Former Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews named his two campaign co-chairs on Saturday as he issued a call for people disillusioned after being "wrongly categorized" by Premier Jason Kenney to returned to the UCP fold..Toews, the UCP MLA for Grande Prairie-Wapiti, officially kicked off his campaign to replace Kenney as UCP leader in an afternoon event at Rotary House on the Stampede Grounds..During the pandemic Kenney had categorized those who were trying to unseat him as "kooky people," "bugs," "lunatics," "hateful," "divisive" and "extremists.".Toews described those people as "wrongly categorized.".“To those who feel disenfranchised, I want to extend a call home," Toews said..“We're better together, stronger in diversity and in our unity.”.Toews also announced Energy Minister Sonya Savage and Grande Prairie-Mackenzie Tory MP Chris Warkentin as his campaign co-chairs..He added he now has the support of 23 members of the UCP caucus..Toews' eight-minute speech listed some of what he called the party's successes without mentioning Kenney once..Toews was known as being inside Kenney's inner circle, even photographed having dinner with him in the Sky Palace scandal..After his speech, Toews was asked by reporters how he would distinguish himself from Kenney..Toews said he was a rural, private sector person before entering politics in 2019 while Kenney was a longtime urban politician..“Four years ago, that changed. Deeply concerned with the direction of the province, like so many in this room, including one of my co-chairs, I stepped up and sought public office to help ensure the next generation of Albertans would have the opportunities our generation was afforded by this great province of Alberta," Toews told the crowd..“And it was a privilege to form government the last election with the additional honor for me personally to serve as Alberta's minister of finance and president of the Treasury Board. “.“Since 2019. We’ve implemented an ambitious platform of reform, including positioning Alberta's economy for exceptional growth, diversification, and job creation, and putting the province on a sustainable fiscal trajectory.”.“The results of our economic reforms are self-evident. Most banks are predicting that Alberta will lead the nation in economic growth this year and next. Our unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level since 2015. And for the first time in over a decade, we presented a balanced budget.”.“We will no longer spend more than we make. We will no longer burden future generations with a debt they did not incur.”.Toews filed paperwork with Elections Alberta Monday, making him the first registered candidate in the leadership race. Independent MLA Todd Loewen is also in the race filing onWednesday and Amisk Mayor Bill Rock was third, filing on Thursday. .The leadership race follows Premier Jason Kenney’s announcement last month he would resign as leader and premier after earning just 51.4% in a party leadership review..Former Opposition Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith launched her leadership campaign already, though she is not yet registered with Elections Alberta..Another former Wildrose and Opposition leader, UCP MLA Brian Jean, also said he intends to run for the leadership.
