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Jason Kenney and his United Conservative Party are looking a little bruised and battered as they near the end of a wild election campaign in Alberta. In the final week, Kenney was hit with allegations of voter fraud going back to his 2017 party leadership victory, sparking an RCMP probe.

And Kenney’s United Conservatives have been embarrassed by some UCP candidates spouting racist, homophobic and anti-immigrant opinions, resulting in two candidates dropping out.

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But, despite the bozo eruptions and personal hits he’s absorbed, Kenney’s lead hasn’t slipped away. In fact, there hasn’t been an opinion poll conducted in Alberta in which Kenney’s United Conservatives have not held a healthy lead during the entire two years of the party’s existence.

The reason? Voters are mad as hell about a weak Alberta economy, and the widely held perception that hostile governments outside the province are to blame. Hurtin’ Albertans are angry at Justin Trudeau’s federal Liberals and their anti-oil energy policies. Many are furious at B.C. Premier John Horgan and his NDP government’s opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.