Alberta Prime Minister Jason Kenney feels more confident in his leadership after the PCU meeting | The Canadian News

CALGARY – Alberta Prime Minister Jason Kenney says he’s more confident in his leadership after a three-day annual general meeting of the United Conservative Party than he’s felt in “a long time.”

The prime minister, who has faced growing discontent from his party, the caucus and the public, told reporters Sunday that the weekend’s event far exceeded his best expectations.

Kenney says he met with hundreds of delegates from across Alberta and only one person had anything negative to say about promoting the COVID-19 vaccine.

The prime minister says there was a spirit of positivity in the halls of the conference center in Calgary with attendees focusing on the province’s economic progress.

There was moderate tension during the AGM with supporters and critics of Kenney’s leadership making rounds in the event center lobby.

Kenney says there have been internal divisions over how the government should address the COVID-19 crisis, which was the focus of his keynote address on Saturday, but that members have been receptive to his explanation of anti-virus measures. pandemic.

A leadership review is scheduled to take place next April, but could come sooner, as 22 voters’ associations have signed a letter to the party executive calling for an early vote.

“When we conservatives are united, we win. When the Conservatives are divided, we lose. It’s that simple, ”Kenney said.

“I think, at the end of the day, what we saw here is an understanding that we have to be united in our diversity, work together and focus on the priorities of Albertans, not internal political differences.”

The 22 precinct associations that called for an early vote on Kenney’s leadership represent a quarter of UCP’s constituencies, enough to trigger an expedited review under bylaws. A motion to change the rules raising the bar to 29 constituency associations was rejected on Friday after it failed to meet 75 percent or more of the required votes.

Kenney said he welcomes a review next year.

“It is normal to have a leadership review. I embrace that. And I can tell you that I feel more confident in my leadership today than, frankly, in a long time after having had the opportunity to meet directly with our grassroots members, ”he said Sunday.

“I don’t expect you will never be at a party convention where 100 percent of the people agree on 100 percent of things, including the leadership. That is not our expectation. But what happened here far exceeded my best expectations. “

The party’s fundraising lags behind the NDP and Kenney’s popularity poll numbers have plummeted in recent months, raising concerns about whether the party can win the 2023 spring election with him as the leader.

Kenney said during Saturday’s speech that he has no regrets about his government’s pandemic-fighting measures despite the anger they caused that they were necessary to protect Alberta’s health system, which was on the brink of collapse.