Alberta Party

This article is about an Alberta provincial party. For the similarly named federal party, see Party of Alberta.

Alberta Party
Active provincial party
Leader	Stephen Mandel
President	Rhiannon Hoyle
Founded	September 24, 1985 (1985-09-24)
Headquarters	Edmonton, Alberta
Ideology	Grassroots democracy Social liberalism Centrism Populism
Political position	Centre
Colours	Blue, green, and gold
Fiscal policy	Moderate
Social policy	Progressive
Seats in Legislature	3 / 87
Website
www.albertaparty.ca
Politics of Alberta Political parties Elections

The Alberta Party (French: Parti albertain), formally the Alberta Party Political Association, is a political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. The party describes itself as a centrist and pragmatic party that is not dogmatically ideological in its approach to politics.^[1][2]

For most of its history the Alberta Party was a right-wing organization, until the rise of the Wildrose Alliance as Alberta's main conservative alternative to the governing Progressive Conservatives attracted away the Alberta Party's more conservative members. This left a small rump of more comparatively left-wing members in control of the Alberta Party. In 2010, the Alberta Party board voted to merge with Renew Alberta, a progressive group that had been organizing to form a new political party in Alberta.^[3] The Alberta Party thus shed its conservative past for a more centrist^[4] political outlook. The party has been cited in The Globe and Mail^[5] and The Economist^[6] as part of the break in one-party politics in Alberta.

Contents

• 
  1 History
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 Early history
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 Ideological shift and party renewal
    
  
  
  • 
    1.3 2011 leadership election
    
  
  
  • 
    1.4 2012 Alberta general election
    
  
  
  • 
    1.5 2013 leadership election
    
  
  
  • 
    1.6 2018 leadership election
    
  
  
  • 
    1.7 Floor Crossings
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Leaders
  


• 
  3 Election results
  


• 
  4 Notes
  
  
  
  • 
    4.1 By-elections
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  5 References
  


• 
  6 External links
  

History

Early history

The Alberta Party began in the early 1980s as an alliance of small separatist political parties. The right side of Alberta's political spectrum was fragmented by parties spawned in the wake of the National Energy Program and feelings that Premier Peter Lougheed had done little to prevent the economic collapse it allegedly had caused. Some of these parties had already achieved some small success in attaining seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, though in the 1982 general election Social Credit, the Alberta Reform Movement and the Western Canada Concept lost their representation in the Legislature. The Heritage Party of Alberta, Representative Party of Alberta and the Confederation of Regions had been founded in the preceding years, which made for a total of five parties to the right of the Progressive Conservatives in 1985.

On October 30, 1990, this alliance of parties gave way to the creation of a new political party, the Alliance Party of Alberta.^[7] This change marked a transition away from trying to build a coalition of parties to full participation in electoral politics. The party participated in two by-elections, and fielded a handful of candidates in the 1993 general election but received only a small percentage of the popular vote in each case.^[8] The party did not contest the 1997 provincial election.^[9]

Alberta Party logo from 1998 to 2008

In 1998, the Alliance Party followed the example of the Saskatchewan Party and the Manitoba Party by changing its name to the Alberta Party Political Association, or the Alberta Party for short.^[10]

Shortly before the 2004 election, the Alberta Party attempted to merge with the Alberta Alliance Party (a different organization from the old Alliance Party of Alberta). The merged party would have adopted the Alberta Party platform, and the Alberta Party provincial council would have had seats on the Alberta Alliance Provincial Council. The deal fell through because the Alberta Party would not agree to de-register the Alberta Party name with Elections Alberta.^{[citation needed]} On October 1, 2004, shortly before the general election, the party shortened its registered name to "Alberta Party" from "the Alberta Party Political Association".^[11]

In the 2004 provincial election, the party nominated candidates in four ridings, winning a total of 2,485 votes, or 0.3% of the provincial total. The party fielded one candidate, Margaret Saunter, for the March 3 2008 provincial election. Saunter placed last out of a field of six candidates in Edmonton-Centre.

Ideological shift and party renewal

Alberta Party logo used after the ideological shift from 2009 to 2011

After the rise of the Wildrose Alliance as Alberta's main right-wing alternative to the governing Progressive Conservatives, the right-wing members of the Alberta Party left to join that party. This left a small group of centrists in control of the party. In 2009, former Alberta Greens deputy leader Edwin Erickson, who had been organizing a new "Progress Party", was invited to run as a leadership candidate for the Alberta Party and won by acclamation. In 2010 the Alberta Party board voted to merge with Renew Alberta, a progressive and centrist group that had been organizing to form a new political party.^[3]

During the merger process, the party's board agreed to suspend its old policy platform and start anew. To create a new platform different from its more right-wing history, in 2010 the party launched a campaign called "The Big Listen" in order to canvass the public for new policy ideas.^[12][13] The party held its first policy convention on November 13 and 14, 2010 to develop substantive policies from the ideas heard during "The Big Listen". At the convention, Erickson stepped down to make way for an acting leader until a leadership contest could be held. A first set of policies was released on November 23, 2010, to coincide with the announcement of the appointment of an acting leader, Sue Huff. These policies centred on five key areas: economy, health, environment, democratic renewal, and education.^[14] On January 24, 2011, former Liberal MLA Dave Taylor announced he was joining the Alberta Party, becoming the party's first MLA.^[15]

