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Three of the four candidates for the leadership of the United Conservative Party are so teeth-gnashingly fed up with Alberta’s carbon tax that they signed a pledge this week to repeal it.

Brian Jean, Jason Kenney and Doug Schweitzer took part in an event organized Thursday by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation where they put pen to paper. The fourth candidate, Jeff Callaway, had a scheduling conflict, but would have gladly signed the carbon tax’s death warrant.

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It was all, of course, just political theatre.

We know all four candidates are against the tax and have promised to repeal it if they ever become premier. Signing a stage-managed “pledge” doesn’t make their position legal or binding.

Kenney seems particularly partial to this type of performance. Twice in the last year, he has issued a “grassroots guarantee” to demonstrate that, by golly, he is so serious about a specific issue that he’ll sign his name on a big piece of cardboard while people watch.