Jason Stephan

Premier Danielle Smith’s government has rejected a proposal that would have compelled it to respect the results of a referendum on whether Alberta should quit the Canada Pension Plan.

Premier Jason Kenney threw Alberta politics into a tailspin on Wednesday when he narrowly won a United Conservative Party leadership review vote only to announce he was quitting the top job anyway.

Premier Jason Kenney says Albertans are unimpressed with the intraparty melodrama of his United Conservative government and adds that, if anything, he has been too soft on dissenters.

The hammer has dropped on members of the Alberta government caucus and staff who recently travelled abroad during the COVID-19 crisis.

A number of politicians have admitted to leaving the country over the December holiday period, even as their constituents adhered to public health guidance meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 and hunkered down at home.