The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (often referred to
colloquially as Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta) was a provincial
centre-right
Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...
party in the
Canadian province
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...
of
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...
that existed from 1905 to 2020. The party formed the provincial government, without interruption, from 1971 until the party's defeat in the
2015 provincial election under premiers
Peter Lougheed,
Don Getty
Donald Ross Getty (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergo ...
,
Ralph Klein
Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 20 ...
,
Ed Stelmach
Edward Michael Stelmach (; born May 11, 1951) is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th premier of Alberta, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and fluently speak ...
,
Alison Redford,
Dave Hancock
David Graeme Hancock (born August 10, 1955) is a Canadian lawyer and was the 15th premier of Alberta in 2014. Since 2017, he has served as a judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta. From 1997 to 2014, he was a Member of the Legislative Ass ...
and
Jim Prentice
Peter Eric James Prentice (July 20, 1956 – October 13, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candida ...
. At 44 years, this was the longest unbroken run in government at the provincial or federal level in Canadian history.
In July 2017, the party membership of the PC and the
Wildrose Party
The Wildrose Party (legally Wildrose Political Association, formerly the ''Wildrose Alliance Political Association'') was a conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. The party was formed by the merger in early 2008 of the Al ...
voted to approve a merger to become the
United Conservative Party
The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party ...
(UCP). Due to previous legal restrictions that did not formally permit parties to merge or transfer their assets, the PC Party and Wildrose Party maintained a nominal existence and ran one candidate each in the 2019 election, in which the UCP won a majority, to prevent forfeiture of their assets. The UCP government, under Premier
Jason Kenney
Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...
, later passed legislation allowing parties to merge, clearing the way for the PCs to formally dissolve on February 7, 2020.
History
Origins and early years
The party was created from the
Northwest Territories Liberal-Conservative Party
The North-West Territories Liberal-Conservative Party also known formally as the Liberal-Conservative Association prior to 1903 and the Territorial Conservative Association after 1903, was a short lived political party in the Northwest Territorie ...
that existed from 1898 to 1905. Unlike its predecessor party, who formed government during its entire existence, the Alberta Conservatives were a marginal party for most of the first 60 years after Alberta became a province. In the province's first election, the
1905 election, the Conservatives, led by future Canadian
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Richard Bennett, won only two seats and were barely able to improve on that in subsequent elections. The main policy difference between the Tories and the
Alberta Liberal Party
The Alberta Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral de l'Alberta) is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest active political party in Alberta and was the dominant political party until the 1921 election ...
was over the Tories' belief that the province should control its natural resources, which the province had been denied. However, those concerns fell on deaf ears in the midst of an economic boom. Additionally, the Liberals had the advantage of incumbency; they were in office on an interim basis pending the first election.
On the political sidelines
In the
1913 election, the Tories achieved a breakthrough, winning 18 seats and 45% of the vote. Despite this result, and an even better result in the
1917 election, they were still unable to beat the Liberals. The Tories then split into 'traditional' and 'radical' camps. The party collapsed, and was unable to run a full slate of candidates in the
1921 election. Only one Conservative
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
(MLA) was returned to the
Legislative Assembly in this election, in which the new
United Farmers of Alberta
The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...
(UFA) defeated the Liberals, and took power.
For the next 45 years, the Tories were unable to elect more than a half dozen MLAs. The party was marginalized after the UFA was able to negotiate the province's control of its resources from Ottawa, denying the Tories their major policy plank.
In 1935, the UFA collapsed. The
Social Credit Party of Alberta
Alberta Social Credit was a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on social credit monetary policy put forward by Clifford Hugh Douglas and on conservative Christian social values. The Canadian social credit movement ...
took power on a populist and Christian conservative platform. Social Credit attracted conservative voters for decades, particularly after the party moved away from its radical
social credit
Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...
economic theories, and embraced fiscal conservatism.
The party in the 1940s and 1950s
In the late 1930s, the Conservatives and Liberals formed a united front in an attempt to fight Social Credit and, as a result, no Conservative candidates ran in
1940, the
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
, or
1948. Supporters of both parties ran instead as ''independents''.
The failure of the coalition strategy led to the reemergence of separate Liberal and Conservative parties in the early 1950s. The Tories only nominated five candidates in the
1952 election, only one of whom won election. The Conservatives were led in the general election of 1959 by
William J. Cameron Kirby, Member for Red Deer from 1954 to 1959.
