Premiership of Jason Kenney

As promised in his election platform, Premier Kenney's first piece of legislation was Bill 1: An Act to Repeal the Carbon Tax,[18][39] which had been put into place in November 2015 during the premiership of Rachel Notley.[40] Premier Kenney was one of four provincial premiers that challenged the constitutionality of Canada's carbon tax.[41] Kenney has loudly "denounced" carbon taxes and threatened "more legal action" after a Saskatchewan superior court dismissed the legal "challenge of the constitutionality of the federal carbon tax."[41] Both Ford and Kenney were strongly critical of carbon taxes saying they will "either trigger a recession or sink the oil patch," according to an October 10, 2019 article in The National Observer.[41] Premier Kenney had said that Climate Leadership Plan introduced by Rachel Notley "crippled the Alberta economy."[42] This claim was refuted by the November 15, 2019 Government of Alberta report, "Economic Assessment of Climate Policy in Alberta,"[43] which was submitted by the Kenney's government as a court document to the Alberta Court of Appeal, as part of Alberta's constitutional challenge of the federal government's carbon tax. The Alberta government's "own analysis" revealed that Notley's carbon tax economic effect was "an average reduction in annual growth of Alberta's gross domestic product (GDP) of only 0.05%."[42]

In December 2019, the federal government accepted Kenney's Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) Bill 19 legislation—a provincial carbon tax on industrial emitters—which helps Canada reach its Paris Agreement goals.[20] Industrial emitters will pay "$30 per tonne of emissions" with an estimated reduction in emissions of "32 megatonnes in 2030." The funds collected will go towards "deficit reduction and technological advancements with respect to climate change." There is no carbon tax on consumers.[21]

On July 4, 2019, Premier Kenney announced a one-year $2.5 million Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns.[24][25] The inquiry will include interviews, research, and potentially, public hearings.[44] Kenney announced the creation of the public inquiry along with the "Energy War Room" in a release by the UCP party during his election campaign. Kenney cited "the intrepid reporting of journalist Vivian Krause," who has spent ten years examining foreign funding of Canadian environmental non-profit organizations (ENGOs).[45]

In a talk at Manhattan Institute on September 12, 2018, "The Real Fuel of the Future: Natural Gas", Kenney said that there were "domestic economic benefits from an expanded shale gas industry," but there was a "potential American upset of the former hegemony in global gas trade."[46] Kenney said that these "fake accounts advocated for 'the complete abandonment of specific fuel sources, such as fossil fuels, by touting exaggerated claims about alternative energy sources,' while sometimes both promoting and mocking climate change, all intended to “generate further domestic [U.S.] controversy."[46]

Minister Schweitzer appointed a forensic accountant, Steve Allan,[44] as commissioner of the Public Inquiry, which is tasked with investigating foreign-funded efforts to undermine the oil and gas industry.[44] In November 2019, CBC News reported that Allan, and "two other business associates" had supported and/or campaigned for Schweitzer in 2018 and 2019, and that Allan had awarded sole-source contracts for them after he was appointed to the $290,000 job as Commissioner.[47] In response to a request for an investigation into a violation of Alberta's Conflicts of Interest Act, in July 2020, Alberta's ethics commissioner Marguerite Trussler found that Minister Schweitzer did not breach the Act when he appointed Allan.[48] In July 2019, shortly after his appointment as chair of the Public Inquiry, Allan had awarded a $905,000 sole-source contract for the inquiry to the Calgary law firm, Dentons Canada LLP, where he was a former partner, and where, Toby Allen, Allan's son is a "partner and his good friend, Quincy Smith, also works", according to the Canadian Press (CP), and other media sources.[49][50] In her ruling Trussler said, "It does stretch credibility that Mr. Allan did not consider whether or not there may possibly be a conflict of interest in his engaging of Dentons as counsel for the inquiry, given that, for all intents and purposes, the firm gave him free office space and both his close friend (although that alone is not significant) and his son were partners at the firm...[However], [n]either the minister, his children, nor his direct associates had any personal or particular interest in, or anything to gain from, the appointment of Mr. Allan as inquiry commissioner".[48]

In September 2019, Vancouver-based Ecojustice issued a letter of warning of potential legal challenge to commissioner Allan asking for a response within 30 days.[51] On July 27, 2020, Ecojustice requested that the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta stop the Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns until the court gave its ruling on their November judicial review application.[52]

The University of Calgary's Martin Olszynski and Shaun Fluker from the Faculty of Law, raised concerns about the Alberta Inquiry "from the perspective of the rule of law and procedural fairness."[53] Their colleagues said that the Inquiry could unjustifiably violate the "freedom of expression of the Canadian organizations it is aimed at as well as those associated with such organizations, including their members and supporters."[53]

