I don't dislike Jason Kenney, but I don't trust him either. The bottom line is that Jason Kenney needed to beat the NDP and we needed someone like him to unite the right. For most Albertans, it wasn't even a question. Jason Kenney is now the premier, not because we like him, but because we need him. In my opinion, someone else from the federal ranks could have pulled it off, but that didn't happen. Kenney is a career politician, which makes me automatically wary, but I have always admired his political competence. His leadership non-scandal, involving Jeff Callaway, was exactly what I would have expected from a competent and Machiavellian politician like Kenney—I was just shocked he let it get leaked. If Kenney applies this kind of strategy and mastery to leading Alberta against Justin Trudeau, he might grow on me.

It's always possible that Jason Kenney could be a total failure and show us all why career politicians need to become obsolete. It's also possible he might be a total success in the eyes of Albertans. To be a total success, Kenney needs to accomplish a few big things before the next election—which will be tight no matter what he does. If Kenney takes the safe road and proves that all his promises and talk during the campaign were just typical nonsense being spewed by a career politician, Albertans will get annoyed fast. If he sticks to his promises and brings a good, strong fight to Justin Trudeau, he'll become Ralph Klein's replacement on the conservative shrine.

Jason Kenney's well crafted and scripted—but often corny and annoying—political language from the campaign will have been a waste of breath if he doesn't accomplish a few of these big things by 2023.





Beat The Federal Carbon Tax

If Jason Kenney scraps Rachel Notley's carbon tax, Justin Trudeau will just impose his carbon tax on Alberta. Kenney made a big promise during his campaign to end the carbon tax, so if he fails on this, he'll surely fail in 2023. Albertans will need to see that Kenney at least tried to fight the federally imposed carbon tax with all of the premiers who currently oppose it.

Being as competent as he is, Kenney should be able to bring new ideas to the growing table of conservative premiers who plan to challenge the federal carbon tax. Is there a loophole? Is there a way to argue that it's unconstitutional? Is there a way to overthrow it with the support of enough provinces, no matter what Justin Trudeau does? If there is a way, Jason Kenney is the guy to find it.

Is there a way to change the federal benchmark carbon price? Currently, the federal benchmark requires provincial carbon levies to be no less than $10 per tonne (and rise by $10 every year), but could there be a way around that? Could Alberta find a way to keep its own tax to avoid federal rules, but make it so low that it becomes almost inconsequential? How about changing Alberta's rebate scheme so drastically that everyone gets their money back?

Somewhere, hidden in some haystack, there has to be a way to beat Justin Trudeau's carbon tax in court and outside of court.





Kill The Tanker Ban

Bill C-48 plans to ban oil tankers off the coast of BC. It's yet another move to damage Alberta's oil industry. Combine with C-69, the tanker ban is a part of Justin Trudeau's aggressive plan to totally destroy Western Canada's energy sector. Jason Kenney has vowed to challenge C-48 as unconstitutional, but whether he does is another story. It'll be another legal battle against Justin Trudeau's federal government that might not be winnable, so Jason Kenney better have another trick up his sleeve.

Bill C-48 falls in line perfectly with the Liberal government's efforts to alienate Alberta from the rest of Canada. Trudeau favoured SNC-Lavalin and jobs in Quebec over Alberta's struggling oil sector, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he's willing to allow tankers from Saudi Arabia to continue accessing the East coast. If Kenney can shed a light on C-48 and bring the debate to the national stage, he can successfully showcase Trudeau's one-sided environmental vision.

Trudeau's environmental vision for Canada isn't about the environment at all. It's about working with American-funded interests that are working in Canada to undermine Alberta's oil sector. Jason Kenney has also vowed to challenge these same foreign interests who are clearly aligned with Justin Trudeau.