The Tories became ''Progressive Conservatives'' in 1959 in order to conform with the name of the federal
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003.
From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...
. The party continued to be unable to improve their fortunes, and by
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
was swept out of the legislature altogether.
The party under Peter Lougheed and Don Getty
In March 1965,
Peter Lougheed became leader of the party, and began transforming it into a political force by combining fiscal conservatism with a modernist, urban outlook. This approach was in stark contrast to the
parochialism
Parochialism is the state of mind, whereby one focuses on small sections of an issue rather than considering its wider context. More generally, it consists of being narrow in scope. In that respect, it is a synonym of " provincialism". It may, p ...
and rural
agrarianism
Agrarianism is a political and social philosophy that has promoted subsistence agriculture, smallholdings, and egalitarianism, with agrarian political parties normally supporting the rights and sustainability of small farmers and poor peasants ...
of Social Credit. In particular, the party started gaining support in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
and
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
. Social Credit had been very popular in urban areas for decades—indeed, long-serving Premier
Ernest Manning
Ernest Charles Manning, (September 20, 1908 – February 19, 1996), a Canadian politician, was the eighth Premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any other premier in Alberta's histor ...
represented an Edmonton riding. However, at bottom, it was a rural-based party, and never lost this essential character. It was thus slow to adapt to the changes in Alberta as its two largest cities gained increasing influence.
In
1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
, the Tories returned to the legislature, electing six
MLAs. Lougheed became
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
.
In 1968, Manning retired after 25 years, and was replaced by
Harry Strom
Harry Edwin Strom (July 7, 1914 – October 2, 1984) was the ninth premier of Alberta, from 1968 to 1971. His two-and-a-half years as Premier were the last of the thirty-six-year Social Credit dynasty, as his defeat by Peter Lougheed saw its r ...
. After having spent nearly all of its 33-year history as the governing party, Social Credit had grown tired and complacent. Albertans, particularly those associated with the booming oil industry, began to turn to the young and dynamic Lougheed Tories. They were very active for an opposition in a
Westminster system, introducing 21 bills. Over the next four years, Lougheed saw his small caucus grow to 10 members as a result of two
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
wins—one of which was Manning's old Edmonton seat—and two
floor-crossings.
In the
1971 election, the Progressive Conservatives campaigned on a simple theme--NOW!--symbolizing their goal of increasing Alberta's clout in Canada. On August 30, the Tories won power for the first time in Alberta's history. They finished only four percentage points ahead of Social Credit. However, they swept Edmonton and took all but five seats in Calgary. Due to the
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
system, this gave Lougheed a strong majority government, with 49 of the 75 seats in the legislature. He won a second term in resounding fashion in
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, reducing the opposition to six MLAs (four Socreds, one
New Democrat
New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...
and one independent) in total. During the Lougheed years, Alberta became a virtual one-party state, much like it had been during the height of the Manning years. Indeed, the six opposition MLAs elected in 1975 would be the most that Lougheed would face during his final three terms. The Tories would govern with fairly large majorities for the next four decades, though nowhere near as large as the ones Lougheed had.
In power, the Progressive Conservatives fought a long battle with the federal government over control of Alberta's natural resources (particularly oil). The oil industry provided the Alberta government with large revenue surpluses that allowed it to maintain Alberta as the only province or territory in Canada without a provincial retail
sales tax
A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...
. Alberta experienced a large development boom, particularly in Calgary, in the 1970s and 1980s.
Lougheed retired in 1985, and
Don Getty
Donald Ross Getty (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergo ...
, a former longtime cabinet minister under Lougheed, came out of retirement to succeed him. Getty was unable to match Lougheed's dominance in the provincial legislature, but he enjoyed large majorities nevertheless.
The party under Klein and Stelmach
While the popularity of the Tories sagged somewhat under Don Getty, it was revived under
Ralph Klein
Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 20 ...
, who succeeded Getty as premier in 1992. Klein moved the party sharply to the right, and under his watch the Alberta Tories were one of the most (if not ''the'' most) right-wing provincial governments in Canada. In contrast, under Lougheed and Getty, the party was considered a classic example of a
Red Tory
A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, most predominantly in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. This philosophy tends to favour ...
government.
The party's rightward turn came at the same time that the
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada (french: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protes ...
replaced the federal Tories as the dominant party in Alberta's federal politics. Reform and its successor, the
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...
