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I had thought that for a few moments Monday afternoon the political guns in Alberta might fall silent.

You know, just as a gesture of goodwill from the NDP toward United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney as he was being sworn in as MLA in the legislature chambers.

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But no. A few hours before the swearing-in ceremony, the NDP launched a radio ad attacking Kenney’s “plan” to lower taxes for the wealthiest Albertans by reintroducing the old PC government’s 10 per cent flat tax on income.

“Jason Kenney’s plan? It’s out,” says the ad. “The wealthiest one per cent get a $700-million tax break. Regular Albertans? We get nothing. Think that’s fair? Kenney also wants to privatize our health care and cut our kids’ education. Tax cuts for the top one per cent, cuts for everybody else. Jason Kenney: he’s working for someone all right; it just isn’t us.”

I shouldn’t be surprised, of course, by the attack ad. The next provincial election is a little more than one year away and the campaigning has already begun. You could say it kicked off Monday with Kenney officially becoming an MLA and now able to lead his party from inside the legislature, not from the public gallery.