It’s Notley vs Kenney as Alberta Legislature opens

Albertans finally get to see UCP leader Jason Kenney face off against Premier Rachel Notley in the legislature when the spring sitting gets underway Thursday.

Their face-to-face meeting has been much anticipated, and pipelines will likely be the early focus of their debates.

Mount Royal University Political Scientist Lori Williams told CityNews Kenney will want to make his mark right away.

“We know that Jason Kenney is pretty tenacious, very tough, very matter-of-fact, knowledgeable, capable, all of those sorts of things and so all of that is what he’s going to try to bring to bear into the Alberta Legislature,” she said.

But she thinks both Kenney and Notley will need to be careful about looking too tough, because voters don’t like it when politicians push things too far.

“It’ll almost be like a dance where there’s going to be an action by one side, a statement by the other side and then some sort of response by the other and we’ll see what is most effective in terms of communicating to Albertans,” said Williams, who added in the past Kenney has been guilty of making accusations that aren’t accurate.

“You may recall when the electoral reform legislation came through, he was suggesting that somebody could fly into Alberta, vote, and leave and not even live here,” she said. “That’s clearly not what the legislation says.”

Expect Kenney to argue Notley has not been tough enough on B.C. when it comes to pipelines but to her earlier point, Williams warned he’ll have to know when to reign in the rhetoric.

She said the bottom line is Kenney will look to frame himself as a better defender of Alberta’s interests than Notley, showing that he is not only capable as a leader and potential premier, but also that his vision for the future of the province is one people can buy into.

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