CALGARY—United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney spent the third day of Alberta’s election campaign on familiar ground, appealing to Calgarians with big promises of his party’s plan for the economy.

Standing with the iconic backdrop of Calgary’s skyline on Scotsman’s Hill Thursday morning and making several references to the “empty office spaces” behind him, Kenney played up his distaste for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and attacked what he called NDP Leader Rachel Notley’s “alliance” with Trudeau.

During both his speech on Scotsman’s Hill, and an evening campaign event at a northeast Calgary hotel, Kenney sketched out the UCP’s economic blueprint. It included fighting “without relent with every legal and political tool” at the province’s disposal “for our economic future, for fairness, for prosperity, for jobs, for pipelines.”

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While he spent a good deal of time claiming the NDP hadn’t done enough to champion Alberta’s interests, Kenney also struck a hopeful note for Albertans he said are struggling: workers who’ve lost their jobs, young graduates unable to find work, small business owners doing their best to keep the lights on. Over the last four years, Kenney claimed, the NDP had demonstrated the worst economic record of any Alberta government since the Great Depression.

Yet he promised growth, prosperity, and greater independence for Alberta to hundreds of cheering Calgarians waving blue UCP signs and chanting the party’s name at a hotel in the city’s northeast on Thursday evening.

“Our long Alberta winter is over!” Kenney said. “Dark clouds are lifting, the sun is shining, and in 26 days, a bright new day will dawn for Albertans!”

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On the sidelines of the evening’s rally, Daniel Kostek and Osman Yaseen watched with blue UCP signs firmly in hand. In spite of Notley’s efforts to move Alberta’s oil to market — petitioning the federal government to amend Bill C-69, buying thousands of rail cars to transport oil, and even threatening to “turn off the taps” on British Columbia — the two don’t believe she’s done enough.

“If she really cared about pipelines, she’d be in Ottawa or on the phone with Ottawa — daily — fighting for us to get that pipeline through,” Kostek said.

Kenney’s first promise was to file a constitutional challenge against federal Bill C-69 — touted as an anti-development and anti-oil bill by critics — if it is passed into law.

“I will direct our attorney general immediately to file a constitutional challenge to strike it down,” Kenney said. He added the right was “surrendered” by Notley.

He also said the UCP would hold a referendum in fall 2021 to remove equalization payments if no coastal pipeline has been built by then, and if Bill C-69 doesn’t get repealed.

“This would be the strongest assertion of our fight for fairness in the federation,” Kenney said.

He promised his government would “make it clear” to the B.C. government and others opposed to Alberta oil and gas that Alberta would use “turn off the taps” legislation, again attacking Notley for “reluctantly” hauling the legislation into the province, but not using it effectively.

“What we can no longer tolerate is governments and politicians in other parts of the country benefiting from Albertans’ hard work and our resources while doing everything they can to block those resources,” he said.

Kenney also promised to build an “interprovincial coalition” with provinces that support jobs and pipelines in the energy industry, adding the UCP has already begun forming relationships with the premiers of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and New Brunswick.

Roars of approval came from the crowd Thursday evening when Kenney repeated the party’s now-signature call: scrap the NDP’s provincial carbon tax. He promised axing it would save the average Albertan $268 each, or $4,500 per business.

“By May 30 of this year, the Alberta carbon tax will be history,” Kenney declared to cheers and applause.

His announcement in the city, home to 26 of the 87 ridings in the April 16 vote, will be a closely watched battleground.