Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel Garner has been speaking publicly for the first time since she announced online that she will not run in the leadership race for the United Alberta Conservative Party.
On June 15, Rempel Garner announced on social media that he was considering running for Prime Minister Jason Kenney’s job as leader of the UCP.
The Conservative Party of Canada MP had been Patrick Brown’s campaign co-chair in his efforts to become a leader of the federal Conservatives.
Read more: Rempel Garner Says He’s Considering an Offer to Become a UCP Leader in Alberta
A week later. Rempel Garner announced that he was not running for Conservative leadership in Alberta.
In a lengthy post on social media, he said the logistics of the campaign were part of the problem. He also expressed concern about the internal conflict within the PCU.
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“I was surprised that the first Kenney received the results he did,” Rempel Garner said of the results of his leadership review vote this spring, which prompted him to announce that he would step down.
READ MORE: Alberta Prime Minister Jason Kenney intends to resign as UCP leader after narrow leadership victory
“I think the decision to jump into a leadership career really requires a lot of thought and diligence. I’ve put a lot of thought and diligence into it.”
Read more: Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner does not run for UCP leadership
Rempel Garner has long been seen as a star within the CCP, but has not spoken publicly since his decision not to run for the UCP leadership.
In an interview at a Stampede breakfast in Calgary on Saturday, the politician avoided any questions about his thoughts on Brown’s disqualification from the CPC’s leadership campaign for felony allegations.
Read more: Complainant Says Patrick Brown Approved Payment to Third Parties in the Middle of the Conservative Campaign
However, he denied any knowledge of the alleged problems when he stopped helping Brown’s campaign.
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“I am very excited to see the leadership race attract about 700,000 members, and I think this is a sign of a strong party and our ability to form a government in the next election,” Rempel Garner said.
Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt said there are many unanswered questions.
“Michelle Rempel Garner has not spoken publicly about Patrick Brown,” he noted. “Did you have any suspicions? Did you think this would happen when he retired from the campaign? What is the relationship between what was happening in Patrick Brown’s campaign and his decision not to run for the UCP? There are many questions that they just haven’t been answered one way or another.
“You might think a campaign chair would have some understanding of how the campaign worked.”
As for who supports the UCP’s leadership career now, Rempel Garner remains his mother.
“I think those are the first days of this race,” he said.
“I’ve had conversations with several of the leadership candidates. Many of them have been my friends for a long time.”
Brown has assured that the party did not receive details about the accusations made against him.
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