On June 25, Minister Savage announced that the deadline for the Public Inquiry's final report has been extended to October 30, 2020, from July 2 and that the Inquiry's budget has been increased from $2.5 million to $3.5 million. The added funds will be diverted from the Canadian Energy Centre's budget.[54]

Commissioner Allen provided inquiry participants with several reports funded and commissioned by the Public Inquiry and a reading list, which included False Alarm: How Climate Change Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Climate[55] by Bjørn Lomborg, and Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All[56] by Michael Shellenberger.[57] Both Lomborg and Shellenberger are climate change denialists. The commissioned readings include a 133-page report by United Kingdom-based historian, Tammy Lynn Nemeth—the "Nemeth Report",[58] an Energy in Depth report entitled "Foreign Funding Targeting Canada's Energy Sector",[59] and a background paper—the "Cooper Report" by Barry Cooper, a University of Calgary political scientist professor and key member of the Friends of Science.[60]

In June 2019, Premier Kenney announced the creation of a Calgary-based $30 million 'war room' to "fight misinformation related to oil and gas."[26] In an October 9, 2019 press release, Minister Savage announced the appointment of former journalist and lobbyist Tom Olsen as CEO and managing director of the war room which will be called the Canadian Energy Centre Limited (CECL).[61][62]

The Canadian Energy Centre Limited is a private corporation, which means that it is not subject to Alberta's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act).[63] Premier Kenney's press secretary Christine Myatt said that keeping CECL's internal operations secret is a "tactical and/or strategic advantage to the very foreign-funded special interests the CEC is looking to counter."[63]

CEC's board of directors is composed of Minister Savage, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, Doug Schweitzer, and Jason Nixon, Minister of Environment and Parks.[63]

The Canadian Energy Centre (CEC) was launched on December 11 by Premier Kenney, Minister Savage and Olsen at a press conference at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).[64] The CEC will "highlight achievements in Alberta's oil and gas sector" and will "refute what it deems to be misinformation about the industry." Kenney said the centre will "counter misinformation" "coming from some environmental groups and others seeking to landlock Alberta's oil and gas".[64] On December 11, Olsen described the centre as a place to tell the story of the oil and gas industry in Alberta, which includes rebutting its critics respectfully.[65][64]

A December 14 Medicine Hat News opinion piece,[66] that was critical of the CEC, said that the centre was not "subject to freedom-of-information searches and could be used to stifle legitimate dissent and commentary on the oil and gas industry." In his December 18 rebuttal, Olson, who is a former Calgary Herald journalist, said that "oversight" of the CEC is "rigorous" and that the centre is subject to the Fiscal Planning and Transparency Act, the Whistle Blowers Act and audits by Alberta's auditor general.[67] Olsen said that "campaigns to shut down new pipeline projects and damage the reputation of our oil and gas industry have received tens of millions of dollars from U.S. environmental foundations." This has resulted in the "landlocking of Alberta energy" which had resulted in the loss of jobs, "tens of billions of dollars" in capital, less money for public services, as well as "lower value for their shareholders that include many of the country's biggest pension plans and investment funds."[67]

The CEC logo, which was unveiled at the launch, was also used in the December 11 promotional video, on the CEC's website, "on the wall of its downtown Calgary office, and on signs".[64] By the evening of December 18, "social media users" on Twitter began to share side-by-side versions of the CEC logo and the "trademarked symbol" for Progress Software Corporation, the Massachusetts-headquartered "software giant"—Progress Software,[68][69] A December 19 Canadian Press report said that the icons were "identical, stylized sharp-angled depictions of what appear to be radiating waves... the Progress one is emerald-green and the war room version is two shades of blue."[64] According to a CP report, the Massachusetts-headquartered "software giant"—Progress Software sent an email that morning saying that it was "looking into whether Alberta's new energy war room has violated the company's trademarked logo."[68][64]

In a December 19 statement, the energy centre's CEO and managing director, Tom Olsen, said that the logo was pulled and was to be replaced.[64] Olsen said that the "design debacle" "mistake" was an "unfortunate situation".[69] He said that the CEC was in "discussions" with the marketing agency—Lead & Anchor "to determine how it happened".[69] The CEC had selected Lead & Anchor over eight other contractors proposed to the CEC by the Calgary marketing agency, Communo.[70]

