Alberta Premier Jason Kenney took to social media Tuesday night to deny a Western Standard exclusive story that he told a UCP caucus meeting “I want a new base”, saying he was referring to extremists and “tinfoil hat” attendees a weekend rodeo in Bowden..Kenney said it was “a completely fake story” and went on to tell listeners a story about his 83-old-mother getting death threats and other commenters who threatened to “execute” him..While Kenney denies the story, three UCP MLAs that the Western Standard spoke to on condition of anonymity said that it was true..Kenney used a Sunday virtual caucus meeting to rail against the ‘No More Lockdowns Rodeo’, which attracted approximately 4,000-5,000 attendees over the weekend..According to the three MLAs, a member of the caucus reminded Kenney that the people who went to the rodeo were “the base” of the UCP’s support..“If they are our base, I want a new base,” Kenney told the meeting..Most attendees of the rodeo that the Western Standard spoke to said that they voted UCP, with many backing Kenney during the party’s leadership race..Kenney contradicted the three MLA’s account of the meeting..“When I was talking to my caucus recently I told them about a number of death threats that we’ve been receiving. I stepped out of a news conference the other day and got a message from somebody saying ‘You will be executed for your crimes against humanity, Kenney.’ And then shortly thereafter I got a message saying ‘We know where your mother lives.’.“So that was an implicit threat against my 83-year-old widowed mother who lives alone, and I said to my caucus, I talked about that, I talked about some of the insane conspiracy theories and I said ‘these people are not our base.’.“These people, we don’t want people making death threats, people threatening to lock up Dr. (Deena) Hinshaw, people organizing rallies with tiki torches based on the neo-Nazi rally in Virginia. Those are not our supporters. Those are not Alberta conservatives. Those are not mainstream Albertans. Those are the voice of extremism and hatred and no political party wants people who promote violence and that kind of craziness, period..“I’ve invited and welcomed a widespread debate on COVID. I’ve been viciously attacked by the NDP and others for having permitted and tolerated that kind of debate, even in my own party and caucus..“What I’m commenting on are people threatening violence and threatening to lock up the Chief Medical Officer. The other day we had this protest up in Bowden and the organizers of that protest … some of the comments that they are making, just tinfoil hat crowd stuff.”.Near the end of his Facebook, Kenney lashed out at rodeo organizer Ty Northcott for some of his social media postings..“They said ‘We will not stand by idly and watch, as not only our businesses, but our Western heritage, and more importantly, our basic human rights are ripped out of existence by the tyrannical beings of our current world.’ The tyrannical beings? Not even human beings, the tyrannical beings of the current world..“What the heck does that mean. I mean are these people, is that now merging with …Lizard Man conspiracies. I’m one of the tyrannical beings of the current world? What does that…so I said to my caucus, people who are making death threats against me and members of my family and are talking about the tyrannical beings that have taken over the world. They’re not my base. They’re not Alberta conservatives. They’re not mainstream Albertans. They are people who need to cut way back on caffeine, take off the tinfoil hat and come back to reality..One of the MLAs speaking to the Western Standard said the “I want a new base” statement was “unbecoming” of the leader who united the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties into their “promised, big blue tent”..A poll last month showed a stunning 75% of Albertans are opposed to Kenney’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including much of the UCP’s voter base opposed to continued lockdowns. The premier has been fighting a caucus revolt against the lockdowns, and a growing movement from rank-and-file members to force an early leadership review..Last April, Kenney had the support of 80% of Albertans in his handling of COVID-19..Another UCP MLA told the Western Standard “Kenney believes only a small minority of Albertans take issue with this [lockdowns and other restrictions]”..On social media on Sunday, Kenney called the rodeo “disturbing.”.“It is disturbing to see large numbers of people gathering this weekend at Bowden in flagrant violation of COVID-19 public health measures,” Kenney said on his Facebook page..“We are all sick of this. We all want it to end. Thousands of Albertans are following the rules, sacrificing travel and social gatherings to do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19. Not only are gatherings like this a threat to public health, they are a slap in the face to everybody who is observing the rules to keep themselves and their fellow Albertans safe..“On a personal note, I’m angered and saddened to see so many people selfishly put themselves ahead of others. Rodeo celebrates Alberta’s Western heritage, a key part of which is our community spirit and looking out for others, especially the vulnerable. That’s the opposite of what these folks are doing.”.On Monday, Kenney said that tougher lockdowns and restrictions were coming, driven by Albertans not complying with existing orders..According to polls, Kenney’s UCP has already begun to see its base shedding support to the Wildrose Independence Party, founded as a merger of the Freedom Conservative Party and Wexit Alberta in June of 2020..UCP fundraising numbers have also fallen off a cliff, raising just $521,589,86 in the first quarter, half that of the NDP..The rodeo in Bowden quickly became a flashpoint in Alberta, with progressive media personalities and both NDP and UCP politicians condemning it as large segments of the UCP base rallied to it..The organizer of the rodeo, Northcott comes from a historic rodeo family and opened up his own livestock ranch in the late ’80s..But the three Alberta COVID-19 lockdowns have hit his business hard, leaving him with only 50% of his normal stock because the costs of wintering and feeding them depleted his bank account..He decided to hold the rodeo as a protest to the Kenney government’s COVID-19 restrictions..Northcott, on Sunday afternoon, told the crowd the event was such as success he will hold another one July 1..