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Jason T. KenneyCanadian politician
Date of Birth: 30.05.1968
Country:  Canada |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Political Career
- Federal Politics
- Policies and Positions
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Human Rights Advocacy
- Leadership of the United Conservative Party
Early Life and Education
Jason Kenney was born in Oakville, Ontario, and raised in Saskatchewan. He is the grandson of bandleader Mart Kenney. Kenney attended the co-ed Catholic boarding school St. Mary's High School in Wilcox, Saskatchewan.
Kenney later studied philosophy at the University of San Francisco's Jesuit St. Ignatius Institute. During this time, he served on the board of the United Students Group. When classmate Lori Moore received campus distribution rights for anti-abortion literature, Kenney told a CNN reporter that "the Anti-Abortion Action Group, which is politically advocating for legal abortion on this campus and using university resources, is fundamentally opposed to the mission and purpose of the university." Kenney and other students later petitioned San Francisco's archbishop to strip the word "Catholic" from the university's name to pressure the institution to ban the anti-abortion group from campus.
However, Kenney dropped out of school without completing a degree and began a career in Saskatchewan provincial politics.
Political Career
Early Provincial InvolvementKenney was initially a member of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party, serving as an aide to then-leader Ralph Goodale in 1988. He later served one term as executive director of the Saskatchewan Taxpayers Association before becoming the president and executive director of the political lobby group Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Federal Politics
Kenney was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1997, representing the riding of Calgary Midnapore. He was initially elected as a candidate of the Reform Party of Canada, then re-elected in 2000 as a member of the Canadian Alliance, and subsequently re-elected twice more as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Following the Conservatives' victory in the 2006 federal election, Kenney was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada. On January 4, 2007, he was sworn in as Minister of Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity and as a member of the Privy Council. He became Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism on October 30, 2008.
Policies and Positions
Military Intervention in IraqJason Kenney supported the military invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime.
Same-Sex Marriage
During the 2005 parliamentary debates on same-sex marriage in Canada, Kenney argued that the examples of MPs Libby Davies and Svend Robinson, who had relationships with people of the opposite sex before coming out as homosexual, proved that marriage law did not discriminate against the LGBTQ group since they could still marry people of the opposite sex.
Human Rights Advocacy
Kenney has been an active advocate for human rights and freedom of religion in authoritarian countries. He is a member of the Canada-Tibet Parliamentary Group and has met with the Dalai Lama.
In January 2005, during a government trade mission to China, Kenney visited the home of the recently deceased former Chinese Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang. Zhao was a reformist who was ousted for sympathizing with pro-democracy protesters before their actions were suppressed by troops in 1989. Prime Minister Paul Martin, who was also part of the delegation, disapproved of his visit.
Leadership of the United Conservative Party
In 2019, Kenney was elected leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP), a provincial party in Alberta. He led the UCP to victory in the 2019 Alberta general election, becoming Premier of Alberta.
