Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced today that effective midnight tonight, the vaccine passport program will be terminated in Alberta.
The move comes slower than some would have liked, but earlier than any other jurisdiction in Canada.
This means that Alberta’s government will restore the rights that it confiscated from unvaccinated Albertans before even Saskatchewan, which announced its reopening plan this week.
Kenney has been careful to not make it seem like his government is responding to the Coutts border blockade, however, it is hard to ignore how conveniently timed this policy reversal is.
“I don’t suggest that we ‘forgive and forget.’ Far from it,” one Albertan commented on Twitter.
Compared to his main rival, Rachel Notley, the incumbent premier seems to be more in tune with the provincial psyche. Just a few days ago Rachel Notley called for more lockdowns, and the implementation of a provincial sales tax to boot.
This announcement comes as blue-collar Canadians continue to lock down the national capital, calling for an end to all mandates and pandemic policy.