On June 15, Rempel Garner announced on social media that she was considering running for Premier Jason Kenney’s position as leader of the UCP. The Conservative Party of Canada MP served as co-chairman of Patrick Brown’s campaign in his bid to become leader of the federal Conservatives.

		Read more: Rempel Garner says she’s considering a bid to be UCP leader in Alberta

A week later. Rebel Garner announced she was not running for Alberta Conservative leader. In a lengthy post on social media, he said campaign logistics were part of the problem. He also expressed concerns about internal conflict within the UCP. Story continues below ad “I was surprised that Premier Kenney got the results that he got,” Rempel Garner said of the results of his leadership review vote this spring, which prompted him to announce he will step down. READ MORE: Alberta Premier Jason Kenney plans to step down as UCP leader after narrow victory “I think the decision to jump into a leadership race really takes a lot of thought and diligence. I put a lot of thought and diligence into it.”

		Read more: Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner not running for UCP leadership

Rebel Garner has long been seen as a star in the CPC but has not spoken publicly since deciding not to run for the UCP leadership. In an interview at a Stampede morning in Calgary on Saturday, the politician dodged any questions about her thoughts on Brown being barred from the CCP leadership campaign over allegations of wrongdoing.

		Read more: Whistleblower says Patrick Brown approved third-party payments amid Conservative campaign

However, he denied any knowledge of the alleged affairs when he withdrew from helping Brown’s campaign. Story continues below ad “I’m very excited to see the leadership race draw almost 700,000 members and I think that’s a sign of a strong party and our ability to form government at the next election,” said Rebel Garner. Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt said there are many unanswered questions. “Michelle Rebel Garner has not spoken publicly about Patrick Brown,” he noted. “Did he have suspicions? Did he think this was coming when he left the campaign? What is the connection between what was going on in Patrick Brown’s campaign and her decision not to run for the UCP? There are many questions that simply haven’t been answered one way or another. “You would think a campaign chair would have some understanding of how the campaign worked.” As for who she’s supporting in the UCP leadership race now, Rebel Garner doesn’t care. “I think it’s early in this race,” he said. “I had conversations with several of the leadership candidates. Many of them are long-time friends of mine.” Brown claimed he was not given details by the party about the charges against him. Related News © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.