In this episode of the Calgary Stampede, I sit down with Alberta s newly elected Conservative Party Leader, Jason Kenney, to talk about his campaign and what it means to be a conservative leader in Canada. We talk about why he's running for re-election, why he thinks Western Canada should not be taken for granted, and what he would do if elected.
00:00:26.260But you were elected as a Member of the Provincial Legislature, Member of Provincial Parliament to the Ontario Legislature, representing a Toronto constituency.
00:00:37.600Conservatives put a lot of effort into fighting for seats in the GTA, because that's where the votes are and they swing back and forth.
00:00:47.100That's where the elections are decided and the West largely gets taken for granted.
00:00:51.060That's Saskatchewan, Alberta and the interior of BC, the part of BC we consider part of the West.
00:00:59.320Why should Albertans trust you as a Conservative leader to not take them for granted the way we have often felt in the past?
00:01:05.600I think I've been blessed to develop my reputation on the basis of trust, is that Canadians can count on me to make a difficult decision,
00:01:14.940even when the balance of the political class will not.
00:01:17.940And it's well known that, you know, you might disagree with what I have to say and that's fine, that's democracy, but at the very least, you'll always know where I stand.
00:01:26.940I take pride in the fact that I won a key North Toronto riding, it's exemplary of the fact that Conservatives can win in the city and Prime Minister Harper understood very well and in fact multiple times said that you can't win a national election without making a strong gain inside the GTA and I believe that I'm able to do so.
00:01:49.940We have to speak to many communities that call urban centers home and we have to speak about their issues without fear, whether it's housing, whether it's transit, I think we also have to speak to young people on issues that affect them most.
00:02:04.940And we have to be willing to speak to new communities. I'm an immigrant to Canada. I've had every blessing that Canada had to offer. And I think that immigrants come to Canada for democracy and opportunity, which are the themes of my campaign.
00:02:20.940Those are actually conservative principles and we should not be ceding them to the Liberals. So I think I'm actually very excited about the prospect of leading an election and winning in the cities.
00:02:33.940But as it comes to the West, I love Canada coast to coast. I think people know that very, very well. And it's now my third time in Alberta during this race. And I'm very, very optimistic that I'll be able to deliver for Alberta and the rest of Western Canada, if you'll permit that to be the next question.
00:02:52.940I know you got something to say on equalization and I'll ask you to hold that. Keep that one in the chamber for now.
00:03:01.940But so I want to talk about the feeling of being taken for granted here, especially conservative Westerners, Albertans, Interior, BC, Saskatchewan, feeling that our votes are in the bag.
00:03:15.940You guys could do anything and we're still going to vote conservative. And so as a result, we are just, we're just not, you know, we're not a battleground state.
00:03:24.940These American parlance, the GTA is where it's at. And then some parts in around Vancouver and here and there, like those swing areas, they get the attention because that's strategically smart.
00:03:34.940That's where you want to spend your time and your money in campaigns, but that's really where the focus is. And as a result, there's a big feeling in the West that we're taken for granted.
00:03:43.940Hold on equalization for a second, but what would you do as a conservative leader to make Westerners feel that that vote isn't just in the bag and taken for granted?
00:03:54.940First of all, I think that the best thing we can do to unite our country and heal regional divides is to unleash our economic opportunity.
00:04:02.940And that means availing ourselves of Canada's natural resources. I think that Canada's natural resources are a blessing.
00:04:09.940I'm not going to let oil and gas be canceled. And I'll encourage pedal to the metal on natural resources.
00:04:15.940You will never have to worry about production or being able to transport your oil.
00:04:20.940I think all of Canada benefits from Alberta's energy. And so that's something I'll encourage.
00:04:26.940Second of all, I will speak to equalization separately, but it's well known that I have committed to abolish equalization before the end of my first term and provide a tax cut, a corresponding tax cut across the board.
00:04:37.940Third, I believe in the principle that all Canadian votes should be weighed equally.
00:04:43.940The fact that we have postal writings in Calgary, one in Edmonton, close to 150,000 by population.
00:04:51.940We have electoral districts in other provinces between 50 and 70, some even with 35, 40,000 voters.
00:05:00.940And so I think that it's rightful for every Canadian to expect that their voice and vote is weighed equally.
00:05:07.940And finally, it's the recognition. I had dinner yesterday with a group of folks here in Calgary.
00:05:11.940And a woman said to me, it's like, it's as if, you know, they come and we're used and then they come back and then they punch us in the guts.
00:05:21.940And I think that we need to speak about the fact clearly that there are not just regional divides, but there are sentiments of separation that need to concern every Canadian.
00:05:32.940And it's not just taking your vote for granted, but making sure that you remain part and parcel and important part of the Confederation.
00:06:11.940I think a lot of that was perhaps the provincial government was kind of consumed by internal political chaos and didn't really try to do much about it.
00:06:17.940It just didn't really have much political capital.
00:06:19.940But either way, Albertans expressed themselves in a referendum, remove equalization from the Constitution.
00:06:26.940I know you've got a pretty, I'll say bold, some would say brash, policy for equalization.