Steven Lee, the founder of the Foundation for Environmental Stewardship (FES) became the first to be "scrutinized by the centre".[71] Lee was criticized in a December 10 post entitled "Alberta father irked by charity group that targets fossil fuel industry" that was posted on the newly launched CEC website.[72][71] An irate parent was concerned about the presentation and the Three Percent Project handout given to his fifteen-year-old son at his Airdrie, Alberta school on December 5, 2019.[72][71] Lee received a phone message from a caller saying, "I'm a reporter with the Canadian Energy Centre. Our website is launching next week and we will be writing a story about the 3% Project, which has raised concerns among some parents who reached out to us following presentations at their children's schools."[71] The 3% Project is a "flagship project" of FES, established by then-19-year-old Steve Lee in 2012.[73]

On June 25, 2020, Minister Savage announced that a million dollars would be transferred from the CEC's budget to that of the Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns.[54]

In March 2021, the government-funded war room launched a petition against Netflix's Bigfoot Family, a cartoon for children because it was "brainwashing our kids with anti-oil and gas propaganda." Kenney defended the petition, saying the cartoon attempts to "defame, in the most vicious way possible, in the impressionable minds of kids, the largest industry in the province." University of Alberta's Andrew Leach, said the war room's "quixotic crusade" was "mind-boggling".[74]

On November 9, 2019, in a speech at the Manning Centre in Red Deer, Premier Kenney announced the creation of a Fair Deal panel, to respond to the "frustration, the anger, and even the fear felt by many Albertans and other Western Canadians, arising from our current circumstances within the Canadian federation."[75] Panel member, Jason Goodstriker, who died in January 2020, had previously served as the Alberta Regional Chief for the Assembly of First Nations and was also a councillor with the Kainai Nation.[76] On March 16, when the report was submitted there were eight members on the Panel—Oryssia Lennie, a retired civil servant, who chaired the Panel, Preston Manning, former premier Peter Lougheed's son, Stephen Lougheed, former MLA Donna Kennedy-Glans,[77] Moin Yahya, and UCP MLAs, Drew Barnes, Tany Yao, and Miranda Rosin.[78]

Among other things, Kenney had demanded "reforms to the equalization formula."[75]

CBC News reported on May 16 that the panel had submitted its final report.[79] Kenney said that he would not release either the report or the province's response to the public, until "the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over."[79]

The 64-page report made 25 recommendations that would, if implemented remove some control from the federal government, which includes pushing for changes to the Fiscal Stabilization Program that respond to concerns that Albertans are now "receiving a $2.4 billion equalization rebate." The panel advised the province to "proceed with the proposed referendum on equalization," to replace the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in rural Alberta with a provincial police force, to create an Alberta Pension Plan to replace and withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan.[80] An article in the Calgary Herald and in The Tyee said that these ideas were introduced in the Firewall Letter sent to then-premier Ralph Klein on January 24, 2001, from Stephen Harper, who was then president of the National Citizens Coalition at that time; University of Calgary professors—Tom Flanagan, Ted Morton and Rainer Knopff; Andrew Crooks, then-chair of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation; and Ken Boessenkool, who had previously served as Stockwell Day's former policy adviser.[81][82][80][Notes 2]

On June 20, 2019, the Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act (Bill 9)—informally known as the "bargaining rights bill was passed into law. Bill 9 was introduced by Minister Toews in order to "suspend and delay" hearings related to wage arbitration for public sector workers until after the MacKinnon panel report was submitted.[23][83][84]^{: 933–972}[85][86] is a bill, informally known as the "bargaining rights bill".[23] The bill affected Alberta's 180,000 public service employees represented by unions in 24 collective agreements.[86]

In January 2020, the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) started a collective bargaining process.[87] On July 7, 2021, Finance Minister Toews said that Alberta Health Services was asking for a 3% salary rollback for nurses as part of the negotiation process. Toews said that the government "The needs to "bring wages in line with other large provinces" as nurses in Alberta earn approximately 5.6% "more on average than comparable provinces".[87] He said that, this "does not diminish our deep respect for the exceptional work and dedication of public sector workers."[87] The UNA negotiator said that, "Every profession in Alberta is paid higher than comparator provinces — we used to call that the Alberta advantage."[87]

