Like so many of the Kenney government’s actions, Bill 1 may be just more red meat thrown to its angry base or, as the Edmonton Journal contends, “an expensive and unnecessary public relations exercise.” Nonetheless, the threat is real and shows in stark terms the authoritarian animus motivating the UCP government.

Except for the information that he is unmarried and a devout Catholic, Kenney’s personal life beyond politics is a black box. Don Martin describes Kenney as “brilliantly analytical,” “flawlessly bilingual,” and “tirelessly energetic,” noting further that he “keeps his social conservative beliefs under a kimono that’s never to be lifted.”

Alberta’s protests began as street protests, but gained traction on December 19 when some Yellow Vests joined a convoy of 1,200 trucks. These vehicles driven by oil patch workers and their supporters had assembled just south of Edmonton. Blocking traffic as it went, the convoy drove slowly to the capital and made known its demand that oil pipelines be built to “free” the resource from its land-locked status.