"Big surprise" said everyone with half a brain.
Seriously though, this is working exactly as intended by the UCP - they want to have Alberta's faith pinned to the petro dollar to stay in power. Hard times, global downturn? Blame everyone for ruining Alberta's precious oil industry -> vote UCP to stick it to the federal government. Good times, oil boom? The UCP freed us from the green yoke the federal government is trying to force on us -> vote UCP to keep your heard-earned success.
It honestly reads like the author dismisses the potential of foreign influence affecting both domestic actors and politics outright without proof. There's ample evidence that Russian state-affiliated actors have worked with social media influencers to foment outrage, for example. That's not a "new red scare", that's straight up proof of intelligence operations designed to undermine Russia's geopolitical opponents.