Thread by @tylerrdawson

I’m sitting in the Manning Conference in Red Deer and they’re pumping Bon Jovi. The room’s maybe a third to half full, all total, by the weather is trash so I imagine some folks are delayed.

Here’s who we get to hear from today.

There are some people here I haven’t thought about in a long time. Nigel Hannaford, an old Calgary Herald editorialist and Harper speechwriter, is around. So’s Kerry Diotte — I inherited his legislature media office.

This room is extremely fond of Diane Francis’s independence screed in the Financial Post the the other day. She’s railing on about the Laurentian elite to hoots from the room.

There’s an air of an Alliance church service in here. Someone near me going “mhmm, yes” at what’s coming from the stage.

This is an absolute greatest hits of conservative cliche (boo bureaucracy, Quebecers control the civil service, the banks are stocked with former Liberal politicians) with a very small-town talk radio vibe.

Gotta give it to @KenWhyte3 who’s struggling manfully on this panel to suggest whining isn’t the way to succeed and haul conservatism into 2020.

One can’t help but think that perhaps the difficulties conservatives are having are because the ideas haven’t evolved significantly since Ted Morton and Preston Manning were the titans of conservative thought back in the 1980s.

Whyte is arguing that separation is a pipe dream and a distraction from what actually will make a difference: fixing the Conservative party and winning an election.

As the end nears, we’re getting to some proper ideas on moving ahead conservatism, from Whyte and Manning. Morton and Francis (and moderator Danielle Smith) are less sure there are good options for the west/Alberta.

Francis is arguing we need to tackle demand side of fossil fuels in the east: tax house size, double the price of gasoline, as things Trudeau must do (which ... really sounds like a pro-carbon tax to me)

Interesting: they’re now arguing that the market cannot handle project development and government intervention via a national corridor is needed to force projects through. (Which is perhaps not an argument you may expect from conservatives)

The panel is complaining about the media asking Scheer about his religion and saying we won’t ask Singh and Trudeau. This is of course false, it’s happened this week.

“The media’s horribly biased in this country, particularly the CBC,” says Francis.

Danielle Smith is arguing that Scheer never should’ve been asked about his religion.

Preston Manning says more tolerance of social conservative views is needed. Compared closeting of religions cons to closeting of LGBTQ.

Some guy is complaining about the Globe and Mail being on sale in Red Deer but not the National Post (I think). “We’re online,” says Francis.

Smith: we should talk about BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

“Judicial imperialism”

*drink*

The next panel is busily complaining how biased the Edmonton Journal and CBC are. Calls out a couple folks by name.

I, for the record, have not been named as a nasty lefty writer.

You’ll be pleased to hear though that this panel does not want to regulate the media. They like free speech, and think viewers and readers can see through our bias.

Man alive, why does anyone even bother with a real job when you can turn bitching about the CBC into th perfect grift as an in demand pundit.

(Much of this coming from the lawyer for the right-wing True North Centre and Rebel Media blogs)

This, other than the rote complaints about biased media, is actually an extremely interesting panel in getting out the conservative message, via various social channels, texts, advocacy/media etc.

They’re musing about the blackface stuff. Former UCP strategist says it’s embarrassing that Time broke the story, and going international might be an option if sympathetic Canadian reporters can’t be found.

Shoutout to Vivian Krause in an argument about corporations and individuals spending more money in third party groups to push conservatism outside of election campaigns.

One guy says there’s a lot of hate for the CBC but conservatives should start phoning call in shows as a traditional way to get the message out. Dimitri Pantazopoulos says lie and say you’re Chloe from Toronto to get through the screeners to be conservative on air.

Another question from the audience: how should young conservatives create film and music with conservative values instead of leftist ones?

Haha, someone is standing up for the Globe and Mail, since they broke the SNC Lavalin scandal. Says Tories need to emulate PressProgress to take down Liberals (lauds the Buffalo Chronicle and Spencer Fernando.)

Shoutout to Lorne Gunter, Brian Lilley and Licia Corbella as friends of conservatives.

As an addendum to the very first tweet in this thread, the room is now very full of folks in their Sunday best, presently enjoying salad and sandwiches.

Adding to the list of people I haven’t thought about in a while: Calgary mayoral candidate Larry Heather is around.

OK, we're back at it with a discussion about the state of the oil and gas industry. Didn't quite catch who was talking but they said the industry needs to act like wildebeests "asses in and their horns out."

Lori Ackerman, the mayor of Fort St. John, is saying her area is "geographically, economically and culturally Alberta but jurisdictionally British Columbia, because of a lazy cartographer."

Ackerman's a mainstay at this sort of thing, as a pro-resource B.C. mayor. The crowd — by a show of hands, mostly oil industry people — is loving her.

This is honestly way above my head. I don't follow energy projects (other than TMX, pretty much) close enough to have anything insightful to say about this so far. (At the moment they're talking about "world class" natural gas in Canada.)

"I stir up a little shit," says Ackerman. Then realizes she's curses. To lols from the room.

Unrelated but very important: I walked by a small dog wearing a pink tutu.

And here’s my story on the day so far. We’re expecting to hear from Jason Kenney in about an hour. nationalpost.com/news/canada/wh…

There are probably 250-300 people here, at a best estimate.

I’m busy writing and only half listening to the local council panel, but from what I’ve heard, this is the most substantive panel so far, discussing proper ways to take over councils. Really low-level conservative politics.

Basically the message is: get involved, phone councillors, if you want to run, be accessible and answer your phone.

