Brian Jean is defending his 2012 campaign donations to support his PC opponent, and his views have obviously changed since Jean is now the leader of the Wildrose party instead. When Jean was the Conservative Fort McMurray-Athabasca MP he made a donation of $500 to both Boutillier and Scott. When asked about these 2012 campaign donations Brian Jean explained “I ran against him federally and didn’t want Doug to win. I knew a lot about him so I wasn’t going to support him.I supported the best person I believed would become the best MLA. Did I think Doug Faulkner would do that? No. Did I think Guy would do that? Yes.” Doug Faulkner served as Fort MacMurray Mayor from 1997 up until his defeat by Melissa Blake for the position in 2004, and his comments after he lost the race were viewed with distaste. Faulkner stated to the Calgary Herald that “lady mayors don’t go over well in industrial towns’, however Blake is still in this position 11 years later.

The 2012 campaign donations that Brian Jean made have been the subject of some discussion. Jean explained his thoughts at the time by saying “Guy was one of those politicians we’ve had who has been dedicated to northern Alberta throughout his political career. When you look at the decisions he made, whether it was as an MLA fighting over Aging in place or as mayor, his heart was always in Fort McMurray. I thought I was going to see a different type of government and we now see the same old, same old in Fort McMurray-Conklin and throughout Alberta. Our government has grown fat and bloated, and the new taxes in this budget show they want a bureaucracy that’s even more bloated.”