Article content

United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney often comes across as Alberta’s youngest old man.

He evokes the past, mainly the Ralph Klein years, while crying for anti-Ottawa battles we haven’t seen since the great energy and constitutional conflicts of the 1980s.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Braid: Can Jason Kenney spark an anti-Ottawa revolt in 2018? Back to video

On Wednesday, Kenney’s party stated it clearly in a release:

“A United Conservative Government would repeal the NDP’s carbon tax as its first legislative act, and fight tooth and nail against the imposition of carbon tax by Ottawa.

“A Jason Kenney-led Government would also seek to build coalitions at the provincial and territorial level to oppose the gross overreach of power by Ottawa.

“Indeed, a Kenney-led Government would reclaim Alberta’s traditional role in leading the opposition to overbearing Liberal federal governments.”

“Traditional role” — that says it all. Kenney really does see himself in the battle armour of Alberta’s first PC premier, Peter Lougheed, who sometimes found himself fighting not just Ottawa but most of the country as well.