On Friday, May 8, former Alberta premier Jason Kenney moderated a fireside discussion at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference in Ottawa, featuring John Spencer, executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute.

The panel, titled “Urban Warfare, Global Threats, and What Comes Next,” focused on international security and emerging threats.

But outside the formal conference setting, Kenney faced questions of a very different kind — this time about Alberta, separatism, and who may be funding his recent political activism.

Kenney, who has spent years in the private sector since leaving elected office, has recently become an outspoken critic of Alberta’s growing independence movement.

Through public appearances and social media posts, he has repeatedly attacked Albertans pushing back against Ottawa’s interference in provincial jurisdiction — especially federal policies that many believe have crippled Alberta’s ability to fully develop its oil and gas sector.

We encountered Kenney at the conference and attempted to ask him several questions.

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Among them: would he be willing to disclose his clients, or who is paying him while he campaigns against Alberta independence? We also wanted his reaction to recent mainstream media reports suggesting foreign interference may be involved in Alberta’s separatist movement — allegations the RCMP has reportedly denied, saying there is no evidence to support them.

Premier Danielle Smith has also acknowledged that her government has been working closely with the RCMP, and that no credible evidence of foreign interference has been found within the grassroots independence movement in Alberta.

But as soon as we approached Kenney, he pulled out his phone and appeared to begin a call.

Was he actually speaking to someone — or was this the classic political escape tactic?

Canadians have seen it before: when politicians do not want to answer uncomfortable questions, suddenly the phone comes out, the head goes down, and accountability disappears.

Kenney later involved security at the Canada Strong and Free event — apparently not because of us, but to avoid another individual nearby. Still, security escorted him safely toward the elevator.

He told us he would be returning for the reception. But whatever reception he attended, it did not appear to be one where he expected to face our questions again.

The former premier has plenty to say about Albertans frustrated with Ottawa. But when asked who is behind his own campaign against Alberta independence, Jason Kenney suddenly had somewhere else to be.