kenney made his address from downtown Calgary speaking about an investment in Alberta's provincial parks on Wednesday, suggesting that while he will no longer be leader, he wants to stay on as MLA for the time being.
"It's been a privilege of a lifetime to be able to serve Calgarians and Albertans," Kenney said of his time in office.
"I will be finishing my time in public service with a heart full of gratitude and with no fundamental regrets."
Pollster and political commentator Janet Brown says Kenney staying on as MLA is probably his last order of business for the UCP.
“It probably makes sense he stays on as MLA for a little while, but certainly not run in the next election, because it's just too hard to be in a party when you've had the top job,” she said.
Kenney added that some of his budget cut decisions were probably not what Albertans were looking for from his government, but he stands by them, saying they helped put Alberta back on track financially.
"We have implemented 93 per cent of the 375 platform commitments we gave Albertans in the last election despite three once-in-a-century crises," he said.
"Despite those headwinds and a hostile government in Ottawa, we helped to usher in an Alberta economic renaissance, unprecedented diversification, country-leading growth (and) more people working before in our province in our history."
However, Kenney said he should have acted sooner once cracks began to form in the UCP caucus over the province's COVID-19 response.
"I had probably a naïve approach to caucus relations – surprisingly naïve given my 25 years in public life," he said. "Perhaps I should have been a lot more like Stephen Harper or the recently re-elected Doug Ford or Scott Moe – the more typical Canadian approach.
"What I've come to the conclusion of is this – the public is not interested in a lot of internal party or caucus drama playing out, people just want competent, focused government."
Kenney also brought up the example of Ford's approach of removing six members of his caucus when problems were discovered.
"I look at that versus what happened here and I wonder if we owed Albertans a greater degree of discipline and coherence."
He remains hopeful that whoever is chosen as the new leader of the UCP – and Alberta's next premier – will focus on all the issues facing regular Albertans instead of "becoming an ideological debating society focused on marginal issues."
Kenney served three years as Alberta's premier – the 18th person to hold the position.
Brown says it was a different Kenney than Albertans are used to, admitting to mistakes made around how he dealt with party infighting.
“He's probably characterizing it as he was too tolerant and too nice (but) others would maybe not come to the same conclusion," said Brown.
You can watch live coverage of the UCP leadership vote from Calgary's BMO Centre on TV and online starting at 6 p.m. on Oct. 6.
(With files from Tyson Fedor)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'