The worlds of two Jason Kenneys collided Monday when Alberta’s premier met an American man with the same name who often gets mistaken for the politician on Twitter.
Premier Jason Kenney tweeted about his brief encounter with Jason Kenney of Virginia on Monday.
“Ok #ableg, once and for all: Left: @jasonkenney — the friendly guy from Virginia who has been taking a lot my heat on Twitter. Right: Me,” Kenney wrote in his tweet.
“Was great to host Jason at the Canadian Embassy tonight!”
The two Kenneys even snapped a picture together.
Premier Jason Kenney holds the Twitter handle @jkenney, while the other Jason Kenney has @jasonkenney.
Used to receiving messages from people trying to get in touch with the politician, the American Kenney’s first mix-up with the Albertan Kenney came in the early 2000s. As the Albertan Kenney’s political career continued, the American Kenney — who works at a non-profit — started to see more people interacting with him accidentally.
But the American Kenney always seems to have fun with the mix-ups.
When speaking to Global News in 2021, the American Kenney said he hopes the humour he provides from the misdirected tweets bring a little laughter during a stressful time.
While the American Kenney still deals with several instances of mistaken identity, he said the premier has reached out in the past before officially meeting with him in person on Monday.
— With files from Morgan Black, Global News