Alright folks, it's on like Donkey Kong.

Jason Kenney's coming up shortly, with what promises to be an absolute humdinger of a speech.

There will be tweets.

At least up to the point that I have to stop tweeting and instead finish writing this story.

We're getting a lil speech boosting Kenney before he takes to the state "I'm pretty sure the guy has not slept since 1996."

Anyhoo, mute if you're not into this stuff. Gonna come fast and furious.

And then I'll write and try not to die on the highway driving home. But if I do, this thread is my legacy and I want it reenacted by a host of thespians at my funeral.

Kenney says he pulled an "all-nighter last night working on this speech."

Lol he joked about a beer fridge in the premier's office that he's p sure wasn't there when Ernest Manning was premier, figures it was probably a King Ralph thing.

It's speechifyin' time.

"Alberta joined federation under protest," Kenney begins his speech. We're off to some obscure and interesting history involving Frederick Haultain

Also, I'm now alone at the media table. CBC is here. And Derek Fildebrandt, who was here for The Western Standard, seems to have peaced out (or joined the crowd)

Kenney's quoting someone who called Alberta "delightsome." Which is really good.

I can't help but feel that Jason Kenney has read my history of western alienation

Kenney is criticizing the column in the "Toronto Globe and Mail" that says Alberta didn't invent hardship. "Hot off the presses from Toronto."

"What he fails to understand is this: that when our fellow Canadians ... were going through their time of trial, Alberta had their back, they had the huge, generous support of this province."

Applause for this, when Kenney says these people came here to work, enjoyed our equalization dollars, etc.

"We are going through hardship."

"They did not have a federal government that was going out of its way to make a bad situation worse."

(Arguable, maybe, in Newfoundland, but I digress.)

Kenney's rattling off changes to GDP, list of bankruptcies, "The human cost of all of this is very real."

We've moved on to Quebec's budget and deficits and equalization.

"Francois, you remind me of St. Augustine," says Kenney.

Man. Didn't see that one coming.

Points to the economic boom driven by the energy boom in the United States, as evidence this isn't about global energy prices. "it's not about prices, it's about policy."

"Untold value in these assets, the question is who will supply that demand, 10, 20 and 30 years from now?"

Kenney sounds a bit husky here and there. Not surprising, if he was up all night writing. .

"The most responsible barrel of oil produced in the world."

"We will be the most desirable last barrel available to global energy markets."

We've moved on to Norway.

"How perverse is it to blame the victim ... when we have been doing so much to share our wealth with the rest of the country."

So far three mentions of the Globe, by my estimation.

ONE laugh. Literally one. For a Kenney SNC Lavalin joke. (Surprisingly, since that went over better earlier today)

"dictator oil"

*drink*

Kenney's criticizing Trudeau's silence over Encana/Ovintiv

And guys, to be clear, there is news coming and we haven't even gotten to that yet.

I'm so hungry :(

Lunch was a long time ago.

Now talking abotu S. 92. and Peter Lougheed.

"no more pipelines law"

We have entered the greatest hits section of the speech.

This is some seriously inside baseball stuff on some sort of revenue stabilization that I've never even heard of before.

(I was not born in 1986 when this happened)

"We have fought and worked to make the federation fair but those victories have ultimately been reversed." 

Says we don't begrudge sharing our resources, we just want to develop them, but that "right and that ability" has been thwarted.

"Alberta is made up of Canadians from coast to coast, and of course people from around the world who came her to pursue (something I didn't hear)"

Harkening back to the founding vision of the constitution. Says there are essential federal powers.

"We plead with the federal government ... to take seriously federal paramountcy over interprovincial infrastructure."

(We're officially 13 minutes over time.)

Kenney says the federal government is violating the constitution regarding health care, and plans to do so with pharmacare.

I think we're getting towards the meat of it here.

Says leaders should deride or dismiss separatist sentiment.
"Sadly, that is the position taken by too many of our opinion elites," he says.

"I am and always will be a Canadian patriot," he says. "I believe that in their heart of hears the vast majority of Albertans are Canadian patriots.

He's talking about Remembrance Day, and his family that fought and died in war.

I think Kenney jsut said "Canada is bigger than Justin Trudeau" but didn't quite check it. Will have to go back through my tape.

Going through his lines about how we aren't actually alone, because of the alliance between various conservative premiers. Points to the support for resource corridors among premiers.

K gonna bail from tweets for a bit. Fun but dont' pay the bills. Happy Saturday everone.

Oh wait hang on, no, Kenney is saying the feds have refused to help Alberta fight the pine beetle. For everyone else who isn't in Alberta, this is A Thing. (Also a shoutout to China)

"Albertans have a right to be fed up. I get it, I'm as fed up as anybody else."

There is a TON to digest right now, but I think it's probably fair to say this is the most important and significant speech Kenney has given since becoming premier.

We're getting to the news. There is a lot of "wooing" from the room, lemme tell ya

Holy shit they've ended the day with Alberta Bound by Paul Brandt.

And absolute banger.

Ok kids, here's my file on Jason Kenney's "fair deal" speech. #ableg nationalpost.com/news/kenney-re…

My brain is pudding. I'm driving home shortly and heading straight to the pub.

I also have many follow-up queries for the premier and his office, as, presumably, does everyone, so hopefully there will be a chance to get some more clarity. (Like, firearms office, why?)

The roads were absolutely fucking ghastly, here’s hoping everyone made it home safe.

Probably top five worst I’ve ever seen the QEII. Not nice.