Albertans will head to the polls on April 16.
After Rachel Notley dropped the writ in Calgary Tuesday morning, the New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader made the case to continue as premier for another four years and attacked her main opponent, United Conservative Party (UCP) Leader Jason Kenney.
“Mr. Kenney looked Albertans in the eye and very casually and very comfortably lied to us,” Notley said, in reference to the leaked documents that link Kenney to Jeff Callaway’s “kamikaze” campaign.
Kenney, who already called those allegations “ridiculous,” continued denying wrongdoing on Tuesday.
“They are desperate to talk about anything but jobs, the economy and pipelines,” he said in the Edmonton area.
Kenney went after the NDP’s unemployment, debt and the carbon tax, which he promised to eliminate, if elected.
“Albertans are poorer because of NDP policies,” Kenney said. “Why is it that in seven of the last nine months unemployment has gone up in Alberta? If this is a recovery, I’d hate to see a recession.”
Notley vowed to continue her fight to build pipelines, and to focus on new hospitals, schools and “an economy that works for all Albertans.”
Lori Williams, a political expert at Mount Royal University, believes the scandals surrounding the UCP have made the race more competitive. For her, the election could come down to which issue is larger: the UCP’s ethics or the NDP’s economics.
“It’s really difficult to predict what impact any of this is going to have,” Williams said.
With files from CTV Edmonton’s Bill Fortier