00:06:35.940Brash is not a term that I typically get described as.
00:06:39.940Look, I love Canada's Constitution and I lecture on it occasionally.
00:06:43.940Section 36 of the Constitution prescribes that the federal government is committed to the principle of equalization to ensure that each province is able to deliver a comparable level of services.
00:06:54.940So I think that it would be rightfully interpreted that the section is somewhat conditional.
00:06:59.940And the condition precedent that you must meet is that a province is unable to provide a comparable level of service.
00:07:05.940Well, what if we go out there and we determine that provinces are in fact able to provide comparable levels of service?
00:07:11.940And what is a comparable level of service?
00:07:14.940If one province has seven or eight dollar a day day care, that's a very different type of service that another province might provide.
00:07:20.940And what if we were to go out and say, well, wait a minute, even if we were to concede that someone is unable to provide a comparable level of service?
00:07:29.940Well, why not? And should their unwillingness in develop their natural resources, for instance, come at the expense of other provinces needing to pay equalization?
00:07:41.940So I know my way around the courtroom.
00:07:44.940I'm not I don't think that we need will need litigation.
00:07:48.940But what I will do is on day one, I'll invite the provinces and I'll say, look, let's have a review as to your whether you're actually able to provide a comparable level of services.
00:07:57.940If you cannot, then let's work to unleash to unlock your natural resources before the end of my first term, because it's time to do away with it.
00:08:05.940I'm running against socialism in Canada.
00:08:08.940I think that getting rid of equalization is going to help heal regional divides.
00:08:12.940But most importantly, I think that we need to turn Canada into the national resources superpower that we ought to be.
00:08:20.940And ending equalization is an important way to get there.
00:08:29.940So let's go a bit beyond equalization is the one that gets a lot of attention, but it's not just that.
00:08:35.940A lot of the concern is around federal overreach in many things.
00:08:41.940Anger ranges from being able to keep our more money, but putting out firewalls demands and to demands for outright independence among some.
00:08:51.940But last last October, we commissioned Main Street to do a poll around support for independence.
00:08:58.940Support in Alberta for independence was at 40 percent if combined with other Western provinces was up to 45.
00:09:04.940Other provinces or other pollsters have put it lower.
00:09:08.940I think it depends if you call it independence or separatism.
00:09:10.940I think it's like calling someone newly single or divorced.
00:09:13.940It's the same thing, but has a different connotation.
00:09:15.940So it depends how you ask the question.
00:09:18.940Either way, there is a significant minority of Albertans who are moving from the West wants in to the West wants out.
00:09:25.940Beyond your proposal to abolish equalization, what would you do to ensure the West is in and wants to stay in?
00:09:34.940Look, offering a meaningful national conversation.
00:09:39.940As I've said before, I think many folks, especially in Ottawa, do not appreciate that there is life outside of Quebec and Ontario.
00:09:47.940And I think it's time for us not to just recognize that there's so much strength in our diversity, but also in the fact that we need our country together and united.
00:10:02.940We're facing unprecedented challenges around the world.
00:10:07.940And this would be devastating for Canada to to suffer any type of exit.
00:10:14.940And so beyond equalization, I will certainly look at the representation formula.
00:10:20.940I think it needs to be simplified considerably.
00:10:23.940I read a lot of text and I'm having difficulty consuming that text.
00:10:27.940The only exception I would make is maybe for provinces and territories.
00:10:32.940I will not have a situation where a territory does not have at least one MP.
00:10:36.940I think that that's probably sensible.
00:10:38.940But beyond that, I think that we need a fair representation formula.
00:10:42.940As I said, natural resources is a gateway.
00:10:46.940But also, I think in the last couple of years, and people know that I've been very passionate about what's been happening to our country,
00:10:54.940vis-a-vis the division that the Prime Minister has been peddling.
00:10:57.940And at the very least, if we had government extricate itself out of our lives to the extent that it's very still much involved in public health,
00:11:08.940to the extent that it still stirs division among Canadians.
00:11:11.940I think we're all going to simmer down.
00:12:12.940The idea was not to compromise lives by suggesting or, you know, if you look at my two page letter of January 15th to the Premier, 2021,
00:12:25.940there's maybe less than a line in there about the economy.
00:12:28.940The idea was that we have to factor in the toll, the collateral harm of lockdowns into our public health exercise because we're potentially costing lives.
00:12:37.940And regretfully, the evidence is bearing the case.
00:12:40.940So your fight when you got started was provincial, but your national...
00:12:54.940The lockdowns were pretty much provincial, but mandates, you know, masks and vaccines obviously are a big part federally.
00:13:03.940So leaving aside the provincial stuff, because you're in the national stage now, what would you do as Prime Minister to ensure those kinds of restrictions on freedoms never happen again?
00:13:30.940And I do support a reform that would provide for more private delivery systems with a single pair.
00:13:37.940But at the same time, I will also amend the Canada Health Act to provide that we can never have discrimination against the Canadian because of their medical status ever.
00:14:18.940You can't just tap your chest and yell freedom.
