Alberta’s two main right-of-centre parties have voted to unite.
The province’s Progressive Conservative Party voted 95 per cent in favour of a merger with the Opposition Wildrose Party, it was announced Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Alberta Wildrose Party members voted more than 95 per cent in favour of unifying with the province’s Progressive Conservatives – exceeding a 75-per-cent threshold that was seen as the main hurdle to the two right-of-centre parties merging.
The Wildrose constitution requires that any major change be approved by more than three-quarters of members. Supporters of unity were confident they had the support of a simple majority of the 43,000 party member eligible to vote, but weren’t as sure they would get to 75 per cent. In contrast, the PCs only required 50 per cent of members to support the question for the measure to pass.
The decisive vote by Wildrose and PC members Saturday marks a significant shift on Alberta’s political scene. It means a new United Conservative Party is likely to be a formal entity by Monday, one that will immediately begin preparing to challenge Alberta Premier Rachel Notley’s NDP for control of the provincial government in the 2019 election.
In the 2015 provincial election that brought Ms. Notley’s party to power, the NDP won 41 per cent of the popular vote. But the two right-of-centre parties collectively took more than 50 per cent of the vote – the Wildrose got 24 per cent and the PCs got 28 per cent.
Boosters of unity had been hopeful that the measure would pass, and had been emboldened by growth in membership sales in both parties this year that they said was a clear display of support for the merger.
On Monday afternoon, MLAs from both the Wildrose and PC parties will meet in Edmonton as a united caucus to choose an interim leader. The two legacy parties, as they are known, will cease to be operational.
This weekend also marks the beginning of what will be an intense leadership contest to lead the new entity. It will culminate in an Oct. 28 vote.
Wildrose Leader Brian Jean and PC Leader Jason Kenney have both stated their intention to run in the contest. Calgary lawyer Doug Schweitzer also says he’s in the race, and Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt is considering a run.
Wildrose voting scheduled between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. MT Saturday had been marred by confusion over the pin codes required to vote online. Some party members had received two or more pins; some had received none. Party officials were left scrambling late Friday and early Saturday to get pins to members, and to sort out the confusion. On Twitter, some members complained of long waits on help phone lines.
Wildrose party president Jeff Callaway said the pin problem affected at least hundreds of party members. He said it was caused as a result of issues such as address changes, addresses entered incorrectly, and shared e-mail addresses.
He said the results remain legitimate, as a credentials committee is making sure any vote that comes as a result of a second pin will be invalidated.
“As of about noon, we were at about 20,000 people who had voted,” Mr. Callaway said Saturday afternoon.
With a report from The Canadian Press
Follow Kelly Cryderman on Twitter: @KellyCryderman
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