Can Alberta PCs unite themselves into a party worthy of broad support?
The antics in the leadership campaign so far inspire little confidence in the party that hopes to defeat Rachel Notley’s NDP in the next election.
Two candidates have already quit the race amid allegations of bullying, harassment and no room for their ideas. A third candidate has now said he too has been threatened by supporters of one of the candidates who has now quit.
MLA Sandra Jansen quit November 8 after her social media was filled with filth and her domain name was purchased to direct people to smear pieces on her. But the final straw for her was when insults were scrawled on her nomination forms during the PC convention in Red Deer Nov. 4 to 6. Candidate MLA Donna Kennedy-Glans quit Nov. 8 saying there was no room for centrist voices in a polarized political campaign. Both women are mulling over their future with the party.
Jansen indicated supporters of leadership hopeful Jason Kenney were to blame for her harassment. A week later, Kenney said he too was the victim of abuse – at the hands of Jansen supporters during the convention. Kenney told an Edmonton media outlet that Jansen’s campaign manager Stephen Carter told him he wanted “to beat the expletive out of him.” Carter said he wanted only to beat him electorally. Kenney said he was poked in the chest and that people yelled at his young supporters.
The fact that Kenney showed up at the convention with a busload of so-called supporters in an effort to hijack the event should surprise no one. Kenney is known for his sometimes brash demeanour. That might have worked for president-elect Donald Trump, but there is little appetite for such antics north of the 49th.
The fallout from the PC convention could prove disastrous for a party trying to fight its way back into mainstream Alberta. With the quitting of Jansen and Kennedy-Glans (some would call it an ousting), Albertans may decide the PCs are not inclusive and render it a rump party on the far right.
St. Albert PC leadership candidate Stephen Khan confirmed that the PC convention was unpleasant. “There was so much anger and vitriol. It was getting nasty. It was really unfortunate that people weren’t listening to each other and trying to understand each other’s specific points.”
This week Khan called for a better standard of behaviour. “I firmly believe we can do and need to do politics better.”
Khan is right that candidates and their supporters must do better.
The Alberta PCs have been enjoying a surge in popularity in recent weeks, but this kind of grandstanding and venom can easily set them back. If the Tories are serious about taking out the NDP in 2019, the party will have to brand itself as a fiscally conservative, socially centrist party. Alberta has changed dramatically since the days of Ralph Klein. The days of brashness and shooting from the hip are long gone.
