00:00:00.000That being said, as a young man, Brian got his Bachelor of Science degree in the United
00:00:26.040States, and he came back to Fort McMurray to become a businessman. He then decided to
00:00:34.220further improve himself, and he went to Pond University in Australia, where he became student
00:00:42.580president as he got a law degree and an MBA. Brian returned to Canada, continued to study
00:00:54.500law at university of calgary and went on to become one of the busiest litigators
00:01:02.020in northern alberta for a decade during this time he became even more active in his community
00:01:11.860and he took on numerous leadership roles his community service has included
00:01:17.780chairing the Children's Health Foundation for Northern Alberta,
00:01:22.780founding the Fort McMurray Business Revitalization Zone,
00:01:27.780Downtown Business Association President, Chamber of Commerce Director,
00:01:33.780and actually quite a long list of others that I'll skip.
00:01:38.780In 2004, Brian became Member of Parliament for Fort McMurray, Athabasca.
00:01:44.780And in 2006, he became the Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Transportation, which is the most complicated and technical department in the federal government.
00:01:58.080As an effective MP for 10 years, he worked on more than 35 bills, 28 of them becoming Canadian law.
00:02:08.780And most of this was done with the minority government.
00:02:13.780In 2014, Brian retired from federal politics. With his son's illness and death at the hands of our broken healthcare system, he was motivated to get back into politics.
00:02:30.780Following the treacherous floor-crossing, and despite having lost his son, his freeming
00:02:40.220apprentice called a snap election, Bryan saved the Wildcows from the brink of destruction
00:02:48.500and delivered the most MLAs and the strongest opposition in party history.
00:02:56.500In 2017, he and Jason Kenney signed the deal that united PCs and Wildrose, creating the
00:04:43.440Very few have shed more blood, sweat, and tears through this province.
00:04:49.440And yet Bryan continues to fight on in the hopes of making Albertans the happiest, the
00:04:57.440the healthiest, the freest, and the most prosperous people in Canada and the world.
00:05:05.440I believe that Alberta needs a leader who can connect with people.
00:05:09.600I believe that leadership involves humility and a willingness to listen.
00:05:15.840I believe that Brian is a leader who can renew the United Conservative Party.
00:05:21.440It's my pleasure to introduce my friend, and the next Premier of Alberta, Brian Jean.
00:05:51.440Please, please sit down, for those who are going to camp.
00:06:17.440My friends, my friends, first of all, Steve, thank you so much for the introduction, and thank you, my friends, for being here tonight.
00:06:26.680My friends that have supported me for so many years in so many things, politically.
00:06:32.420One time I thought I was out, and I came back, and you supported me.
00:06:35.700Another time I thought I was out, and you came back and supported me again.
00:06:40.100So with all my old friends, my loyal friends, loyalty means a lot, and it really means the world for me.
00:06:47.440And I recognize a lot of faces here, folks who have been out to support me for a long time.
00:06:57.440And I also want to thank all the new supporters, all the new faces.
00:07:03.440Because there's a lot of new faces. Thank you for being here.
00:07:07.440In fact, that's a great starting point for my remarks.
00:07:11.440Ladies and gentlemen, you'll have noticed as I have, all of the fresh voices that I used to echo through today's politics, here and on.
00:07:21.440There's been a shift. There's been a shift.
00:07:25.440People who have never participated before, who have stayed on the sidelines, who aren't saying, political by nature, well, they're here.
00:07:35.440They're awake. They know they need to be involved. They know they need to listen. They need to be heard. They want to make a difference in politics in Alberta. And they will. They and there are plenty of them here today. These folks who are waiting for how vital the moment is.
00:07:56.640They are here to take us over the top. They are here to propel this campaign to victory.
00:08:10.640You see, in the past, almost half of Albertans didn't vote. They were happy enough with politics and politicians.
00:08:19.640They were comfortable that the differences between this political party and that political party wouldn't make too much difference in their lives.
00:08:30.640But that changed about ten years ago, as more and more voters began to feel that politicians just simply weren't listening to them.
00:10:29.000The grassroots were not consulted. Our leadership looked entitled and arrogant, telling us to do one thing, while they acted like the rules did not apply to them.
00:10:41.000Sitting around being served Jameson's whiskey on the sky palestine, passing laws that were never put into the course, even as they bribed about them in political speeches.
00:10:51.000Needless fights were picked with the everyday alberts who are central to our rural and small city community, our doctors, nurses, and teachers.
00:11:06.000And now, with an election coming just a year from now, we are at risk of getting the NDP
00:12:00.400This leadership race must solve this problem. This leadership race matters. Together, together, we must revive, revitalize, and renew the United Conservative Party of Alberta.
00:12:15.400That is why Albertans who are new to the political scene need to get involved.
00:12:22.400I'm asking you to head over to brianjean.ca and sign up.
