ALBERTA PARTY
Leader Greg Clark readies for new members
The Alberta Party is expecting its membership to soar with murmurs of discontent from certain Wildrose and Progressive Conservative members who are not in favour of the single-option choice for conservative voters.
“It is growing in double digits percentage,” said Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark.
An party event May 13 in Edmonton attracted many who had never been to an Alberta Party event before, said Clark.
An agreement in principle was signed May 18, stipulating the process to wind down the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties and reform as the United Conservative Party, pending ratification by members.
Wildrose has 60 days to call a special general meeting, and 75 per cent would have to vote in favour. PC members will vote July 22 and will need 50 per cent plus one for it to carry.
Rather than a uniting of the parties, it was a “hostile takeover,” Clark says, referring to “tactics” Jason Kenney used to take over the PC party.
“A lot of the members who showed up at those delegate selection meetings were Wildrose members,” said Clark.
Voting to form the UCP does not forbid individuals from voting in both contests, providing they purchase a party membership, said Clark.
Bill Grady, a former president of the local PC riding association, is not supportive of the UCP at all and will look elsewhere politically if the deal goes through.
“I will either not bother with anything, or I’ll find something more progressive to align my vote with. If I made a decision today it would be the Alberta Party,” Grady said May 19.
The Alberta Party will probably attract PC members who lean politically to the left, said Gord Cowan, a strong local supporter of the Wildrose.
Some former PC members who have now joined the Alberta Party have told Clark they felt as though they had been shoved aside, said Clark.
“Our party is a big-tent party but our big tent has solid walls,” said Clark. “We draw some pretty firm lines on issues like social conservative issues for example. Those are things that our members categorically reject. We’re not going to reopen the debate over gay marriage.”
GSAs (gay straight alliances) are things that Alberta has “rightfully accepted,” said Clark, who feels there is a legitimate concern these issues will sidetrack debate for the UCP. Because the Alberta Party is not revisiting those issues, it is able to focus its attention on how to create jobs, diversify the economy and improve health care and education, he says.
Being united in opposition is only one aspect. United in what you stand for is just as important, said Clark.
“Just getting rid of the NDP is not good enough,” said Clark.
The next provincial election will have a choice of the politically left, right and centre with the Alberta Party leading the centre, said Clark, who is promising to run candidates in each of the 87 ridings in the next election. The party has roughly half that number of constituency associations already in place.