Will the national battle for the inclusion of property rights in Canada’s constitution begin in Alberta? It will if Jason Kenney leads the United Conservative Party (UCP) to victory in the upcoming Alberta provincial election.

“At the heart of our approach is the firm belief that property rights, including landowner rights, are inherent civil rights. What you are seeing today from the UCP is that we’re willing to put our money where our mouth is, and ensure Albertans are protected by law from the day-to-day whims of any government, including a UCP government,” Jason Nixon, MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, said in a press release.

At the core of their plan is an amendment to the Constitution of Alberta to protect property rights, which will require a province-wide referendum.

UCP would introduce the Alberta Property Rights Protection Act to “further entrench the right not to be deprived of enjoyment or use of property without due process of law.”

I’m unclear what they mean by “further entrench” given Albertans’ property rights, under both the current NDP and former Progressive Conservative governments, were trashed.

For example, Alberta is the only province in Canada that allows squatters to make legal claims to property owned by someone else. That’s insane, and the UCP proposal would amend the Land Titles Act to end this.

It is widely speculated Jason Kenny will be Alberta’s next premier. This will be good for Alberta, specifically, but also for Canada. His focus on protecting basic human rights will undoubtedly have a ripple effect across our nation.

This is a good thing.

According to Elections Alberta, the election must be held between March 1 and May 31, 2019.

Alberta’s current, dare I say temporary premier, Rachel Notley, has not set a date for the election. If she doesn’t hurry up, Elections Alberta will set one for her.