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Tom Monto

Kenny and Aberhart comparison falls flat

Updated: Feb 21, 2021

The similarities of Premiers Kenney and Aberhart are strong but their very different socio-economic goals refutes much of the comparison.

Premier Aberhart stated "when the Edmonton Journal and the Calgary Herald are attacking me, I know I am on the right track. But if by chance they should give me a pat on the back I would sit down and think hard what I had done wrong." I doubt if Premier Kenney has that attitude today, or if he intends to do anything that the so-called millionaire press would object to.

As the common myth goes, Premier Aberhart was blocked from reforming private banks - it being said to be outside the constitutional powers of the provincial government. That was also what the United Farmers government told itself. Despite this obstacle, Aberhart created provincially-owned banks, the Alberta Treasury Branches. These banks had special programs to encourage made-in-Alberta consumption. He also launched the first wave of credit unions in the province. In an attempt at a Basic Income, his government distributed its own money, putting much-needed spending power in the hands of impoverished consumers. The Army & Navy Stores, now in the news as slated for permanent closure, willingly accepted this "funny money."

Aberhart closed down the massive burn-off of natural gas that was happening in Turner Valley. Backlash against this "attack" on the energy sector fomented a recall campaign in his home district to force him to resign as MLA.

Aberhart's attempted recall was done under a grassroots recall law that had been passed by his own government. Likewise Kenney government is mulling Recall, but it seems here to be a way to allow a relatively small portion of voters in a district to impose their will on an MLA elected by a larger portion of the voters in the district.

Kenney's 2019 election is probably more similar to the 1930 election of the Conservatives led by Prime Minister R.B. Bennett than it is to the election of the party led by reform-minded Aberhart.

However, apart from COVID closures and Oil's difficulty, this is not the Great Depression. Alberta is still a powerhouse of the Canadian economy. We know we have enough oil for our needs for decades to come if nothing else. We did not know this back when we were getting around in Bennett Buggies.


If you feel that Albertans voted un-wisely both in 1935 and 2019, I hope you find solace in remembering that democracy is a learning process for voters. The four (or five) years between elections does not allow quick reflex but does at least deeply imbed the lesson learned.


Thanks for reading.

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