Kenney Urged to Bring BC "To Heel" - Sounds Like Fighting Words to Me.

Ivison's column concerns a communications study by Navigator that concludes Albertans expect their premier-elect, Jason Kenney, to come out swinging against anyone and everyone who stands in the way of pipelines to tidewater.

Just as protesting pipelines has become a proxy for climate action in environmental circles, so building them is viewed as an antidote to the economic anxiety felt by Albertans. The focus groups vented their frustration at the damage done to the Albertan economy by the lack of support from other Canadian jurisdictions. 

They projected a sense that the downturn is structural, rather than cyclical, with participants portraying Calgary as a ghost town. “It felt like an Old West town and there’s tumbleweeds,” said one young woman. 

When the federal Liberal government and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were discussed, frustration turned to rage and bewilderment. “I don’t understand why he hates us,” said one female millennial primary school teacher. 

It’s this sense of grievance that is likely to persuade Kenney to take a hard line. 

While many voters want the premier-designate to attempt diplomacy before turning off the taps that supply British Columbia, the study suggests voters are prepared to “take meaningful action to bring the B.C. government to heel.” There is substantially less patience and more anger with the federal and Quebec governments.

Nothing like cheap threats to warm the heart, eh?