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Both said they will sit in the house as Independents and continue to fight for their constituents and oppose a leader they say has lost his way and is no longer listening.
“I was delivering a message on behalf of a lot of our supporters, a lot of Albertans, a lot of UCP members and a lot of conservatives across the province,” said Loewen in an interview.
“And instead of taking ownership of the problems, the premier shot the messenger.”
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MLA Todd Loewen’s demand that Premier Jason Kenney resign was serious business.
But it quickly descended into farce, as the full UCP caucus agonized toward his inevitable expulsion at 7:40 p.m. Thursday.
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The virtual caucus meeting where UCP MLAs voted on Loewen’s fate was at times chaotic, and possibly the leakiest private meeting in Alberta political history.
We learned from insiders that the balloting was not confidential. This disappointed Loewen, the MLA for Central Peace-Notley.
EDMONTON The United Conservative Party (UCP) in Alberta has two fewer members in its ranks. The party caucus met Thursday evening to discuss a letter in which former UCP caucus chair Todd Loewen announced his resignation as chair, and stated Premier Jason Kenney was causing “dysfunction” within the party. The party voted to remove both Loewen and southern MLA Drew Barnes from the government caucus. “Members recognize the need for government caucus to remain strong and united behind our leader, Premier Jason Kenney, as we continue to fight through what looks to be the final stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond,” party whip Mike Ellis said in a statement.
Posted: May 13, 2021 4:30 PM MT | Last Updated: May 14
Alberta MLAs Todd Loewen, left and Drew Barnes have been expelled from the UCP caucus over allegations they divided the party and undermined government leadership.(Government of Alberta)