Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenny took to social media Thursday night to protest attempts made by a group of Albertans for the province to join the US as its 51st state.
Calgary lawyer Jeffrey Rath announced this week he is leading a delegation of Albertans, including representatives of the Alberta Prosperity Project and at least one unnamed former MP, to meet with contacts in Washington on what he told the Western Standard is a “fact-finding mission.”
Rath and the group of Albertans are planning a delegation to Washington to gauge support for Alberta obtaining statehood, or becoming a territory or 51st American state.
Kenny did not take well to the idea. He re-posted a video of Rath talking to Fox News about the delegation and included an old link to a 2017 CBC article where the lawyer accused him of running for the United Conservative Party leadership (UCP) “to destroy the party.”
“This treasonous kook once sued me to prevent Alberta’s conservative parties from merging democratically,” wrote Kenny Thursday night, referring to his campaign promise to merge the UCP with the Wild Rose Party.
“He’s just a blow hard desperate for media attention,” said Kenny.
“Don’t fall for his shtick.”
Rath at the time attempted to get Kenny disqualified from the leadership race, saying he repeatedly violated contest rules. The UCP in 2016 fined Kenny $5,000 for breaking the rules and appearing at an event he wasn’t allowed to attend as a candidate.
"He's not running to be the leader of the Progressive Conservative party. He's running to destroy the party so that he can then form a new party that he's going to run and become leader of," said Rath at the time, per the CBC.
"Obviously from my perspective — being very familiar with the constitution of the party as well as the leadership rules — that clearly offends the … constitution of the party and the leadership rules."