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Ken Boessenkool

Ken Boessenkool is a lecturer at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill and a Research Fellow at the CD Howe Institute. He was one of the original authors of the so-called Alberta Firewall letter in 2001. He was a senior campaign adviser to prime minister Stephen Harper, and has worked or volunteered for Preston Manning, Stockwell Day, Jim Dinning, Ric McIver and Christy Clark.

    Latest from Ken Boessenkool

    Opinion

    Alberta's newly minted UCP cabinet will need to lead Premier Smith, lest there be trouble

    In the U.K., a head of lettuce outlasted the reign of Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will need to do a lot of work both internally and externally or face the grocery aisle, writes Ken Boessenkool.
    Canada Edmonton
    Opinion

    Good luck or good management, Alberta's latest budget is good politically for Jason Kenney

    While his opponents will almost certainly say that this budget hinges on the good fortune of ballooning oil and gas prices, the simple reality is that Jason Kenney can say, and he will be right to say, that his government’s hard work to control spending is what balanced the budget.
    Canada Edmonton
    Opinion

    For Justin Trudeau, things will almost certainly get worse

    Politics is about expectations, and Justin Trudeau lost because he did the worst job at managing those expectations, says Ken Boessenkool.
    Canada Calgary
    Opinion

    Kenney, O'Toole and the battle for Alberta conservatism

    "The threats to a UCP re-election are coming not from the right, but from the left side of the UCP coalition." Ken Boessenkool on the path forward in Alberta’s conservative politics.
    Canada Calgary

    OPINION | Some advice to Kenney's next chief of staff

    "If you don’t think humility and contrition are needed, go sit in a bunch of swing-voter focus groups.” Ken Boessenkool, former adviser to numerous conservative politicians, offers a memo to the Alberta government’s next chief of staff.
    Canada Calgary

    OPINION | How the Harper model worked, and why it's now broken

    It is the irony of Conservative politics that people in Calgary need to worry about how the Conservative party is selling itself around Toronto.
    Canada Calgary
    Opinion

    How Alberta's proposed 'fair deal' plan could cut separatism off at the knees

    An in-depth analysis of the 'fair deal' proposals, by Ken Boessenkool, one of the authors of the original Alberta 'Firewall' letter.
    Canada Calgary