The leader of the United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP), Jason Kenney, won 51.4% of the vote in his party’s confidence vote, but he considers it not enough to remain as leader. So he announced his resignation.
Jason Kenney has previously said he has no plans to quit if he gets more than 50% of the vote, however his margin of victory is small.
The results were not what I expected or, frankly, what I expectedJason Kenney admitted immediately after the announcement of the result, it added is not enough for me to continue as a leader.
He hopes his resignation will end the internal war that has torn the party apart for more than a year.
A record 34,298 members voted. Of these, 17,638 voted in support of Jason Kenney and 16,660 voted against him.
Jason Kenney will officially stop being the leader of ECP when an interim leader is appointed and a leadership race is called. He did not say when he would step down as prime minister.
The vote of confidence was originally scheduled to be held in person on April 9. Due to the excessive number of registrations, the party finally chose to do so by post. Members have until May 11 to return their completed ballot to the party. The counting was done this Wednesday in Calgary.
A really popular resolution
Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche MP and Jason Kenney’s rival Brian Jean were called the head of ECP to resign if he did not win a strong majority vote.
I want to thank Jason Kenney for his honorable and decent concessionshe reacted after the announcement.
According to him, the members have already spoken and rejected leadership divider and autocrat which is in place.
Danielle Smith, who served as leader of the latter party wildrose and also openly expressed his desire to replace Jason Kenney as head of ECPalso reacted immediately.
The result today is a real resolution of the people. Members of the United Conservative Party want a leader who will fight for Alberta’s interestshe wrote.
However, he thanked the Prime Minister for him historical contribution to the unity of Alberta rights.
The Leader of the Official Opposition, Rachel Notleyalso thanked Jason Kenney for him public service sa Twitter.
This job is never easy. The days are long and hard and I’m sure so is today. I wish all the best to Jasonhe wrote.
On social networks, gratitude and support for Jason Kenney increased.
My friend, the people of this province are eternally indebted. You took a province devastated by the economy of NDP and you made it a prosperous placesaid Rona Ambrose, who worked with him in Stephen Harper’s Cabinet.
For his part, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe thanked Jason Kenney defeat a destructive NDP government and lead Alberta through a difficult time.
The caucus of ECP is scheduled to meet Thursday at the McDougall Center in Calgary.
Source: Radio-Canada
