theBreaker.news Podcast: Jason Kenney picks up Alberta, but is there a bumpy road ahead?

Alberta is returning to right-wing rule, after Jason Kenney and the United Conservatives handily defeated Premier Rachel Notley's NDP government in last week’s provincial election.

An impressive 71% of voters turned out.

“[United Conservative Party] did remarkably well, getting to 55% of the vote, it’s not something you see every day,” said Research Co. pollster Mario Canseco in an interview with theBreaker.news Podcast host Bob Mackin.

The NDP share of the vote was lower than last election when it won, but still historically better for a party used to getting much less in a province dominated by conservative politics. Now Alberta has a clear two-party system after the Alberta Party lost its three seats.

“It’s starting to look a lot like the United States, which is something that many people in Alberta will like,” Canseco said.

But there could be a bumpy road ahead for Kenney, his panoply of populist promises and his trademark blue pickup truck. Successful UCP Calgary-East candidate Peter Singh's auto parts business was raided by RCMP in the final days of the campaign, which could be connected to a police investigation into Kenney's unite the right leadership campaign. Canseco said it could erode Kenney's base of support, if police find evidence of wrongdoing. 

On this edition of theBreaker.news Podcast, Canseco also talks about the ripple effects of Kenney's election for B.C. leaders and the upcoming federal election. He also takes a glance south of the border, where the redacted Mueller Report was finally released. No charges for President Donald Trump for collusion with Russians or obstruction of justice, but the report revealed how Trump tried to shut down the probe.

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