The Alberta government has set a goal of balancing the budget by 2022–2023.[88][89] As part of Premier Kenney's "main strategy to lure investment to the province, stimulate job growth, and resurrect the oilpatch" promised during his electoral campaign in their April 2019 campaign platform "Alberta Strong and Free,"[90][91] on June 28, 2019, the Job Creation Tax Cut (Alberta Corporate Tax Amendment) Act (Bill 3), introduced by Minister Toews, came into law.[22] Bill 3 included further reductions in Alberta's corporate tax rate in four stages to lower the "corporate tax rate for all businesses, from 12 to 8% by 2022-23".[92] The first cut from 12 to 11% came into effect on July 1. The second cut of 10% will come into effect in January 2020; a third decrease of 9% on January 1, 2021, and a fourth cut of 8% cut that come into effect on January 1, 2022.[92] Toews repeated the campaign pledge when he announced Bill 13, saying that the "cuts should create at least 55,000 jobs in Alberta". As well the Alberta's revised tax rates —will increase the province's "international competitiveness" as they will be lower than those of 44 out of 50 American states, according to Toews.[92] According to an October 26, 2019 CBC News article, when Bill 3 "came into effect on July 1, it gave Alberta the lowest corporate tax rate in Canada."[91] Bill 3 "formalizes" one of the UCP's election promises.[91] Several economists were cited by the UCP in their April 2019 Alberta Strong and Free Platform, including Jack Mintz, Bev Dahlby, and Aaron Stokes of Stokes Economics.[90]^: 108[93] Mintx said that the tax cuts would "lead to the creation of at least 55,000 full-time private sector jobs". Dahlby estimated that the cuts would "generate a $12.7 billion increase in nominal GDP", a "6.5% increase in per capita real GDP", and a "$1.2 billion in additional government revenues by 2023-24."[90]^: 20 The Stokes analysis predicted the "cut will result in $1 billion less net revenue for the province by 2022-23."[92][90] On March 4, 2019, the UCP had announced their intention to cut corporate taxes by one third with a prediction of adding $13 billion to Alberta's economy.[94]

On January 1, 2021, the UCP's corporation tax will drop to 9% on New Year's Day 2021 and 8% in 2022, which would represent the "lowest rate in Canada by a 30 per cent margin".[95]

The UCP's Job Creation Tax Cut was intended to lead to the "creation of at least 55,000 new jobs, according to economist Jack Mintz.[94] Since 2009, the unemployment rate in Alberta hit its lowest point—4.3%—in September 2013 and its highest—9.1%—in November 2016.[96] Alberta had experienced boom years in the energy sector starting in 2010,[97] but this boom was followed by a "long and deep" recession that lasted from 2014 to 2017—driven by both low commodity pricing globally and controversial political policies from both the Provincial and Federal Government.[97] When the UCP government were elected in the spring of 2019, Alberta's economy was still in recovery.[97] Overall, by July 2019, about 35,000 jobs had been lost in mining, oil and gas alone.[97] Since 2014, sectors that offered high-wage employment of $30 and above, saw about 100,000 jobs disappear—"construction (down more than 45,000 jobs), mining, oil and gas (down nearly 35,000), and professional services (down 18,000)," according to the economist, Trevor Tombe.[97] In 2013, oil tax revenues brought in 9.58 billion, or 21% of the total Provincial budget,[98] whereas in 2018 it had fallen to just 5.43 billion, or 11% of the Provincial budget.[99] In 2013, the energy industry had provided 7.7% of all jobs in Alberta.[100] In 2017, 140,300 jobs representing 6.1% of total employment of 2,286,900 in Alberta in 2017 was due to the energy industry.[101] The unemployment rate in Alberta peaked in November 2016 at 9.1%.[96] The unemployment rate in the spring of 2019 in Alberta was 6.7% with 21,000 jobs added in April.[102] By July 2019, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate had increased to 7.0% and remained at about that level since then.[96] By August 2019, the employment number in Alberta was 2,344,000, following the loss of 14,000 full-time jobs in July, which represented the "largest decline" in Canada according to Statistics Canada.[103] According to Statistics Canada, in November, Alberta lost 18,000 jobs and the unemployment rate was 7.2%,[104] "with declines occurring in a number of industries, led by wholesale and retail trade. On a year-over-year basis, total employment in the province was little changed."[105] As UCP popularity declined considerably by December 2019, the polling agency, ThinkHQ Public Affairs Inc., said that "governments tend to get more blame for the economy when times are tough than they do credit when times are good."[104]

In March 2020, Premier Kenney created the twelve member Economic Recovery Council composed of policy and industry experts, to advise the government in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy price crash.[106] Jack M. Mintz chairs the twelve member committee. Council members include Clive Beddoe, who served as WestJet's CEO and who was co-founder of AIMco serving on its board from until 2013,[107] AIMCo's CEO Kevin Uebelein, Robert Blakely, TorQuest Partners' Brent Belzberg, Mainstreet Equity Corporation's Bob Dhillon, Canadian Western Bank's Chris Fowler, Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, former Prime Minister of Canada, Morgan Construction and Environmental's Peter Kiss, ATCO's Nancy Southern, ARC Financial's Mac Van Wielingen, and Zainul Mawji, who is on the executive board of Telus Corporation. As president of Telus Home Solutions, Mawji focused on increasing the market share in Canada's western provinces, and the Telus "consumer health product line."[108][109] The Council "will also focus on strategies for long-term recovery from the crisis, including efforts to accelerate diversification of the Alberta economy."[110]