00:12:27.400We can renew our party, and we can, as a result, renew Alberta.
00:12:32.400People who participate in political parties are the ones who set the agendas and make the differences.
00:12:39.400When we get it right, your influence in our heart determines what happens in government, and our lives.
00:12:48.420And when we get it wrong, well, everybody suffers as a result.
00:12:55.420And when the grassroots supporters get to keep us focused on what really matters here, well, that's a good thing.
00:13:03.280Too often it's the gatekeepers, it's the vested interest, it's the lobbyist, and it's the backroom money that sets the direction for your lives.
00:13:17.280And my friends, it's profitable for them.
00:13:20.280The backroom money lobbyist insiders have profited from every decision they influence, and they've profited from every failure they've caused.
00:13:30.280Meanwhile, normal, everyday Albertans like you have suffered.
00:13:35.280We have been left behind, and we have not been listened to.
00:13:39.280We have been disappointed time and time again.
00:13:44.280Albertans have not benefited in any way from the mistakes and the missteps and the missed opportunities.
00:14:28.980We are asking you and all of them to sign up at ryanjean.ca and sign up to make a difference.
00:14:34.980We are asking you to become involved and help set the direction, the tone, and the spirit of our party in a way that reflects the spirit and the tone of our problems.
00:14:44.980Imagine the Alberta that we can create together.
00:14:51.560I'm inviting more everyday Albertans to help take control of the destiny of this party, the UCP, and the destiny of Alberta more than ever before.
00:15:02.040I'm asking everyday Albertans to get involved as an exercise in autonomy.
00:15:06.560They want and deserve a government that is in line with their wants, their needs, and their values.
00:15:13.060Autonomy for Albertans is the central theme of my campaign.
00:15:19.060Personal autonomy, financial autonomy, professional autonomy, community autonomy,
00:15:26.060and of course, Alberta's greater autonomy within Canada.
00:15:32.060Our economy is about a person's ability or a community's ability or our province's ability to act according to our values and interests.
00:15:50.060In the next several weeks, I'm going to champion ideas that ensure that Albertans are the happiest, healthiest, the most free and the most prosperous people in Canada and the world.
00:16:02.060Our campaign will talk about transparency and accountability in government so that our
00:16:13.060MLAs can and truly will represent their constituents.
00:16:19.060So that the caucus can represent voters to the government and not end up representing
00:16:26.060for representing the Premier's office to voters.
00:16:34.060The NLAs will keep the values and interests of everyday Albertans front and centre
00:16:39.060in how a renewed United Conservative Party writes laws and creates regulations.
00:16:45.060I will propose an Alberta Accountability Act that strengthens our democracy.
00:16:51.060And my friends, we know we need to do that all the way, but right now especially, to regain the trust of Albertans.
00:17:03.740And my friends, our campaign will also talk about community building and the incredible importance of sustaining Albertans communities, big, small, rural, and urban.
00:17:14.580of respecting their uniqueness and their differences, of recognizing that one-size-fits-all doesn't always work.
00:17:23.700And with that comes a recognition that in so many of our communities,
00:17:28.260it is the presence of doctors, nurses, and teachers that sustain many of the things that really matter to all of us.
00:17:35.080My friends, provincial government decisions can make our towns, our counties, and our
00:19:09.080Canada and the world need Alberta energy, and we will deliver it.
00:19:17.080I will push for a forward-looking agenda of economic prosperity.
00:19:25.080And of course, our campaign will talk about getting more autonomy for Albertans within Canada.
00:19:31.080About acting on the amazing mandate that Albertans gave this government in an equalization referendum.
00:19:37.08062% of Albertans gave us permission to force the rest of Canada to the constitutional negotiation table.
00:19:45.080No Alberta government has ever, ever had a bigger mandate to act.
00:19:50.080Canada is broken in many ways. But there is a strong leap that Albertans, with the rest of the country, can fix it.
00:19:59.080We can fix Canada. We work together and keep our autonomy strong.
00:20:05.080For some years now we have been talking about a fair deal, but we have been too afraid to go to the negotiating table and try to get any deal at all, fair or not.
00:20:14.080We need to try for that fair deal. Constitutional negotiations will get Canada's attention.
00:21:10.080Or Albertans will discover that the rest of this country doesn't want to recognize our legitimate concern, and that will lead to more and more Albertans agreeing to use all the tools, all the powers at our disposal to make sure that we increase and protect Albertans' autonomy.
00:21:40.080And my friends, at the center of all of this is making Albertans happy. That is the end goal. Making Albertans happy.
00:21:53.080As I travel problems, and I speak with Albertans, I hear time and time again that we lost some of the Alberta people, lost some of that Alberta enthusiasm that used to define us.
00:22:14.080Alberta used to be the most optimistic, forward-looking people in Canada.
00:22:20.080Now we are angrier at government, and we are angrier at each other.