Fledgling Alberta Party accomplishes early goal

The numbers are not important this time around.

Sure, Leader Glenn Taylor hoped the new centrist Alberta Party would win a few seats in the legislative assembly.

But mostly this first campaign was about building a foundation.

“I feel we accomplished what we set out to,” Taylor said Monday evening on election night.

“Our goal was to introduce ourselves to Albertans, and from that perspective, it was a smashing success.

“We put forward quality candidates and campaigned with integrity, and have a right to feel proud about the manner in which we conducted ourselves.

“From the beginning, we knew we had to keep a longtime focus. We knew we had to earn our stripes.”

Promoting themselves as the voice of reason in a race mainly dominated by conservative cousins, the fledgling Albertans fielded a stable of 38 candidates on an electoral map with 87 ridings.

Realistically, they knew they had no shot at winning — but staked their hopes on good showings by Taylor in West Yellowhead, Sue Huff in Edmonton-glenora and Michael Walters in Edmonton-Rutherford.

Early poll results were not promising, however, with all in arrears by a wide margin.

“I think it has been a remarkably successful race for us, no matter what the outcome,” said Huff, who was out waving campaign signs at 7:30 a.m. Monday. “We appealed to people’s hope, and did it with grace and dignity at a time when all of the other parties were fanning the flames with fear and anger.

“We always found a constructive way forward, and for that, I am incredibly proud.”

Hamstrung by a relatively modest budget and left out of the televised leadership debate, the Alberta Party was the choice of only about three per cent of voters in opinion polls released in the days leading up to election day.

As the first results trickled in Monday night, they were at one per cent.

But the Albertans never hoped to form government — only to get noticed.

“Will it pay off in the future?” Taylor asked. “I guess we’ll see in 2016.

“For now, though, we did what we needed.”

Lorraine Hjalte, Calgary Herald From left, the Alberta Party’s Richard Einarson, Rob Taylor, Brian Thiessen, Dan Furst, and Bill Blast gather at the Rhino Bar on 11th Avenue S.W. to watch the election results.