On June 29, 2020, when Premier Kenney outlined his plans for economic growth, he said that the Economic Recovery Council had "urged the government to act quickly" to get "out of the economic slump caused by low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic."[111] The council told Kenney that, "Now is the time to make a move, to get noticed...The fiscal crisis here will be completely insurmountable unless we get back to growth. For us, this is the key strategy to do so."[111]

The plan included infrastructure investment in "highways, bridges and other projects". It also eliminating most "use of temporary foreign workers to ensure Albertans are first in line for jobs."[111]

The plan included lowering the corporate tax rate to 8% from 10% on July 1, instead of in 2023 as he had originally announced in 2019.[112][113] Concerns were raised that the immediate implementation of the corporate tax cut to 8%, two years earlier instead of phasing it in over time, is a "gift to firms that have already made investments and are earning profits on those investments". It will not attract new job-creating businesses, as it is not "new information for anybody in Bay Street plotting a big move of employees that would take years."[114]

In August 2019, Janice MacKinnon's task force submitted the report commissioned by Premier Kenney, "Report and Recommendations: Blue Ribbon Panel on Alberta's Finances".[115] According to Maclean's, Premier Kenney had "mandated" that the panel "figure out how to balance the provincial books without raising taxes."[27] McKinnon, who was Saskatchewan's finance minister, found that "Alberta spends more per person on its public sector, and compensates its teachers, doctors and other workers more generously, than other major provinces."[27] The panel recommended that the post-secondary tuition freeze be lifted, and suggested "various measures to slash health-care costs and government-wide program reviews."[27]

By March 31, 2020, the "federal government had already bought Trans Mountain" and was "committed to getting it built" and Enbridge's Line 3 was making progress.[131] In what Kenney described as a "bold move to retake control of our province's economic destiny", the province agreed to help finance the construction of TC Energy's Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in southern Alberta, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska with "agreements for the transport of 575,000 barrels of oil daily".[138] The New York Times reported that "[d]espite plunging oil prices" in March", Kenney said the "province's resource-dependent economy could not afford for Keystone XL to be delayed until after the coronavirus pandemic and a global economic downturn have passed."[138] Alberta "has agreed to invest approximately $1.1 billion US as equity in the project, which substantially covers planned construction costs through the end of 2020. The remaining $6.9 billion US is expected to be funded through a combination of a $4.2-billion project-level credit facility to be fully guaranteed by the Alberta government and a $2.7-billion investment by TC Energy."[139][138] Kenney has said that the Keystone XL will create "1,400 direct and 5,400 indirect jobs in Alberta during construction and will reap an estimated $30 billion in tax and royalty revenues for both Alberta and Canada over the next twenty years.[139] TC Energy "expects to buy back the Alberta government's investment and refinance the $4.2 billion loan" when the 1,200-mile (1,930-kilometer) pipeline is operational starting in 2023.[138] Keystone XL will add up to 830,000 bpd from Western Canada to Steele City, Nebraska. From there it connects to "other pipelines that feed oil refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast."[138] According to the Canadian Energy Regulator, in 2018, Alberta produced 3.91 million bpd of crude oil, which represents 82% of the total production in Canada.[134] According to a March 31, 2020 article in The New York Times, because of Kenney, Russ Girling, TC Energy CEO, announced that construction of its $8-billion US Keystone XL oil sands pipeline's Canada-United States border crossing, in rural northeast Montana, would begin in April in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.[138] Concerns were raised by the office of the Montana's Governor, Steve Bullock about the added strain on "rural health resources during the coronavirus pandemic", with the arrival of a hundred or more pipeline construction workers in rural Montana. At the time of the announcement northeastern Montana had only one confirmed COVID-19 case.[138] In a May 20 interview on the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC) podcast, Minister Savage told the podcast host, John Bavil, that Green party leader, Elizabeth May's May 6 comment that "oil is dead" was not "gaining resonance with ordinary Canadians" because Canadians need oil. "Canadians are just trying to get by."[140]^: 17:06 Savage added that Canadians were "not going to have tolerance and patience for protests that get in the way of people working",[141] and that the "economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic favours pipeline construction", according to Canadian Press journalist, Bob Weber.[142] Savage told Bavil that "Now is a great time to be building a pipeline because you can't have protests of more than 15 people...Let's get it built."[141][142] The comment received wide media coverage. On June 9, 2021, TC Energy announced the termination of the US$9 billion Keystone XL pipeline project. U.S. President Joe Biden had "revoked a key permit" that was crucial to the pipeline.[143]

