Two independent Alberta MLAs look to revive and rebrand the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, giving voters a choice on the ballot.
At an event held on Saturday in downtown Calgary, Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie and Lesser Slave Lake MLA Scott Sinclair are gathering support to bring back the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta.
Speaking to the crowd, they say it’s about re-establishing a brand the public already knows, and to give Albertans a choice in conservative parties in the province.
“And we’re committed to ensuring they have it,” Guthrie said.
The current conservative party in power was formerly known as the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1971 to 2015, until merging with the Wildrose Party to become the United Conservative Party (UCP) in 2017.
This happened after the PCs lost to the Alberta NDP in 2015, the first time in decades a non-conservative party won a provincial election. Former Premier Jason Kenney brought the two parties together to form the UCP.
Sinclair was removed from the UCP earlier this year after criticizing the budget, and Guthrie quit the party following a request for a public inquiry into procurement practices at Alberta Health Services.
“After the federal election, Danielle Smith dropped the referendum question on everybody, and I think that just hammered home that we don’t believe in that,” Sinclair told CityNews.
“We believe we are conservatives and Canadians at the same time.”
Smith, speaking at a press conference at the beginning of July, claims a law was previously passed that does not allow legacy parties of the UCP to register as new parties.
“That is so that we do not have confusion for voters. We’re going to raise that with the elections officials and remind them that that’s what the law says, and we would expect that the law will be followed,” Alberta’s premier said.
However, Guthrie says the UCP didn’t register the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta name, and it became available.
“That name was put up on the site immediately after the last election. Someone within the UCP … they dropped the ball,” he said,
The duo has to gather roughly 8,900 signatures before Nov. 26 for the party to officially bring back the former name.