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“And who have been able to take for granted being born into the highest standard of living in all of human history and have little or no economic literacy and seem to think that wealth comes from a metaphorical ATM, and that when politicians offer free stuff you vote for it and you get it. ”

“I think we saw a little bit of that in May of 2015 here and sadly, I think we see a lot of young Albertans who since then have been mugged by economic reality.”

Kenney said Alberta NDP policies such as a tuition freeze and a $15 minimum wage look attractive to young voters but damage the economy and leave them struggling to find a job.

He said conservatives need to do a better job of selling the benefits and principles of their policies to youth, and a unified conservative government is needed to reverse NDP policies that hurt the economy.

In May, Kenney and Wildrose Leader Brian Jean unveiled a deal to join their members together in a new United Conservative Party.

Tories and Wildrosers will vote on July 22 whether to give the go-ahead to the agreement. The PCs require only 50 per cent plus one in a party-wide referendum but Wildrose needs 75 per cent approval from members at a special meeting.

While much work needs to be done, Kenney said he expects both parties’ membership will strongly endorse the deal, with the biggest hurdles being skepticism among some Wildrose members and complacency among Tories.

He’s encouraging Albertans to buy a membership in whichever of the two conservative parties they like best — or join both the PCs and Wildrose — to vote for the unity agreement.