Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews speaks in the legislature, in Edmonton on Feb. 25, 2021.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
Travis Toews has resigned as Alberta’s finance minister and launched his campaign in the race to replace Jason Kenney as United Conservative Party leader and premier.
Toews, in a statement, says he wants to focus on healing rifts in the UCP and returning to core party values.
Kenney says he received Toews’s resignation letter earlier today and has not decided on a replacement.
Kenney has stated cabinet ministers who run to replace him must resign their posts.
Toews, 57, is a first-term legislature member from the constituency of Grande Prairie-Wapiti and has been finance minister since the start of Kenney’s government in April 2019.
The party has not established the rules or timelines yet for the leadership race.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he will stay in the top job to maintain continuity and stability in government until a new United Conservative Party leader is chosen. Kenney says it’s important to remain focused on public priorities, including reducing wait times in the health system and growing the economy.
The Canadian Press
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