EDMONTON (LifeSiteNews) – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney called some Canadian conservatives lunatics” and “kooky people” while speaking to his caucus staff on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for him, he was being recorded.
Kenney told his staff that he had seriously considered leaving his role as the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) before Christmas. But he also said that the Conservatives who want to see him replaced are angry people who subscribe to conspiracy theories and COVID policy skepticism.
“I don’t say this stuff publicly, [but] these are just kooky people generally,” the premier said.
He added that “lunatics are trying to take over the asylum.”
“I will not let this mainstream conservative party become an agent for extreme, hateful, intolerant, bigoted and crazy views,” he declared.
Ultimately, Kenney decided to stay on, he said, so as not to hand the far-left Alberta New Democratic Party a victory.
“What’s the easiest path for me? Just to take a walk. I don’t need this job. I could go to the private sector, have my evenings, weekends off,” the premier told the gathering.
He added: “I thought a lot about it, honestly, before Christmas, and I decided that would be grossly irresponsible because if we were to have a leadership election in this context, it would, I think, permanently divide us [and] hand the NDP the next election.”
“What’s the easiest path for me? Just to take a walk. I don’t need this job,” Kenney said in a secretly recorded meeting with members of his caucus staff.https://t.co/uixQO993II
— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) March 25, 2022
A whistle-blower present at the meeting secretly recorded Kenney’s remarks and made them available to a number of Canadian media outlets, including Global News and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Kenney, who has come under heavy scrutiny from Alberta conservatives for his flip-flopping on COVID policies, faces a leadership review in the coming weeks.
A record number of people have signed up to vote in the leadership event, which Kenney used as an excuse to switch from in person to mail-in ballots.
More than 15,000 people have signed up to vote in the coming leadership review, compared to the usual 3000. The minimum bar for Kenney to remain leader is to have a 50 per cent share of the votes. According to the Kenney campaign, roughly 50 percent of the 15,000 registered have purchased their first UCP membership in order to vote in this coming review.
Professional ice hockey legend Theo Fleury tweeted that Kenney needed to “admit” he was “done.”
Mail in ballots are a bad idea. Always have been always will be. @jkenney your done just admit it and leave Alberta.
— Theo Fleury (@TheoFleury14) March 24, 2022
One of Kenney’s former campaign organizers, David Parker, said that “most of the people [who] are signing up to vote against Jason Kenney are people who used to work for him.”
“[Kenney] is not trusted by anyone in this province, whether you’re left or right. And I don’t think we should continue having a leader that Albertans can’t trust,” he added.