Rocky View County-area MLA Leela Aheer, the representative for Chestermere-Strathmore and a former cabinet minister, has announced she will be running for the United Conservative Party (UCP) of Alberta's top seat, announcing her candidacy for the upcoming leadership race.
At a media event in Chestermere on Wednesday and in a previous Global News article, she confirmed rumours of her running, making her the sixth contender for the leadership spot to replace incumbent UCP leader Jason Kenney. The premier recently announced his resignation after a leadership review garnered him 51 per cent of the vote
As of press time, Aheer is accompanied in the race by Brian Jean and Danielle Smith, both former Wildrose Party leaders, along with former UCP finance minister Travis Toews, Bill Rock, who is the mayor of the Village of Amisk, and independent (formerly UCP) MLA Todd Loewen.
During the Global interview, Aheer stressed the importance of the kinds of messages coming from Alberta’s leadership, and said she hopes to eliminate divisive rhetoric coming from the party.
Aheer entered provincial politics in May 2015 when she was first elected under the former Wildrose Party as the MLA for the Chestermere-Rocky View constituency. During her first term, she was the opposition critic for children’s services and status of women, while the New Democratic Party was in power.
She was then re-elected as the UCP representative for the newly formed Chestermere-Strathmore riding in the April 2019 provincial election.
She served as Jason Kenney’s former minister of culture, multiculturalism, and the status of women, and as the Francophone Secretariat – the liaison between the provincial government and the Alberta Francophonie – until the summer of 2021.
Aheer was ousted from her position as minister of culture, multiculturalism, and the status of women following a cabinet shuffle by Kenney last July. Aheer’s previous cabinet role was then divvied up among three of her colleagues – Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Ron Orr, Calgary-Glenmore MLA Whitney Issik, and Calgary-North Muhammad Yaseen.
The demotion followed Aheer’s open criticism of Kenney’s response after he was photographed opposing COVID-19 health restrictions during a rooftop gathering at a government-owned property on June 2, 2021.
However, the premier denied the removal from cabinet was punishment for her remarks.
“I appreciate Leela's contribution to the government in the past and I very much hope so in the future, but not everybody in caucus can serve in a ministerial role at the same time,” said Kenney in a press scrum following the announcement on July 8, 2021. “This is just about an opportunity for renewal.”
Aheer said the leadership campaign is an opportunity to reunite a “splintered party,” according to the same Global News interview.