2011 leadership election

Alberta Party logo used from 2011 to 2016

The party announced in January 2011 that a leadership convention would be held in Edmonton on May 28, 2011.^[16] Four candidates contested the leadership of the party: Glenn Taylor, mayor of Hinton; Tammy Maloney, a social entrepreneur; businessman Randy Royer;^[17] and Lee Easton, chair of the English program at Mount Royal University.^[18] Chris Tesarski, CEO of Sandbox Energy Corporation, was also a candidate early in the contest,^[19] but on April 15 announced he would not seek the party's leadership, citing disagreements with some aspects of the party's philosophy and some party members' attitudes towards his candidacy.^[20] Dave Taylor, the party's only MLA, was also expected to run for the leadership,^[21] but did not join the campaign. At the convention, the election was decided on the first ballot when Glenn Taylor won just over 55% of the votes.^[22][23]

2012 Alberta general election

The party nominated 38 candidates to run in the 28th Alberta general election.^[24] None were elected.

2013 leadership election

After Glenn Taylor stepped down on September 22, 2012, the party remained without a leader for some months. On May 29, 2013, the party announced that it would be holding a leadership vote to coincide with its Annual General Meeting on September 21, 2013, in Edmonton.^[25] Entrepreneur and 2012 Calgary-Elbow election candidate Greg Clark, and self-employed consultant and 2012 Calgary-North West candidate Troy Millington, sought the leadership.^[26] Clark won the election, receiving 87% of the 337 votes cast.^[27]

2018 leadership election

Main article: Alberta Party leadership election, 2018

A leadership election was triggered when Greg Clark stepped down as leader on November 18, 2017.^[28] The election was held on February 27, 2018, after originally being scheduled to be on February 7.^[29]Stephen Mandel became the new leader of the party after achieving 66% of the vote.

Floor Crossings

On October 30, 2017, it was announced that former NDP MLA Karen McPherson who had left the Government Caucus earlier in the month would cross to join the Alberta Party as their third ever, and second current MLA. McPherson cited the need to make transformative change in healthcare and management of the economy, as well as the feeling that she could better advocate for her constituents and use her skills and abilities better in the Alberta Party.^[30]

In January 2018, former UCP MLA Rick Fraser announced that he would be joining the Alberta Party and running for its leadership race that had been triggered when Greg Clark stepped down. Fraser cited the divisive politics of the UCP for his departure, and the need to find "common sense policies" that "don't divide Albertans, but rather bring them closer together."^[31]

Fraser's joining of the Alberta Party tripled the caucus size from the results of the 2015 general election, leaving the Alberta Party as the third largest representation in the Legislature.

Leaders

Picture	Name	Start	Finish	Notes
	Howard Thompson	1986	1993
	Mark Waters	1993	1997
	George Flake	1997	1999
	Fred Schorning	1999	2001
	George Flake	2001	2004	Second time as leader.
	Bruce Stubbs	2004	2009
	Robert Leddy	2009	January 28, 2010	First leader of the ideological shift.
	Edwin Erickson	January 28, 2010	November 22, 2010	Leader for merger with Renew Alberta.
	Sue Huff	November 23, 2010	May 28, 2011	Interim leader.
	Glenn Taylor	May 28, 2011	September 22, 2012	Elected at a convention in Edmonton; stepped down after failing to win a seat in the 2012 Alberta general election.
	Greg Clark	September 21, 2013	February 27, 2018	After remaining leaderless for a year, the party elected Clark at a convention in Edmonton. Clark stepped down as leader on November 18, 2017, and became interim leader until the upcoming leadership election.
	Stephen Mandel	February 27, 2018	Present

Election results

Election	Leader	Candidates	Votes	%	Seats	+/-	Place	Position
1993 [a]	Mark Waters	4 / 83	3,548	0.36%	0 / 83	0	7th	No presence
2001[b]	Fred Schorning	12 / 83	5,361	0.53%	0 / 83	0	6th	No presence
2004	Bruce Stubbs	4 / 83	2,485	0.30%	0 / 83	0	8th	No presence
2008		1 / 83	51	0.01%	0 / 83	0	9th	No presence
2012	Glenn Taylor	38 / 87	17,172	1.33%	0 / 87	0	5th	No presence
2015	Greg Clark	36 / 87	33,867	2.28%	1 / 87	1	5th	No status
2019	Stephen Mandel	76 / 87	TBD	TBD	0 / 87	TBD	TBD	TBD

Notes

1. 
   ^ For 1993 election, the party was known as the Alliance Party of Alberta
   


2. 
   ^ During the 2001 election, the party formed a Coalition with the Social Credit Party^[32]
   

By-elections

Banner	Election	Date	Vote	%
Alliance Party	Little Bow by-election	March 5, 1992	399	7.14%
	Three Hills by-election	October 26, 1992	566	5.47%

References

1. 
   ^ "About the Alberta Party". Alberta Party. Archived from the original on April 6, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2011..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ Kolafa, Pat (February 11, 2011). "Alberta Party talks policy with Drumheller Councillors". Drumheller Mail. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
   


3. 
   ^ ^ab http://www.renewalberta.ca/ Archived June 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
   


4. 
   ^ Campbell, Ian (March 31, 2017). "Alberta Party makes strides as it looks to #BringCentreTogether". 660 News. Calgary.
   


