Disgruntled MLA who quit NDP joins Alberta Party
Former NDP MLA Karen McPherson, who quit the governing party’s caucus to sit as an independent, has joined the Alberta Party.
McPherson, the member for Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill, left the governing NDP while citing the increasing polarization of Alberta politics.
According to a document obtained Sunday by Postmedia, McPherson feels she can better serve her constituents by joining the centrist Alberta Party.
The news is set to be officially released Monday.
In a draft news release, McPherson said she was looking forward to the opportunity to push for transformational change in health and education, driven by technology.
“The Alberta Party represents the missing middle in Alberta politics,” she said in the release.
McPherson will focus on small business, entrepreneurship and bringing transformational change to health care through technology.
McPherson said Albertans need to “rise above partisanship,” and made a case for using emerging technologies to make systems sustainable over the long term.
“The answers don’t lie in drastic cuts or in a slow downward trend in rising costs,” she said.
In the release, Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark called McPherson “a perfect fit” for the party.
When McPherson left the NDP, she said she was concerned politics was “missing the middle.”
“Albertans need political choices that inspire them, not scare them,” she said on Facebook at the time.
In early October, McPherson said she felt the government wasn’t taking the steps needed to transform the health and education systems for the 21st century.
She said she raised her concerns but Premier Rachel Notley’s government is focused on fulfilling what it sees as its electoral mandate.