It was May 5, 2015. I was sitting at a pub in Lethbridge for the announcement of the provincial election results, expecting a PC minority, when the election results started to roll in: Lethbridge West – NDP, Lethbridge East – NDP, Medicine Hat –NDP. Given that I was a kid who grew up in the days of Ralph bucks, in Medicine Hat, never knowing anything but a Conservative government to be in power provincially, my reality was coming unhinged.

It was abundantly clear to me, on May 5th, that we had just lost 43 years of power, and a large part of the reason why boiled down to the fact that two conservative parties were duking it out for the same voter base. If we wanted to win the next election, something was going to have to change, conservatives were going to have to give up their egos and come together for Alberta’s sake.

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Last year, like a breath of fresh air, Jason Kenney burst into Alberta politics, stepping down from his career in federal politics, championing conservative unity. Could this be the white horse, I mean… guy in a Dodge Ram that Alberta needed? After formally meeting Mr. Kenney at a pub in Medicine Hat, I was convinced – this guy is the real deal. We might actually be able to unite the conservative parties in Alberta, and take out this abhorrent NDP government, if we follow his lead and stick to his plan.

As a concerned, principled conservative, I have been open and honest about my support of Jason Kenney, his 5 Point Unity Plan, and his desire to consolidate the Alberta conservative parties into one big blue tent from the very beginning. Faced with a lot of criticism from conservatives and non-conservatives alike, I could not figure out why people were so polarized when discussing conservative unity, or Jason Kenney in general. How much of what I was reading/what people were saying is true?

People have A LOT to say about Jason Kenney. Personally, when I think of Jason Kenney, I think of a humble man who has dedicated his life to public service, someone who is unapologetically himself. He is a man with conservative convictions and the skill to see those convictions play out in policy. It was at that point that I reached out to Jason’s communications team and within 24 hours we were on the phone discussing what you are about to read, giving Jason a chance to speak for himself, and shatter some of the myths that opponents of Unite Alberta would have you believe.

As this is Story of A Tory, a blog to discuss and air out conservative issues from a predominantly female perspective, I really wanted to know what role he sees for young women in a United Conservative Party. Personally, I have met JK quite a few times and have never found him to be anything less than respectful. When asked about the role of women in the United Conservative Party (UCP) he responded that, “we as conservatives, need strong women…. to step forward and tell the political left to stop speaking on behalf of entire categories of individuals. We conservatives believe in freedom…the right (of people) to define their own political values. To suggest that someone must be a captive member of an identity category adopting uniformly left-leaning values is insulting and undemocratic.” He cited a desire to champion women by encouraging them to contest nominations and gain the support of their electorate, much like they do at the federal level.

He also stated that a “proactive effort” would be necessary to get more women involved. JK made several references during our conversation about his efforts to make sure that women had a seat at the table, during his time in Cabinet, within the ministries that he oversaw. “I think that kind of tokenism is frankly, insulting” he said when faced with the question of quotas. “I was responsible for a variety of appointments to quasi-judicial bodies… over half of the people I appointed happened to be women. That didn’t happen because I imposed quotas, but because I encouraged qualified women to apply.” He said that his effort to include more women within these ministerial bodies was “conscious” and meant “to ensure balance and a diversity of voices” – alright lefties, really not seeing where you are getting this anti-women thing from but, we will continue.

What really stood out to me from his comments in our discussion was that he has been greatly misrepresented on this issue. This was most obvious when I asked him to give some advice to young women who often find themselves vilified by left-leaning keyboard warriors.  Jason’s response was refreshing. He said, “be bold, be confident and be yourselves. Don’t be intimidated by these voices that represent a tiny fraction of overall opinion. Those people uniformly seem to regard Omar Khadr as a civil rights hero.” What I got from this statement is that these people that are coming after young, strong and intelligent Tories don’t occupy a moral high ground but are merely a part of a vicious echo chamber facilitated by the twitter-sphere.

I would like to pitch the argument that young conservative women are within the mainstream, not the minority. Through projects like Story of a Tory, I am able to not only tell my story, but reflect this point in writing. Conservative women and average Albertans value equity, fairness and responsibility. We know how to work hard and we are not afraid to roll up our sleeves and face adversity. Those who are so intimidated by us are largely on the margins of public opinion and see our potential as threatening, a point that Jason echoed. But how can we get involved. For Jason it’s simple. He acknowledged that, “Some people may have doubts about the UCP, the best way to answer that is to become involved in the process.”

For Jason, Uniting Alberta is less about Left, Center and Right distinctions and more about the best path forward for Alberta. It seems to me that he views this historic referendum as a new chapter  – a vehicle for smaller government, responsible use of tax dollars, getting rid of the Carbon Tax and restoring the Alberta Advantage. I see the unity process as an opportunity to re-invigorate our conservative movement, more fully. It is about changing the narrative and reclaiming our conservative identity while flipping the script on those who try to put us in a box because of who we do/don’t support. With that being said, here’s a link to volunteer for Unite Alberta, stand behind a proven leader and help us put conservatives back in the driver’s seat.

Disclaimer: Story of a Tory is in no way affiliated with the Conservative Party of Canada or any other political party, be it federal or provincial. The views of each author are independent of all other authors.