5. 
   ^ Simpson, Jeffrey (February 2, 2011). "Alberta's one-party system is cracking up". Globe and Mail. Toronto.
   


6. 
   ^ "Prairie fire: A split in Canada's most powerful right-wing political machine". The Economist. January 27, 2011.
   


7. 
   ^ Thirteenth Annual Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Alberta. Elections Alberta. 1991.
   


8. 
   ^ "Calgary Currie Official Election Results 1993". Alberta Heritage. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
   


9. 
   ^ "1997 Alberta Provincial General Election Information". Elections Alberta. February 25, 1997. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
   


10. 
    ^ Nineteenth Annual Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Alberta. Elections Alberta. 1999.
    


11. 
    ^ "28th Annual Report of the Chief Electoral Officer" (PDF). Elections Alberta. 2004. p. 2.
    


12. 
    ^ daveberta on February 21, 2010 (February 21, 2010). "breakfast with the new alberta party. | Breakfast with the new Alberta Party". Daveberta.ca. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
    


13. 
    ^ "FFWD – The Alberta Party coming soon to a living room near you". Ffwdweekly.com. March 13, 2010. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
    


14. 
    ^ Alberta Party announces Acting Leader and releases first policies to Albertans Archived March 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
    


15. 
    ^ Dave Taylor, MLA for Calgary Currie joins the Alberta Party^{[dead link]}
    


16. 
    ^ Alberta Party kicks off leadership race^{[dead link]}
    


17. 
    ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 2, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-11.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link) Randy Royer
    


18. 
    ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-11.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link) Lee Easton
    


19. 
    ^ Oil exec to run for Alberta Party leadership
    


20. 
    ^ Chris Tesarski (April 15, 2011). "I Love Alberta". Christesarski.blogspot.com. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
    


21. 
    ^ Braid: Ex-Liberal Calgary MLA Dave Taylor to join Alberta Party Archived January 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
    


22. 
    ^ @midgelambertBRW (April 10, 2012). "Leadership election results announced". Albertaparty.ca. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
    


23. 
    ^ Hinton mayor elected first Alberta Party Leader^{[dead link]}
    


24. 
    ^ "Alberta Party 2012 election candidates". Albertaparty.ca. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
    


25. 
    ^ "Alberta Party announces Leadership Race". AlbertaParty.ca. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
    


26. 
    ^ "Two candidates vie for Alberta Party leadership". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
    


27. 
    ^ "Alberta Party elects new leader". Global News. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
    


28. 
    ^ Tait, Carrie (November 10, 2017). "Alberta Party leader Greg Clark to step down, opening door for leadership campaign". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
    


29. 
    ^ "Alberta Party releases rules for leadership race, extends contest date".
    


30. 
    ^ "Calgary MLA Karen McPherson joins Alberta Party after leaving NDP". Global News. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
    


31. 
    ^ "Former PC Rick Fraser running for Alberta Party leadership". Edmonton Journal. 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
    


32. 
    ^ "Political parties to merge". CBC News. February 7, 2000. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
    

External links

• Alberta Party website

v t e Provincial political parties in Alberta
Legislative Assembly	New Democratic (52) United Conservative (25) Alberta Party (3) Liberal (1) Progressive Conservative (1) Freedom Conservative (1) Independent (3)
Other registered parties	Alberta Advantage Communist Green Pro-Life Reform
Historical parties represented in the legislature	Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Dominion Labor Independent Citizen's Association Labor Representation Progressive Conservative Reform Movement Representative Social Credit Socialist United Farmers Veterans' and Active Force Western Canada Concept Wildrose

v t e Politics of Alberta
Lieutenant Governor	Lois Mitchell Former lieutenant governors
Premier	Rachel Notley Former Premiers List of Premiers by time in office
Legislature	Current assembly Former legislatures Executive Council (Cabinet) Speaker of the Assembly Bob Wanner Opposition Leader Jason Kenney Former Opposition Leaders
Political parties	New Democratic Rachel Notley United Conservative Jason Kenney Progressive Conservative Liberal David Khan Alberta Party Stephen Mandel Freedom Conservative Derek Fildebrandt Communist Naomi Rankin Green Romy Tittel Pro-Life Alberta Jeremy Fraser Reform Randy Thorsteinson
Elections	29th general election (2015) Past elections Electoral districts Current electoral divisions
Other Canadian politics: Federal AB BC MB NB NL NS ON PE QC SK NT NU YU

v t e Leaders of the Alberta Party and its predecessors
Thompson Waters Flake Schorning Flake Stubbs Leddy Erickson Huff Taylor Clark Mandel

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