The Financial Post reported on July 7, 2021, that Premier Kenney intends to join TC Energy in their $15 billion North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Chapter 11 claim against the US over the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, "to recover damages resulting from the revocation of the Keystone XL project's presidential permit."[8] The Post said that this "would be the first time a level of government is directly involved in a NAFTA dispute as an investor."[8] Citing an international trade lawyer, the article said that "these types of cases generally drag on for years".[8] The legal challenge is "daunting"; the "United States has never lost a Chapter 11 free trade case...It will be a long, expensive and challenged by the unlimited resources of the United States government."[8] A law professor interviewed by the Post said that Alberta's claim is "unclear" since the province only became an investor in early 2020. Claims are baed on the period in which you were an investor.[8]

As part of Government of Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, the federal government announced on May 1, 2020, that up to $1.72 billion will go to the governments of Alberta and the Alberta Orphan Well Association—as well as Saskatchewan and British Columbia—to "clean up" orphan wells and "inactive oil and gas infrastructure".[144] According to the Alberta provincial government, Alberta's Site Rehabilitation Program "will access up to $1 billion" of the federal government's COVID-19 Plan.[145][146] By May 20, Alberta had already received 24, 000 applications.[141]

Premier Kenney rescinded the 1976 Coal Policy on June 1, 2020, and lifted restrictions on coal mining exploration and development on large areas of environmentally sensitive land.[147][148] The Grassy Mountain Coal Project was a 2,800-hectare mountain top removal open-pit metallurgical coal mine in Rocky Mountains' Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta, proposed by a large Australian mining company—Benga Mining Limited (Benga)—in 2014.[149][150] The project's critics, including well-known country singers Corb Lund and Paul Brandt, said that it threatened the region's watersheds with selenium poisoning.[151] Opponents of the Grassy Mountain project included local ranchers, some of whom began a "Save Our Mountains" campaign and formed the Livingstone Landowners Group.[152][151] The Group commissioned a comprehensive report by land use ecologist Brad Stelfoxon and five other scientists, to "model the impacts of proposed projects on water security in an arid county."[152] The report found that "even limited coking coal mining would create intractable problems with water quality and quantity, including selenium contamination."[152] In a June 17, 2021 joint statement, Ministers Savage and Nixon acknowledged acceptance of the recommendations of the federal-provincial Joint Review Panel, which had denied approval of the Grassy Mountain coal project.[153][152]

According to a July 6, 2021 announcement by Kenney, the government of Alberta has acquired North West Redwater Partnership's equity stake in the "over-budget and behind-schedule" $10-billion Sturgeon Refinery, an 80,000 bbl/d (13,000 m³/d) crude oil upgrader in Sturgeon County northeast of Edmonton,[154][155] representing 50% of the $10-billion project, with the other 50% owned by Canadian Natural Resources.[154] The province is now a co-owner with Canadian Natural Resources, which also owns 50% of the refinery.[154]

On February 20, Tyler Shandro, Alberta's Minister of Health announced that he was ending the province's long-standing master agreement with Alberta's physicians. The new rules, which include "new fee rules on extended patient visits that doctors", came into effect on March 30.[185] On April 9, the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Health citing the unilateral termination of the long-standing master agreement with the Alberta government, the "government's conduct during negotiations", and Bill 21 as "some of the reasons for filing the claim".[186]

At the time of the announcement, doctors were concerned that these rules would make it unsustainable for some clinic in rural Alberta to remain in practice.[185] Shandro said that ending the master agreement was "difficult but necessary" because of the need to cut costs in the "$20.6-billion health system".[185] According to a survey of 300 doctors in Alberta, by July, 44 rural communities would be "directly affected by recent government changes to the way physicians can bill for services".[187] By April 21, Sundre, Stettler and Lac La Biche had "already been informed some of their doctors will be withdrawing emergency and obstetric services in hospitals."[187]

Although Minister Shandro first responded to concerns that doctors would leave rural Alberta, by promising to quickly replace them, by April 20, Shandro's press secretary acknowledged that rural communities "face long-standing challenges in recruiting and retaining physicians" and announced that they were "preparing to announce changes to support rural physicians very soon."[187]

In early March Minister Shandro announced an amendment to the billing code for doctors in the province, capping their fees at "$20 a call to provide COVID-19 telephone advice to patients."[188] With physical distancing COVID-19 protocols in place, Alberta's physicians had been asking Minister Shandro to make it easier for them to provide care for their own patients virtually.[189]

