How Alberta’s conservatives split — and the long road toward reunification
The Progressive Conservatives and the Wildrose have released a plan to merge as the new United Conservative Party, pending a ratification vote from members.
Here is our timeline on the conservative schism in Alberta:
Aug. 30, 1971: Progressive Conservatives win their first majority government. They will hold power in Alberta for nearly 44 years. June 23,
2007: Wildrose Party formed in Red Deer as a reaction against existing political parties. Members say those parties won’t restrain provincial spending or challenge Ottawa. They believe the Alberta Alliance won’t be able to effectively challenge Ed Stelmach’s PC government.
Jan. 19, 2008: Wildrose Party of Alberta merges with Alberta Alliance Party to form the Wildrose Alliance Party.
Sept. 14, 2009: Wildrose Leader Paul Hinman captures Calgary-Glenmore in a byelection. Support for the party rises in 2009 as voters become frustrated with the PCs. Oct. 17, 2009: Danielle Smith is elected leader of the Wildrose. Jan. 4, 2010: Frustrated with Stelmach’s leadership, which they brand undemocratic, PC MLAs Rob Anderson and Heather Forsyth cross the floor to join Wildrose. This doubles the number of Wildrose caucus members to four. April 2012: The election sees the Wildrose secure 17 seats, forming the official Opposition.
March 23, 2014: Alison Redford resigns as premier. Jim Prentice wins the next PC leadership race. Nov. 3, 2014: Wildrose MLA Joe Anglin quits to sit as an independent.
Nov. 24, 2014: Wildrose MLAs Kerry Towle and Ian Donovan cross the floor to join the ruling PC caucus.
Dec. 17, 2014: Smith and eight other Wildrose MLAs — Rob Anderson, Gary Bikman, Rod Fox, Jason Hale, Bruce McAllister, Blake Pedersen, Bruce Rowe and Jeff Wilson — cross the floor to the PCs. Smith gives Prentice’s strong leadership and shared values as the reason. Five Wildrose MLAs are left.
March 28, 2015: Brian Jean becomes Wildrose leader. Prentice calls an election five days later.
May 5, 2015: The NDP sweeps to power, winning 54 seats to form a majority government. Wildrose becomes the official Opposition with 21 seats. The PCs are decimated, retaining just nine of their 70 seats. Ric McIver becomes interim leader after Prentice resigns.
Dec. 14, 2015: Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt and PC MLA Mike Ellis hold a joint beer night in Calgary to talk about conservative unity.
May 7, 2016: PC party members vote to change the process to elect a new leader from one member, one vote, to a delegate system.
June, 2016: Rumours swirl that Calgary-Mindapore Conservative MP Jason Kenney will resign his seat in Ottawa to join the PC leadership race.
July 7, 2016: Kenney confirms his plans to leave the House of Commons, and unveils his five-step plan to unite Alberta conservatives under a single banner in time for the next provincial election.
Oct. 1, 2016: PC leadership race officially begins. Kenney, Richard Starke, Byron Nelson, Donna Kennedy-Glans, Sandra Jansen and Stephen Khan all announce their intentions to run.
Nov. 8, 2016: Jansen and Kennedy-Glans withdraw from the race. Kennedy- Glans cites the polarizing nature of Alberta politics and harassment of Jansen at the party’s Nov. 5-7 policy convention. Nov. 17, 2016: Jansen crosses the floor to the NDP, saying the PC party is no longer the place for centrist politics.
Jan. 26, 2017: Khan withdraws from the PC leadership race and throws his support behind Starke. Starke announces he will pursue a PC-Wildrose coalition if elected as leader. Jean announces he supports a merger plan if Wildrose party members agree to it.
March 18, 2017: Kenney is elected PC leader with more than 75 per cent of delegate votes, and reaffirms his vow to unite with Wildrose and create a single, big-tent conservative party. Jean and Kenney meet two days later.
March 24, 2017: PC and Wildrose announce the names of their respective discussion teams as they take the first steps toward unity. May 5, 2017: Kenney says despite a delay, unification talks are going well.
May 17, 2017: Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt and PC MLAs Mike Ellis and Prab Gill hold a joint town hall in Leduc to talk about unity, saying an agreement is extremely close. Fildebrandt says he is considering running for leader of the new party.
May 18, 2017: Unity agreement details are released.