Preface

In 2019, the United Conservative Party (UCP), under the leadership of Jason Kenney, unseated the New Democratic Party (NDP) to form the provincial government of Alberta, a restoration of conservative power in a province that had seen the Progressive Conservatives win every election from 1971 to 2015. Almost from its first days in office, the UCP began to create political waves, many of which have yet to subside.

Blue Storm is the first scholarly analysis of the 2019 election and the first years of the UCP government, with special focus on Jason Kenney’s rise to power and his stunning fall. It brings together a wealth of original research from scholars, journalists, and political watchers, each with a unique methodological approach, to provide a well-rounded analysis of complex and ongoing political issues in Alberta, including the impacts of COVID-19.

It opens with an examination of the election from a number of vantage points, including the campaign, polling, and online politics. It provides fascinating insight into internal UCP politics with chapters on the divisions within the party, gender and the UCP, and the symbolism of Kenney’s famous blue pickup truck. Explorations of oil and gas policy, the Energy War Room, Alberta’s budgets, health care, education, the public sector, Alberta’s cultural industries, and more provide unprecedented insight into the actions, motivations, and impacts of Kenney’s UCP government in power. It concludes with a survey of the impacts of COVID-19 in Alberta and a comparison between Jason Kenney and Doug Ford.

Blue Storm is essential reading for everyone interested in Alberta politics and the tumultuous first years of the UCP government. Providing key insights from perspectives across the political spectrum, this book is a captivating deep dive into an unprecedented party, its often controversial politics, and its unforgettable leader. Unfortunately, not all policies or events could be covered with the same depth in a single volume. Nonetheless, Blue Storm provides what we believe will be the definitive account of the conservative restoration after four years of an NDP government, Alberta’s political management of COVID-19, and the turbulent three-and-a-half-year reign of Jason Kenney as premier.

While the book features a distinguished roster of contributors from across the province and beyond, much of the expertise and indeed the financial support for this enterprise came from Mount Royal University. We are grateful to Jennifer Pettit, the dean of arts, for her support of the project, which is part of the Faculty of Arts’ “Arts in Action” book series through the University of Calgary Press.

Just as the COVID-19 pandemic affected every aspect of the Kenney government’s first three years in office, it also affected our work on the book. We benefitted from an intensive two-day workshop in June of 2021. Because of COVID-19, this workshop had to be held virtually. We’re grateful that our authors were willing to spend two days online to bring the volume together as a cohesive whole, and for their perseverance in working on the volume at a time that was disruptive and difficult for many.

We are also grateful to Brian Scrivener and Helen Hajnoczky at the University of Calgary Press for their professionalism, encouragement, and advice. We also owe a great debt to Tania Therien for copy editing the manuscript and Alison Cobra for designing the promotion strategy for Blue Storm. This project has been a voyage of discovery and intensive but warm collaboration for the editors. We are indebted to our contributors and to the peer reviewers who helped us steer our course.

It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the loss of our colleague and friend David Taras before Blue Storm was published. Several days before the contributor’s workshop was to begin in June 2021, David informed the other editors that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would be immediately starting treatment. This meant that he would be unavailable to participate in the workshop. Over the subsequent year, David remained engaged with the project and read, when his strength allowed him to, draft chapters. In June 2022, roughly a year after his cancer diagnosis, David passed away. While an obviously massive tragedy to his family and friends, David’s death also leaves a huge absence in Alberta’s scholarly community and political analysis. David was an internationally renowned scholar, greatly admired teacher, public intellectual with many media appearances spanning decades, generous mentor to junior scholars, and, most importantly, a very kind man. Many of the contributors to Blue Storm had been friends and colleagues of David for years during his two decades at the University of Calgary and the decade that he spent working as the Ralph Klein Chair in Media Studies at Mount Royal University. The editors will miss the brainstorming sessions enjoying the lunch buffet at the Danish-Canadian Club, where David was a member and always, despite protests from others, picked up the cheque!

In our last conversation with David, less than a week before his death, he complained that he did not do enough work as editor to warrant his name on the book cover. He was kindly, but firmly, told that we were acknowledging his request, but denying it. It is no exaggeration to say that David was the driving force behind Blue Storm and its prequel Orange Chinook. Both books were David’s idea. David helped to identify the themes and topics for Blue Storm, recruited the contributors, and planned the workshop.

In recognition of his contributions not only to this volume, but to understanding politics, government, and communication in Alberta throughout his distinguished career, Blue Storm is dedicated to the memory of David Taras.

Duane Bratt

Richard Sutherland