Premier Jason Kenney kicked off a campaign to lure skilled workers from Toronto and Vancouver as he doubled down on his criticism of a so-called Alberta sovereignty act pitched by one of the candidates running to replace him.
Kenney held a news conference today to announce the United Conservative government’s plans to start recruiting workers to come to Alberta as the provincial economy grows.
The campaign comes after Kenney called a key platform promise of one of the candidates to succeed him as leader and premier “nuts.”
Candidate Danielle Smith has said if she wins the leadership, she would bring a bill this fall to give Alberta the power to ignore federal laws and court rulings deemed not in the province’s interest.
Kenney says such an act would not only hurt attempts to attract people, but noted the province could start losing people who already live in Alberta.
He says that’s not theoretical because of what happened in Quebec in 1976 when René Lévesque and the Parti Québécois were elected on a separatist platform.
“Quebec overnight began to hemorrhage people, money and investments,” Kenney said.
