Alberta PC leadership hopeful Jason Kenney launches 'Unite Alberta Truck Tour'

Former Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney is going to spend his summer couch surfing and cadging meals from Albertans.

"I hope to be staying as much as I can with people in their actual homes who are gonna be generous enough to open up their homes for a free boarder for a night or two," he told reporters at a news conference Monday.

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Kenney stood in front of the Tory-blue pickup that he intends to crisscross the province in, on what he calls the "Unite Alberta Truck Tour."

Kenney says he will visit all 87 constituencies and "every major community in the province" to hear from Albertans on how to go about uniting right-leaning voters, something that must happen if Alberta is to "get back on track" and see the "Alberta advantage" restored.

"I'll be taking that message starting this morning as I travel the highways and backroads of Alberta to visit small towns and big cities to go to farm gates and sit down at people's kitchen tables," he said.

Why a pickup?

"I'm going to be getting around all rural Alberta all year including the winter time so I figured my Dodge Ram would do the job better than a Prius."

Kenney said after leaving Edmonton he will head north for a couple of weeks.

"We're going to be headed up to Whitelock (sic), moving up towards Peace River country this week ... hopefully getting out there before harvest season starts in earnest."

Kenney is fashioning his leadership campaign as a referendum for party members on a merger between the PC party and the rival right-wing Wildrose.

Alberta's PCs were ousted from office last year by the NDP after more than four decades in power, and will elect a new leader next March.

Kenney has already been endorsed by former prime minister Stephen Harper, as well as interim federal Conservative leader Rona Ambrose.