Blue Storm: The Rise and Fall of Jason Kenney

Description

In 2019, the United Conservative Party, under the leadership of Jason Kenney, unseated the New Democratic Party to form the provincial government of Alberta. A restoration of conservative power in a province that had seen the Progressive Conservatives win every election from 1971-2015, UCP quickly began to make political waves. This is the first scholarly analysis of the 2019 election and the first years of the UCP government, with special focus on the path of Jason Kenney’s rise to, and fall from, provincial political power. It opens with an examination of the election from a number of vantage points, including the campaign, polling, and online politics. It provides fascinating insight into internal UCP politics with chapters on the divisions within the party, gender and the UCP, and the symbolism of Kenney’s famous blue pickup truck. Explorations of oil and gas policy, the Energy War Room, Alberta’s budgets, health care, education, the public sector, Alberta’s cultural industries, and more provide unprecedented insight into the actions, motivations, and impacts of Kenney’s UCP Government in power. Contributions from top political watchers, journalists, and academics provide a wide range of methods and perspectives. Concluding with a survey of the impacts of COVID-19 in Alberta and a comparison between Jason Kenney and Doug Ford, Blue Storm is essential reading for everyone interested in Alberta politics and the tumultuous first years of the UCP government. Providing key insights from perspectives across the political spectrum, this book is a captivating deep-dive into an unprecedented party, its often controversial politics, and its unforgettable leader. Front Cover Half Title Page Series Page Full Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Preface I. Setting the Scene Introduction: Jason Kenneyand the Perfect Storm II. The 2019 Election 1 | Two Combative Leaders, Two Disparate Parties, and OneBitter Campaign: The 2019 Alberta Election 2 | The Alberta 2019 Election Online: A Turn to Two Party Electoral Dominance? 3 | Standard Error: The Polls inthe 2019 Alberta Election and Beyond III. Inside the United Conservative Party 4 | Divisions among Alberta’s“Conservatives” 5 | Albertans and the Fair Deal 6| Policing and Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government 7 | Playing the Populist Victim: Women, Gender, Representation, and the United Conservative Party 8 | Kenney’s Ride: Albertan Neo-Liberal Myths and the Symbology of a Blue Dodge Ram IV. Oil and Gas Policies 9 | Alberta’s Climate Policy: Public Kenney versus Private Kenney 10 | Jason Kenney, Energy, and Pipelines in the 2019 Alberta Election: A Study in Hubris 11 | Just Our Facts: The Energy War Room’s Adventures in Branded Content V. Alberta’s Fiscal Situation 12 | The Long Slide towards Fiscal Reckoning: Managing Alberta’s Finances in an Age of Decline 13 | Always More Than It Seems: Rural Alberta and the Politics of Decline 14 | Cultural Industries Under the United Conservative Party VI. Health Care, Education, and Public Sector Policies 15 | Bitter Battles: The United Conservative Party’s War on Health Care Workers 16 | Education and the United Conservative Party of Alberta 17 | Riding the Roller Coaster: Post-Secondary Education in Alberta under Kenney 18 | Labour in the Time of COVID VII. COVID in Alberta and Ontario 19 | Comparing the Kenney and Ford Governments 20 | “With Comorbidities”: The Politics of COVID-19 and the Kenney Government VIII. Conclusion 21 | Conclusion: States of Uncertainty Contributors Index Back Cover