Local lawyer to lead Alberta Liberal Party
Roggeveen's interim tag changes to permanent after leadership race fizzled
After a failed leadership contest last summer, the Alberta Liberal Party announced Thursday it has tapped interim leader John Roggeveen to stay on permanently ahead of the scheduled provincial election next spring.
Roggeveen, a Calgary-based lawyer, had served as the placeholder for the party's top job since 2021, after David Khan stepped down following a 2019 election that saw the party shut out of the legislature entirely for the first time since 1982. With a general election approaching, the party's board of directors unanimously approved a decision to have Roggeveen continue in the role without the “interim” designation.
“We are thrilled to have John Roggeveen serving as Alberta Liberal Party leader,” said party president Helen Mcmenamin. “His leadership has resonated strongly with our board, our members and a growing number of Albertans. Even in this challenging and polarized political climate, I am confident we will make gains under his leadership next election.”
The news of Roggeveen's appointment comes after a leadership contest was called off in August when nobody stepped forward to take the job. Roggeveen said party bylaws prohibited him as interim leader from throwing his hat in the ring then, but he's ready to take the reins now with a focus on repairing the party after a tumultuous decade.
“We definitely need to build the party. We definitely need to build up our donors. We need to express a vision that the people of Alberta can agree with,” he told Postmedia on Thursday. “Frankly, to some extent, we might have to rejuvenate our brand because we've been badmouthed for years and years and years.”
Financial reports show that through September 2022, the Liberals had raised almost $55,000 in donations — a number that dwindles in comparison to the NDP'S $3.9 million and the UCP'S close to $2.4 million. The Alberta Party also marginally out-fundraised the Liberals, collecting about $85,000, as did the fringe Pro-life Alberta Political Association, which raised more than $200,000.
Roggeveen said he's not certain the party will run a full slate of 87 candidates in the next election, but he hopes to set the party on the right course to bolster its presence in the province's political landscape.
“We believe that people need to have a Liberal option in Alberta,” he said. "If Liberal candidates are willing to step up and run, then, by all means, we will run as many candidates as we can find.
“But I'm interested in not only this election but in building the future for the Liberal Party in Alberta.”
Roggeveen said he plans to announce which constituency he'll run in by early next year.
His leadership has resonated strongly with our board, our members and a growing number of Albertans.