Conservative marriage faces short honeymoon

Conclusive vote for unity kicks off fight for control, flight from party

It’s a marriage that has prompted both excitement and outrage — and, for some, a desire to find a new political home.

On Saturday, members of Alberta’s Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties voted in favour of forming the new United Conservative Party, aiming to build a unified right-wing front against the province’s ruling NDP.

While both parties saw 95 per cent of those who cast ballots vote in favour of the union, Mount Royal University political science professor Lori Williams said the peace might not last long.

“They’re going to be divided on all kinds of things. They’re going to be fighting about who’s going to be the next leader, they’re going to be fighting about policy, they’re going to be fighting about even the structure of the organization,” said Williams.

Party members and, ultimately, voters will have to decide whether to stay with the new UCP or find a different party more in tune with their political stripes.

“There is going to be probably more choice on far-right, more choice at the centre and choice at the centre-left. We might actually even see something like a minority government in the future, assuming this robust activity in a number of parties continues,” said Williams.

Katherine O’Neill, former PC party president and current executive director of Alberta Together, an organization that aims to educate people on their political options, agrees.

“People are trying to figure out where they fit best in this new political landscape. It seems very polarized, very divisive,” said O’Neill. “(They) want something in the middle, something that’s a bit more modern, a bit more pragmatic.”

One of the parties emerging as an option for moderates uncomfortable with the potential direction of the merged party is the Alberta Party under Leader Greg Clark, who said the UCP members seem to be only united in one thing: being in opposition to the NDP.

“They have not offered a single clear policy on what they would do specifically to address the challenges affecting our province,” Clark said.

“There is a middle way, there is a centre way. That’s certainly a message that has been resonating with the hundreds of people that have been joining our party in the past number of weeks and months.”

Clark added he expects the number of people joining his party to pick up even more in the coming months and believes Albertans will have three “very different visions to choose from.”

Heather Klimchuk, former PC cabinet member and Edmonton-Glenora MLA, said she’s going to wait and watch to see whether the new party will align with her core beliefs and values.

“The challenge for me moving forward is to make sure the progressive voices are heard in this new party,” Klimchuk said.

I’m really hoping that when Albertans go to the polls, they’ll have something to hope for and won’t have to hold their nose.

“My whole life has been about being tolerant, being inclusive, working with everybody, no matter who they are, what they do or where they’re from.”

But not all those feeling dispossessed by the merger are looking a centrist option.

Founding Wildrose party member Marilyn Burns plans to create a new farright party for those unhappy with the merger and UCP leadership hopeful Brian Jean.

“Wildrosers had not been renewing their memberships or cancelling their memberships in the months leading up to January 2017 out of unhappiness with Brian Jean,” Burns said.

“Now that we’ve had this vote happen, we can just move forward without the problems and the baggage to build a positive, strong Wildrose replacement party for Albertans,” she said, adding that the prospective unnamed party intends to keep the same Wildrose principles, values and policies.

As for O’Neill, she just wants to make sure that there are options on the ballot in 2019 that won’t prompt voters to cast their ballots for a party that doesn’t align with their own beliefs.

“I’m really hoping that when Albertans go to the polls, they’ll have something to hope for and won’t have to hold their nose,” O’Neill said.

“I really hope people can go cast a ballot and be really proud of what they’re supporting.”