Agreement may see end of Alberta’s NDP

Albertans witnessed the emergence of a nascent party on the right side of the provincial political spectrum last week. But with its stated goal of defeating the NDP on the left by combining the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties, is this province also seeing the beginning of the end for centrist politics in Alberta?

If ratified this summer by their respective members, the Wildrose and PCs would join to create the United Conservative Party. It will be a reunion of sorts more than 10 years after the most socially and fiscally conservative-minded Albertans lost faith in the PC party, which sheltered Red Tories and other moderates under its big tent. Both Wildrose Leader Brian Jean and PC Leader Jason Kenney blame the old schism for splitting the conservative vote and allowing the NDP to sweep into power two years ago.

“It’s about bringing together commonsense conservatives in overwhelming numbers behind a principle of good government that will implement good policies for the benefit of all Albertans,” Jean said. Kenney was more pointed, “This agreement ensures the defeat of this disastrous NDP government and the election of a free-enterprise government.” The UCP would be a “broad coalition of Albertans united in common cause, reflecting the diversity of today’s Alberta,” Kenney added.

“This isn’t about uniting the right. This is about re-creating a big, broad tolerant, diverse, free-enterprise coalition . . .” If ratified, this new party would turn Alberta, in effect, into a two-party province. The political middle stands to lose ground as the UCP stakes out polarizing policies that clearly separate it from the NDP.

It remains to be seen how well conservatives of different stripes will get along under the latest big tent, given the acrimonious PC leadership race that drove moderates such as Stephen Khan from the contest, complaining of bullying and vitriolic emails from Kenney supporters. Do moderates stick with the PCs as they meld into the UCP, or do they flee to the Alberta Party, the Liberals or even the NDP? There is also the danger that the party veers too far right for the tastes of mainstream Alberta. Alberta is more urban than ever and its population skews younger, factors that favour progressive policies.

It raises the possibility the UPC softens its platform and heads to the middle of the road in a bid to gain votes, a move that will almost certainly alienate its most ardently conservative members. Sound familiar? — Postmedia News