Alberta Party’s leadership battle a three-person race
CALGARY The Alberta Party leadership contest will be a three-way race.
At the 5 p.m. Monday deadline, there were no last-minute contenders jumping in the race to join the three candidates who had already declared.
The field is made up of Kara Levis, a Calgary-based lawyer for TransCanada and chair of the National Women’s Liberal Commission; Rick Fraser, the Calgary-South East MLA elected as a Progressive Conservative in 2012 and 2015; and Stephen Mandel, former mayor of Edmonton and PC cabinet minister.
Susan Elliott, co-chair of the Alberta Party’s leadership election committee, said the party’s board would have the final say when they meet Monday night on whether the candidates are allowed to run, but their papers are in order and the committee is recommending they be approved.
There will be two leadership debates: Edmonton on Jan. 24 and Calgary on Feb. 8.
A meet-and-greet with the candidates will also be held Tuesday night at the Kerby Centre in Calgary. Election results will be announced on Feb. 27.
Elliott believes the party will be well-served by candidates who bring a different mixture of age, gender, geographical and political backgrounds. “I think the voters have a pretty good selection,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a lively contest.”
A former PC strategist, Elliott downplayed having two former PC cabinet ministers in the race.
She noted that the three current members of caucus include former leader and longtime Alberta Party member Greg Clark, a former Tory in Fraser and former New Democrat Karen McPherson.
Leadership candidates were required to post an initial $5,000 fee, with another $5,000 due at the end of the month.
Half of that amount is a refundable good-conduct bond.
Fraser and Mandel will also require waivers from the board to run because they have not been Alberta Party members for a year, as required by party rules.
Clark stepped down as leader last fall to generate interest and membership sales for the Alberta Party, which saw an opportunity for growth as the new United Conservative Party replaced the PC and Wildrose parties.