ATHABASCA/BARRHEAD/WESTLOCK - Whether or not the criticisms of his leadership were justified, Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken says he believes that Jason Kenney’s decision to resign as head of the United Conservative Party (UCP) was the right one.
“I definitely think it was the right decision,” said van Dijken, in an interview on May 20.
“There’s been a lot of controversy around his leadership. Whether it’s warranted or not, I’m not going to comment on that, but we need to turn the page.”
Two days earlier on May 18, the UCP announced the results of a mail-in vote where members were asked if they approved of the current leader. Only 51.4 per cent of more than 34,000 voters who sent in their ballots stated they were in favour of Kenney staying on as leader.
van Dijken said he believes the leadership review went well despite criticisms from Kenney’s opponents. For instance, the review was originally going to consist of an in-person vote in Red Deer in April, but that had to be cancelled due to the high level of interest in the vote.
He noted that he did hear from a few people within the constituency that did not receive their mail-in ballots, but for the most part, things did run smoothly.
In the days prior to the vote, former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean alleged that thousands of memberships had been purchased and some were signed up without their knowledge.
van DIjken noted membership rolls did go up slightly, but “not drastically.”
“It wasn’t like there was a whole bunch of people interfering with the process,” he said.
Despite technically earning a majority at 51.4 per cent, Kenney almost immediately announced that he would be stepping down as leader, though he will be staying on as premier to provide continuity of government until a replacement is chosen. He announced later that he would not be running in the next leadership race. He had been non-committal up until that point.
Based on what he had heard from people in the constituency, including both supporters of Kenney and those who wished to remove him, van Dijken said he knew the result would be very close, though he was a little surprised that more people didn’t vote.
Again, van Dijken said he believed Kenney’s decision to step down was the right choice.
“As elected representatives, we always have to be cognizant that we are serving the people, and the people will decide if that’s in their best interest or not. I think that’s why democracy works,” he said.
van Dijken also noted the last two years “have been very difficult to govern through” and Kenney was probably wearing more on his shoulders than is warranted, given that the pandemic was a once-a-century event.
However, he said he didn’t “believe for a minute” that Kenney intended to run again. He added that Kenney had addressed party members the day before and argued that it was necessary to have a continuity of leadership while a new UCP leader is being chosen.
At the same time, he said he wished to see who steps forward before he decides who to support and who will be the best choice for the future of Alberta.
“Let’s put it this way: I don’t believe there’s going to be a shortage of qualified people stepping forward to fill the role,” said van Dijken.
