Premier Jason Kenney says he’s been “too tolerant” when it comes to allowing the United Conservative Party (UCP) to voice dissent over the state of the party and his leadership.

“What Albertans expect from their government isn’t a constant soap opera, and they certainly don’t want to see a family feud,” Kenney said last night during a Facebook town-hall meeting.

“Conservatives know that we must be united, and unity requires a degree of discipline.”

Kenney also added that he wants free speech in his caucus but that the party must be unified going into the 2023 election against Rachel Notley and the Alberta NDP.

“Sometimes [Harper] was criticized for being too strong in maintaining that discipline, but in retrospect, I think it was necessary to maintain the unity and coherence of our government, party and movement,” said Kenney.

“If I’ve made a mistake in the past three years, perhaps it’s [that] I’ve been far too tolerant of public expressions of opposition.”

“There are totally legitimate times when MLAs should be able to speak out for their constituents or share somewhat different views on policy. But if that becomes nothing but a constant effort at an internal civil war, I don’t think that’s acceptable.”

Kenney’s comments come as nearly 60,000 UCP members vote in a leadership review. If Kenney fails to receive 50 per cent approval, he says he will step aside, and the party will vote on a new leader to face off against the NDP in 2023.

As a lead-up to the leadership review vote, the UCP held a special general meeting on April 9, during which Kenney also asked voters to unify after two years of division over COVID policies.

Voting is being done by mail and will continue until May 11. Voters will know the results one week later, on May 18.