Up to 200 fraudulent votes may have been cast in the United Conservative Party’s inaugural leadership contest in 2017, the RCMP said on Friday, but the force doesn’t have enough evidence to charge any suspects or prove that candidates co-ordinated any wrongdoing.
Superintendent Rick Jané told reporters the RCMP normally does not provide updates on investigations that do not result in charges, but this situation was unusual because it relates to voting and democracy. It was a high-profile case, involving allegations that Jason Kenney’s campaign cheated in the UCP’s 2017 leadership contest, before he became Alberta’s premier.
Mr. Kenney handily won the UCP’s first leadership race with more than 36,000 votes, around double what his nearest opponent, Brian Jean, received. And while his competitors immediately raised questions about the integrity of the vote, they said their concerns were addressed by the time Mr. Kenney was named the victor. The RCMP said it received a complaint about the contest in February, 2019.
The former premier, on social media on Friday, said he was the victim of “baseless complaints” from two people he banned from running as UCP candidates because of what Mr. Kenney called unethical conduct. These “obviously ridiculous bad faith complaints” led to defamatory accusations and the RCMP’s five-year investigation, Mr. Kenney said.
“Today’s outcome is a total vindication of my 2017 leadership campaign, and the UCP’s administration of that election.”
RCMP investigators “took the allegations very seriously,” but their digging didn’t support charges against any individuals, Supt. Jané said. The investigation included hundreds of interviews, 65 investigators, and more than $460,000 in overtime and travel expenses to British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia. It required translation for Arabic, South Asian and Chinese languages.
“While the Alberta RCMP determined that there were suspected instances of potential identity fraud, there was insufficient evidence to charge any suspect,” the RCMP said in a statement.
From 2017: Jason Kenney wins Alberta UCP leadership race on first ballot
UCP members, during the October, 2017, contest, voted online and by phone over three days, using personal identification numbers. The party, at the time, said 94 per cent of its 63,000 eligible members cast ballots.
The RCMP investigated allegations that fraudsters created e-mail addresses to receive PINs and vote using someone else’s name, without their consent. Mounties determined the number of potential votes at issue were fewer than 200, which was not enough to affect the outcome of the race.
The police said they did not find evidence that any leadership candidate encouraged their volunteers to engage in identity fraud.
Mr. Kenney captured 61.1 per cent of the vote in the 2017 contest while Mr. Jean garnered 31.5 per cent. Doug Schweitzer collected support from 7.3 per cent of voters.
The UCP won the April, 2019, election, making Mr. Kenney the premier.
The RCMP also reviewed whether Jeff Callaway’s campaign for UCP leader was fraudulent. It was alleged he entered the race to attack Mr. Kenney’s main rival, Mr. Jean, with plans to subsequently withdraw and support Mr. Kenney. RCMP said it did not uncover evidence that Mr. Callaway, or anyone else, committed a crime.
From 2023: Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney accepts role in Calgary advising law firm
Alberta’s election commissioner previously issued more than $200,000 in fines related to Mr. Callaway’s campaign and election finance laws. The UCP terminated the commissioner’s contract in November, 2019, moving the position to Elections Alberta.
Mr. Jean, who worked to unseat Mr. Kenney through a leadership review in 2022, in a statement said he is “glad there is closure” on the RCMP investigation. Premier Danielle Smith beat Mr. Jean and others in the leadership race that followed Mr. Kenney’s weak showing in his review.
“Prior to the 2022 leadership race, our party tightened safeguards to protect the rights of our members and ensure fairness and transparency,” Mr. Jean said in a statement Friday. “Integrity in political processes matters, which is why I am proud of how our party ran the last leadership race.”
The UCP said the RCMP determined its first leadership race was above board. “We welcome the closure of this matter, which has concluded without the need for any further action and found that the vote’s outcome was unaffected,” party spokesman Dave Prisco said in a statement.
Supt. Jané said the success of the investigation should not be judged by whether charges were laid. He added that RCMP took it seriously and recognized the importance of having it done in as timely a manner as possible and as thoroughly as possible.
“Our job is equally to clear people as it is to charge,” he said.
The UCP was born out of frustration that the New Democratic Party won Alberta’s 2015 election. Rachel Notley became premier after Albertans grew tired of the ruling Progressive Conservatives but remained wary of the Wildrose Party, and right-leaning supporters split the vote between the two.
Mr. Kenney, in the summer of 2016, unveiled a plan to merge the PCs with the Wildrose, arguing it would prevent future vote-splitting and reunite the conservative family.
Mr. Kenney won the PC leadership race in March, 2017. In July of that year, PC and Wildrose members voted to merge.
Jana G. Pruden
Carrie Tait