Premier Jason Kenney speaking in Lethbridge in July 2021. (Lethbridge News Now)

By Canadian Press

Kenney being hounded by divided UCP caucus over COVID handling

Sep 22, 2021 | 4:18 PM

CALGARY – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has faced down a restive and divided United Conservative Party caucus, focusing on COVID-19 while managing to avoid a straw vote on his leadership.

Kenney has been challenged by some of his legislature members for some of his decisions on COVID, which has escalated into a crisis that has overwhelmed the provincial health system and forced Alberta to seek outside help.

UCP backbencher Searle Turton says it was a wide-ranging caucus meeting, but there was no vote of confidence on Kenney’s leadership.

He says the focus of the debate was about the pandemic.

Some of Kenney’s caucus members have criticized his health measures as being too little too late, while others say he has gone too far and violated individual rights by imposing a form of voluntary vaccine passports.

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The party’s vice-president of policy has already called for Kenney to resign and says enough constituency associations have signed on to force an early party review and vote on Kenney’s leadership.

(The Canadian Press)