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney took to social media Tuesday night to deny a Western Standard exclusive story that he told a UCP caucus meeting “I want a new base”, saying he was referring to extremists and “tinfoil hat” attendees a weekend rodeo in Bowden..Kenney said it was “a completely fake story” and went on to tell listeners a story about his 83-old-mother getting death threats and other commenters who threatened to “execute” him..While Kenney denies the story, three UCP MLAs that the Western Standard spoke to on condition of anonymity said that it was true..Kenney used a Sunday virtual caucus meeting to rail against the ‘No More Lockdowns Rodeo’, which attracted approximately 4,000-5,000 attendees over the weekend..According to the three MLAs, a member of the caucus reminded Kenney that the people who went to the rodeo were “the base” of the UCP’s support..“If they are our base, I want a new base,” Kenney told the meeting..Most attendees of the rodeo that the Western Standard spoke to said that they voted UCP, with many backing Kenney during the party’s leadership race..Kenney contradicted the three MLA’s account of the meeting..“When I was talking to my caucus recently I told them about a number of death threats that we’ve been receiving. I stepped out of a news conference the other day and got a message from somebody saying ‘You will be executed for your crimes against humanity, Kenney.’ And then shortly thereafter I got a message saying ‘We know where your mother lives.’.“So that was an implicit threat against my 83-year-old widowed mother who lives alone, and I said to my caucus, I talked about that, I talked about some of the insane conspiracy theories and I said ‘these people are not our base.’.“These people, we don’t want people making death threats, people threatening to lock up Dr. (Deena) Hinshaw, people organizing rallies with tiki torches based on the neo-Nazi rally in Virginia. Those are not our supporters. Those are not Alberta conservatives. Those are not mainstream Albertans. Those are the voice of extremism and hatred and no political party wants people who promote violence and that kind of craziness, period..“I’ve invited and welcomed a widespread debate on COVID. I’ve been viciously attacked by the NDP and others for having permitted and tolerated that kind of debate, even in my own party and caucus..“What I’m commenting on are people threatening violence and threatening to lock up the Chief Medical Officer. The other day we had this protest up in Bowden and the organizers of that protest … some of the comments that they are making, just tinfoil hat crowd stuff.”.Near the end of his Facebook, Kenney lashed out at rodeo organizer Ty Northcott for some of his social media postings..“They said ‘We will not stand by idly and watch, as not only our businesses, but our Western heritage, and more importantly, our basic human rights are ripped out of existence by the tyrannical beings of our current world.’ The tyrannical beings? Not even human beings, the tyrannical beings of the current world..“What the heck does that mean. I mean are these people, is that now merging with …Lizard Man conspiracies. I’m one of the tyrannical beings of the current world? What does that…so I said to my caucus, people who are making death threats against me and members of my family and are talking about the tyrannical beings that have taken over the world. They’re not my base. They’re not Alberta conservatives. They’re not mainstream Albertans. They are people who need to cut way back on caffeine, take off the tinfoil hat and come back to reality..One of the MLAs speaking to the Western Standard said the “I want a new base” statement was “unbecoming” of the leader who united the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties into their “promised, big blue tent”..A poll last month showed a stunning 75% of Albertans are opposed to Kenney’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including much of the UCP’s voter base opposed to continued lockdowns. The premier has been fighting a caucus revolt against the lockdowns, and a growing movement from rank-and-file members to force an early leadership review..Last April, Kenney had the support of 80% of Albertans in his handling of COVID-19..Another UCP MLA told the Western Standard “Kenney believes only a small minority of Albertans take issue with this [lockdowns and other restrictions]”..On social media on Sunday, Kenney called the rodeo “disturbing.”.“It is disturbing to see large numbers of people gathering this weekend at Bowden in flagrant violation of COVID-19 public health measures,” Kenney said on his Facebook page..“We are all sick of this. We all want it to end. Thousands of Albertans are following the rules, sacrificing travel and social gatherings to do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19. Not only are gatherings like this a threat to public health, they are a slap in the face to everybody who is observing the rules to keep themselves and their fellow Albertans safe..“On a personal note, I’m angered and saddened to see so many people selfishly put themselves ahead of others. Rodeo celebrates Alberta’s Western heritage, a key part of which is our community spirit and looking out for others, especially the vulnerable. That’s the opposite of what these folks are doing.”.On Monday, Kenney said that tougher lockdowns and restrictions were coming, driven by Albertans not complying with existing orders..According to polls, Kenney’s UCP has already begun to see its base shedding support to the Wildrose Independence Party, founded as a merger of the Freedom Conservative Party and Wexit Alberta in June of 2020..UCP fundraising numbers have also fallen off a cliff, raising just $521,589,86 in the first quarter, half that of the NDP..The rodeo in Bowden quickly became a flashpoint in Alberta, with progressive media personalities and both NDP and UCP politicians condemning it as large segments of the UCP base rallied to it..The organizer of the rodeo, Northcott comes from a historic rodeo family and opened up his own livestock ranch in the late ’80s..But the three Alberta COVID-19 lockdowns have hit his business hard, leaving him with only 50% of his normal stock because the costs of wintering and feeding them depleted his bank account..He decided to hold the rodeo as a protest to the Kenney government’s COVID-19 restrictions..Northcott, on Sunday afternoon, told the crowd the event was such as success he will hold another one July 1..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