On March 16, Minister Shandro announced that the provincial government had "signed an agreement" with Telus Health, "a new virtual health care support, called the TELUS Health Babylon app—a private initiative.[188][190] At that time, Alberta doctors expressed shock and dismay that the UCP government had brought in Babylon, a private initiative by Telus Health.[191][192] In a March 21 interview with Postmedia, Alberta Medical Association President, Christine Molnar, said "Physicians are under extreme strain. Not only have doctors had their master agreement terminated by the province and face changes to the way they are supported financially and can provide services but they also don't have a billing code implemented that allows them to provide virtual care in their offices...On top of all that, they are facing possible — actually, certain exposure directly to a deadly virus...Physicians are feeling devalued, disenfranchised and unsupported."[188]

On April 21, Alberta's Information and Privacy Commissioner, Jill Clayton, announced that her office was "launching two investigations" into the controversial Babylon app by Telus Health." Concerns about "privacy compliance" had emerged following the Commissioner's review of a May 2019 privacy impact assessments (PIA) submitted by Babylon Health Canada Limited and the second PIA submitted by a Calgary-area physician.[191] Minister Shandro welcomed the review.[191]

The Telus Babylon app was launched before Minister Shandro even requested that Clayton review the app service to ensure the privacy of Albertans was respected.[193] At the time of its launch, doctors providing virtual services through the Telus Babylon app were receiving higher payments that Alberta doctors.[193]

In November 2020, Minister Shandro introduced Bill 46, an omnibus bill that amends the Health Information Act, among other legislation. Bill 46 would put his office in charge of Netcare access. Concerns were raised about increasing the number of people who have access to Netcare—the electronic health records of all Albertans.[193]

In November, when Minister Shandro again neglected to consult the Office of the Privacy Commissioner before introducing major changes through added to the Health Information Act, Clayton, who oversees the Act, expressed "shock" to learn of the proposed clauses to the Act only on the morning that the changes were made public.[193]

In May 2022, the cancellation of Alberta's Insulin Pump Therapy Program, which provides about the 4,000 Albertans with Type A diabetes with expensive and life-saving insulin pumps, was announced. The program will end in August 2022.[194]

The Kenney administration created a new position entitled issues manager, reporting to the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of Technical and Corporate Services.[204] The issues manager identifies and manages both "strategic and operational issues" based on the UCP's "policies, procedures and processes". In August 2019, Premier Kenney hired Matt Wolf as issues manager, a position he had held during the premiership of then Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper.[205] Wolf had previously worked for the UCP as chief of staff. Wolf also worked in the private sector for Sun News Network from 2011 to 2015.[206][205] Matt was implicated in the so-called 2017 "kamikaze" campaign against Brian Jean but has denied any wrongdoing.[206][207][208] In March 2019, just prior to the provincial election, the Edmonton Journal had revealed internal emails that showed collaboration between Wolf and Jeff Callaway's campaign, through Cameron Davies, Callaway's co-campaign manager. The leaked documents included regular communication between Davies and Wolf discussing "ads and memes, research, timelines of ad drops, strategy tips" "talking points", "speaking notes, message planning, graphics and videos".[208] Lorne Gibson, then Alberta's elections commissioner, had investigated Callaway's campaign in which he had allegedly served as a "kamikaze" candidate for Kenney. By November 2019, just after Gibson had handed out 15 fines against 15 people totalling C$207,223, which included a C$15,000 levied against Davies, Gibson's position as commissioner was eliminated by the UCP administration.[209] The RCMP has continued its investigation. In April 2020, Kenney and other UCP members were cleared in an ethics probe.[210] The Ethics commissioner wrote in her report that "it appears Matt Wolf, a senior staff member in the premier's office, may have been involved in some "questionable political shenanigans" but said there is no evidence to suggest the premier knew about them."[210] By October 28, 2020, the 2017 UCP leadership race was still under investigation by Alberta's election commissioner and the RCMP.[211]

Controversy erupted in Kenney's premiership when over the Christmas holidays in 2020, his Chief of Staff, Municipal Affairs Minister, and five other MLA's travelled abroad during the holidays contrary to their own government's public health warnings of non-essential travel.[235] By January 2, 2021, the issue "became a big story in Canada", according to the Washington Post. Premier Kenney, at first, decided that those concerned would not be punished unlike Ontario's finance minister Rod Phillips who immediately resigned, when his weeks-long trip to the St. Barts, a luxury destination in the Caribbean, was revealed by the media, along with his dated social media posts implying that he was still in Canada.[236][237] Kenney claimed personal responsibility saying he had not been clear enough in the guidelines. Jamie Huckabay, Kenney's chief of staff's UK Christmas vacation, as well as that of MLA for Grande Prairie, Tracy Allard, who as Alberta's Municipal Affairs Minister is also responsible for emergency preparedness, and therefore ultimately for the rollout of the vaccine. Allard left for Hawaii on December 19.[236] By Monday, January 4th, Kenney changed his position amid public outcry, and announced the resignations and loss of position, of Tracy Allard, who resigned as municipal affairs minister; Jeremy Nixon, who resigned as a parliamentary secretary; Jason Stephan, who resigned from the Treasury Board; Tanya Fir, Pat Rehn, and Tany Yao who lost their roles on legislative committees.

