Although the 2019 Alberta provincial election is still probably at least two months away, the unofficial campaign is already getting started.
In particular, Premier Rachel Notley and United Conservative (UCP) Leader Jason Kenney are already trading barbs on a daily basis, each claiming the political high ground and each attacking the other on many issues.
Whether either leader can deal his or her opponent a knockout blow at this early stage remains doubtful. What is certain is that two months can sometimes be a long time in politics, leaving lots of time for one leader to stumble and falter.
For her part, Notley says Kenney’s UCP is wholly unfit to lead the province.
“Again and again, Jason Kenney has shown he just can’t be trusted,” said Notley. “Over the past week, Albertans learned that Jason Kenney plans to give a $700-million tax cut to the highest income earners and pay for it through ruthless cuts to health care and education, and tolls on our roads and highways.
“The question before Albertans is who can you trust to look out for what matters to you, the patients in our hospitals and the children in our schools? When the downturn hit our government resisted calls to slash and burn services. The conservatives did that in the '90s and we’re still paying for it today.”
For his part, Kenney says the NDP government has failed Albertans on several fronts, including in the areas of taxation and resource development.
Like Notley, Kenney says his party, and his party alone, can guide the province forward over the next four years.
“I think the huge mistake that Premier Notley made was writing Justin Trudeau a blank political cheque, creating an alliance with the Trudeau government that has done everything it can to prevent us from getting a pipeline built,” said Kenney.
Although the official 2019 election is still a couple of months away, the campaign is already shaping up to be a down-and-out battle between the two main party leader
Dan Singleton is the Mountain View Gazette editor.
