A Mainstreet Research poll commissioned by the Western Standard says Albertans are far from satisfied with Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s handling of the ‘Snowbird MLA Scandal.’.A total of 41 per cent of Alberta respondents say Kenney, former Minister Tracy Allard, and the six backbench snowbird MLAs should all resign, including 21 per cent of those who voted UCP in the 2019 election..Another 27 per cent of respondents say Kenney’s actions to date don’t go far enough, and that he should fire Allard and the six other MLAs from the UCP Caucus. In fact, more UCP voters support the option of firing just the minister and MLAs (31 per cent) than Albertans at large..In the wake of revelations of at least one pro-lockdown minister, six MLAs and several senior staffers found vacationing oversees, Kenney initially declined to discipline any of them, but increasing political backlash led Kenney to fire Allard from cabinet and issue relatively minor penalties to the MLAs. All seven MLAs continue to remain full members of the UCP Caucus..Serious questions continue to linger over whether Kenney himself was telling the truth about what he knew after his staff denied that the premier read a memo from Allard informing him. One senior Tory close to Kenney told the Western Standard that it was “inconceivable” that Keney did not know that his chief of staff and minister were overseas without his knowledge.The holiday vacations took place while the UCP government has had Albertans under a strict lockdown, closing most businesses and and making most Christmas family gatherings illegal..While the demotions are not enough for the vast majority of Albertans, 12 per cent say they are satisfied with Kenney’s actions, and another 11 per cent believe that he went too far. Nine per cent had an “other” opinion.. Screen-Shot-2021-01-10-at-11.25.12-AMPoll by Mainstreet exclusively for Western Standard. All rights reserved. .“This is a major, major scandal for the UCP,” said Mainstreet Research President and CEO Quito Maggi..“Albertans are extremely angry – it seems only the removal of the six MLA from caucus would satisfy the majority of Albertans.”.“The initial response from Kenney was terrible. His subsequent actions haven’t done anything to turn it around. It is the hypocrisy of the MLAs that is so significant, say the people polled.”.Of concern to the UCP should be that those who continue to remain upset and demand further actions are not just NDP supporters. A combined 52 per cent of respondents who voted UCP last time believed that Kenney must resign, or that he must fire all of the snowbird MLAs..The Snowbird Scandal has also taken a massive bite out of UCP support. Part one of the Mainstreet Research poll commissioned by the Western Standard showed that less than half of those who voted UCP in 2019 would do so again if an election were held now, with both the NDP and Wildrose Independence Party surging in support..The poll of 1,003 adults has a margin of error of +/- 3.09 per cent and a 95 per cent confidence level..This poll is Part Two of a series of Mainstreet polls commissioned by the Western Standard. The full details and methodology of the poll can be found here..Full Western Standard-Mainstreet Research Poll.Download.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