No provincial government more than Alberta during the pandemic has seen so many caucus members leave the country during December, regardless of pandemic health warnings. The Leger report placed Kenney's approval rate for handling of the pandemic as the lowest in Canada, at 30%.[237]

In September 2019, with a 60% approval rating, Kenney was one of the top-three most-popular premiers in Canada with only Premier Moe of Saskatchewan and Quebec's François Legault winning higher approval ratings by a small margin.[5] and 60% in September 2019.[245] According to an Angus Reid Institute poll undertaken in June 2021, only about 31% of respondents approved of Kenney's track record.[1][246] Earlier Angus Reid polling reports said that, "Albertans have grown increasingly critical" of Premier Kenney and the UCP "government's response to the coronavirus, and the province's finances are in historically poor shape with oil revenues plummeting and pandemic-related economic shocks persisting."[3] The June 2021 report said that "both sides" of Alberta's "political spectrum" have been angered by Kenney's response to the pandemic; they are critical of his approach to pandemic-related restrictions.[1]

According to a ThinkHQ Public Affairs Inc. poll released on December 16, 2019, Albertans who disapprove of the performance of the UCP government were in the majority at 53%,[247] which reflects a "considerable slide in public approval" since October.[104] Of the respondents who voted for the UCP in spring, 21% disapproved of Kenney by December 16.[247] In ThinkHQ's poll the opposition to the UCP was "considerably more intense than support"—38% said they strongly disapproved with only 16% strong approving. Reasons for the slide in popularity by December 2019, included growing concerns about both employment and the economy with "many voters" concerned with the "unexpected consequences related to budget-tightening by the new Kenney government."[104]

According to a June 2021 Angus Reid Institute poll, only 30% of respondents reported that they would vote for the UCP in the 2023 election, 41% would vote for the NDP, and 20% for the Wildrose Independence Party.[1][9][248] A January 6–7, 2021 Mainstreet Research survey on voting intentions showed the UCP in a "sharp decline"—41% said they would vote for the NDP, 26% for the UCP, and 9% for the Wildrose Party with 16% undecided.[10]

A May 2020 poll had found that 56% of those polled did not want Kenney as Premier.[249] Kenney's s disapproval rating with the highest of all the regions polled.[249] However, at that time, in spite of a "drop in his approval numbers", 46% of Albertans, polled in May 2020 by CBC News-Road Ahead, had said they would "vote for Jason Kenney's UCP.".[250] According to Mount Royal University political science professor, Duane Bratt, Kenney's poll numbers reflect the UCP's "clash with doctors over pay" during the pandemic.[250] A CBC News-Road Ahead survey led by Pollster Janet Brown completed by June 1, 2020, found that most Albertans approved the federal, provincial and municipal governments' responses to the pandemic. Seventy per cent of Albertans approved the provincial government's response and 62% approved of the federal government's response.[251]

In May 2021, Alberta had the "worst COVID-19 outbreak in North America", for which UCP critics laid the blame on the Alberta government's "relatively relaxed approach to restrictions".[1] By late December, 2020, Kenney's approval rate among Albertans for handling of the pandemic was already the lowest in Canada, at 30%.[237] By late November 2020, pollsters said that Kenney's UCP government was criticized by those who want more restrictions to bend the curve in response to the record high number of cases of the coronavirus.[252] Criticisms of Kenney's response to COVID-19 included the controversial June 1 dinner party Kenney hosted at the Sky Palace with Nixon, Toews, Shandro and a staff member in which photographic evidence showed they were breaking "his own government's COVID-19 public health rules".[9][253] Kenney apologized and "admitted that he has tried to observe the rules throughout this difficult period but has not 'always done that perfectly'."[9]

According to a March 22, 2022 Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) letter posted on the MRIA's Twitter account, a syndicated study by Janet Brown, a veteran Alberta pollster, was leaked to the media by the UCP governing political party without Brown's permission and published without context and lacking crucial data. The MRIA said that the UCP's "abuse of power" should be "vigorously condemned."[254]