Redford vows to end ideological turf war
Premier insists Albertans are socially progressive
For 28 days, the Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose party duked it out in Canada’s conservative heartland over who truly represents Alberta values.
The Wildrose’s Danielle Smith argued Alison Redford wanted to change the character of the province; the Tory leader countered Alberta itself was already changing.
After capturing a healthy majority of 61 seats in the hard-fought provincial election, Redford said Tuesday she’s not interested in revisiting the ideological battles of the past.
Hours after winning the Tories’ 12th majority government, the premier told reporters Albertans have embraced a vision of the province that’s socially progressive and fiscally conservative.
“These ideologies that have been in place before I don’t think reflect Alberta. Alberta last night elected a Progressive Conservative government. I think Albertans are comfortable with understanding what that means,” she said in Calgary.
“And I don’t intend to spend the next four years explaining and differentiating on an ideological basis what that means. What we’re going to do is implement the plan we put in place.”
Setting aside the ideological questions, one of the first orders of business for Alberta’s newly elected premier will be to restart a spring sitting of the provincial legislature.
Redford will face a strengthened Wildrose, which formed the Official Opposition with 17 seats despite being widely expected to upend the Tory dynasty with its own brand of rock-ribbed conservatism.
The Liberals won five seats and the NDP four.
What’s on the spring legislative agenda isn’t yet known, but during the campaign Redford pledged money for health, education and infrastructure and support for the public health system.
In the process, she’s staked out her territory as a progressive within the party of Peter Lougheed, Don Getty, Ralph Klein and Ed Stelmach.
She swung hard at Wildrose on social conservative hot-button issues, such as conscience rights and abortion, while condemning in sensitive comments made by Wildrose candidates on homosexuality and race.
Redford won, in part, by attracting former Liberal and NDP supporters, even as many right-wing PCS moved to Wildrose, analysts say.
Her Red Tory roots run deep, including serving as an aide to Joe Clark as he sat in the federal PC cabinet.
The former prime minister declined an interview request Tuesday, but said in an e-mail he was “very pleased by the results, which reflect an Alberta reality quite different from the stereotypes.”
Stephen Carter, Redford’s campaign strategist for her leadership run last year and for the PC re-election campaign, said Albertans have practical priorities of open and transparent government, investing in infrastructure, supporting the needy.
He suggested Redford’s brand of Red Toryism is not unusual in Canadian politics, even among Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s federal Conservatives.
“They’re far more progressive than they would let on,” said Carter. “Stephen Harper is a pragmatist at his heart and he’s taking the positions the vast majority of Canadians want him to take.”
On Tuesday, Harper called Redford to offer congratulations, causing her to be late for her own news conference. She said they had a good conversation and pledged a strong rela-
The results . . . reflect an Alberta reality quite different from the stereotypes
JOE CLARK
tionship between Alberta and Ottawa moving forward.
The premier insisted there will be no hangover from the fact some key players in the federal Conservative government backed Wildrose.
“I’ve known the prime minister since I was 19. We’ve had a good relationship. We’ve had some successes already and I think we’re going to continue to work very hard,” said Redford.
But much of Tuesday’s attention focused on how Redford managed to stage a surprise come-from-behind victory after polls last week indicated her government was going to be defeated by the Wildrose’s Danielle Smith.
Carter said there were several seismic shifts in the campaign.
After a first 10 days of turmoil, the Tory party eventually began to get traction with its pledge of funding for new schools, Carter said. The PC campaign quickly contrasted it to Smith’s promise of “energy dividend” payments to Albertans.
The debate and t he Wildrose “bozo eruptions” also were key moments for the PC campaign, said Carter.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi — also a trailblazer in Alberta politics — entered the provincial election fray last week by expressing disappointment at Smith’s handling of controversial comments by her own candidates.
“A lot of things had an impact on the outcome, particularly in the last few days. It was important for me to stand up for a Calgary that reflects the Calgary that is, and a Calgary that stands up against intolerance,” Nenshi said Tuesday.
“Certainly a change did happen in the electorate.”
Mount Royal University political analyst David Taras said while Redford has remade the PC party in her image “she can’t afford to lose” new voters who came to the PCS.
“As long as they occupy the cities and as long as they occupy the middle of the political spectrum, boy, they’re going to be very hard to dislodge, especially if there’s a prosperous economy,” he said.