00:14:21.940And to those that try to make this argument as simplistic as freedom versus mandates or freedom versus health, that, respectfully, I don't think is the right prism.
00:14:33.940I would propose that we're sensible people and intelligent and we can have a conversation if conversation is permitted.
00:14:44.940You know, liberty is prescribed in Section 7, but we still incarcerate people if we believe that democratically established principles warrant so.
00:14:54.940So I didn't say we have to fight for freedom.
00:15:01.940The government carries the burden if it's going to engage in this remarkable action of foreclosing on our freedoms.
00:15:08.940And I don't believe that the case actually warrants so.
00:15:11.940We knew very early on that 80% of the risk is in long-term care homes.
00:15:15.940We knew that the virus is considerably more transmissible, making some of the metrics that we're worried about, like hospitalization and death considerably lower.
00:15:26.940Instead, we continue to operate as if we're still stuck in March or April 2020.
00:15:34.940And so once we actually look at some of the metrics and appreciate what we've learned, thankfully,
00:15:41.940then there was no reason to engage in this remarkable public health exercise that was so devastating and will be devastating, I think, for generations, especially on our children who regress considerably.
00:15:51.940So that brings me back to your question on democracy, which is allow for discussion.
00:15:57.940And that means I will eliminate all the preconditions that precipitated what had transpired.
00:16:04.940And that is the limit on our ability to communicate, whether it's in Parliament.
00:16:09.940I suffered from a deficit of democracy in Parliament.
00:16:11.940Our ability to communicate on social media.
00:16:13.940I will enter into an arrangement with social media giants to ensure that we're not going to be abridging the right of Canadians
00:17:05.940And the government can pull your funding at any time.
00:17:07.940And, you know, I think a lot of journalists who are in that media, they're doing their best.
00:17:11.940But there's got to be, at least in more of the business side and the publishers, there's got to be that sort of Damocles hanging over them,
00:17:19.940that if they cross some line, the government's going to pull their funding and they're in trouble.
00:17:23.940And I think that's a clear and obvious consequences.
00:17:26.940We've now got the Online News Act forcibly, you know, forced certain ranking of government approved news sources.
00:17:36.940The Online Streaming Act to create taxes on independent content creators to redistribute it to big ones to create CanCon that no one will probably watch.
00:17:44.940It's a large suite of legislation, and I know it's a lot to take in.
00:17:49.940But if you're Prime Minister, what would be the fate of these bills and the media bailout?
00:17:55.940I will defund and I'll spin off CBC by lunchtime.
00:18:18.940One of the new phenomenas we've witnessed in the last couple of years is the record buys of government, of ad buys, advertising buys by government in the media.
00:20:40.940So I can buy the anti-aircraft missiles.
00:20:42.940So I'm definitely going to repeal the regulation.
00:20:45.940And I'm going to roll back on the legislation that's proposed right now.
00:20:50.940Keep in mind, so York Center is regretfully home to one of the highest rates of gun violence in the country.
00:20:58.940And all of that violence is perpetuated with illegal guns.
00:21:02.940And so any liberal suggestion that any of their attempts to, in some cases even, expropriate the property of Canadians would make a dent in crime or any meaningful difference in crime is false.
00:21:21.940This is an issue that we failed to communicate as conservatives.
00:21:25.940Almost all gun crime is committed with illegal guns.
00:21:28.940Instead of penalizing law-abiding gun owners, I would propose that we actually tackle the issue.
00:21:34.940And that is the flow, the illegal smuggling of guns across the border.
00:21:40.940The Canada Border Agency is dysfunctional, much like most federal agencies these days.
00:21:45.940It's got bad culture, it's poorly managed, and it's underfunded.
00:21:51.940I'm going to restore a culture of responsibility and professionalism in government.
00:21:56.940And that would include the Canada Border Services Agency.
00:22:00.940We need to focus on preventing the flow of illegal guns instead of punishing law-abiding Canadians.
00:22:07.940Let's talk a little bit about the Senate, as I've talked to some of the other candidates.
00:23:27.940And I'm not sure that there's appetite in Canada for constitutional reform,
00:23:32.940especially given how divided we are as a nation these days is you need very, very broad consensus.
00:23:38.940That doesn't mean that I'm not going to have a conversation.
00:23:41.940I was so pleasantly surprised towards the end of February,
00:23:47.940where on the Tuesday or Wednesday, the invocation of the Emergencies Act was on Monday.
00:23:53.940After the alleged emergency was behind us.
00:23:58.940And of course, I'm of a very strong view that it was an unlawful invocation of emergencies.
00:24:03.940But on the Wednesday, the Prime Minister pulled the legislation from the Senate because he didn't have the votes in the Senate.
00:24:09.940And all of a sudden, a lot of Canadians, including myself, and I'm very interested in these subject matters,
00:24:16.940realized that we have a house of sober second thought, as John A. McDonald famously noted.
00:24:24.940And they were able to make a material difference in the development of our nation's history as it was about to invoke the successor of the War Measures Act for the first time.
00:24:36.940So I think that there may be a greater role for the Senate to play.
00:24:40.940This is regretfully probably more of an academic discussion, which I enjoy very much.