, dominated the province's federal politics until 2003, when it merged with the federal Tories to become the
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
. The Alliance's first leader,
Stockwell Day
Stockwell Burt Day Jr. (born August 16, 1950) is a Canadian former politician who led the Canadian Alliance from 2000 to 2001, and a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.
A provincial cabinet minister from Alberta, Day served as minister ...
, was a cabinet minister under Klein.
The party was reduced to 51 seats in the
1993 election, the closest it would come to losing power during its four decades in office. However, he won a larger majority in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
. In
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
, Klein led the PCs to their biggest majority since the Lougheed era, reducing the opposition to only nine MLAs (seven Liberals, two NDP) in total.
It was viewed as unlikely that a centrist or left-leaning opposition party (the Liberals and NDP, respectively) would be in a serious position to challenge the Conservatives for power in the
2004 general election. The Liberals, New Democrats, and a new right-wing party, the
Alberta Alliance, all campaigned aggressively against the Tories in 2004. The Klein government was re-elected, but lost a dozen urban seats. Many pundits expected losses in Edmonton, the traditional heartland of the provincial Liberals; indeed, the Conservatives were cut down to three seats in Edmonton (but subsequently gained a fourth on a recount). However, the Conservatives unexpectedly lost three seats to the Liberals in Calgary, where the Tories had previously held every seat.
The Alliance did not seriously challenge the Tories' majority, but it was competitive in several rural districts that could formerly have been described as Tory bastions. For instance, the one seat taken by the Alliance,
Cardston-Taber-Warner
Cardston-Taber-Warner was a provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-pos ...
, in the southwest, had been an ultra-safe Tory seat for 30 years. This has led many pundits to conclude that although the Alliance gained less than ten percent of the popular vote in 2004, it was potentially in a position to launch a more serious challenge to the Tories in the future.
On April 4, 2006, after receiving a 55% vote of support from his party, Klein issued a press release expressing his intent to retire. A number of candidates stepped forward as possible replacements for a
leadership election
A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party.
Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...
in late 2006. Klein officially resigned on September 20, 2006. The first round of voting on November 25 eliminated all but three candidates -
Jim Dinning
James Francis Dinning (born December 4, 1952) is a Canadian Progressive Conservative politician and businessman. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta (1986–1997), and now serves on the board of directors of a variety of Canad ...
,
Ted Morton
Frederick Lee Morton (born 1949), known commonly as Ted Morton, is an American-Canadian politician and former cabinet minister in the Alberta government. As a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, he represented the constituency of Fo ...
and
Ed Stelmach
Edward Michael Stelmach (; born May 11, 1951) is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th premier of Alberta, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and fluently speak ...
. None received the required 50% of the vote, so a second round was held on December 2. In the second round, Stelmach was declared the winner. He assumed the premiership on December 14. In mid-2007, the Tories passed the Socreds as the longest-serving government in Alberta history.
Stelmach would go on to stun pundits and even his own supporters when he led the Tories to an increased majority in the
2008 general election, winning 72 of 83 seats. Notably, they won 13 in Edmonton, their highest total in the capital since 1982. The Tories continued to lose ground in Calgary, winning 18 seats to the Liberals' five. The Liberals were nonetheless reduced to nine seats and the NDP two, and with the Tories re-taking
Cardston-Taber-Warner
Cardston-Taber-Warner was a provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-pos ...
from the renamed
Wildrose Alliance
The Wildrose Party (legally Wildrose Political Association, formerly the ''Wildrose Alliance Political Association'') was a Conservatism in Canada, conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. The party was formed by the merger i ...
in a close race.
The party under Redford
On January 25, 2011, Stelmach announced his intention to step down as party leader and Premier prior to the
next provincial election as a result of a dispute with his finance minister,
Ted Morton
Frederick Lee Morton (born 1949), known commonly as Ted Morton, is an American-Canadian politician and former cabinet minister in the Alberta government. As a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, he represented the constituency of Fo ...
, over the provincial budget. Stelmach formally resigned in September 2011. Justice Minister
Alison Redford won the following leadership contest on October 2, 2011, and was sworn in as Premier on October 7, 2011, becoming Alberta's first female Premier.
Most polls from 2011 onward showed the PCs losing badly to the Wildrose. However, Redford defied expectations by leading the PCs to a 12th consecutive majority government in the 2012 provincial election. The PCs won 61 seats, a loss of only five. On June 18, 2013, the Alberta PCs passed their
Ontario counterparts as the second-longest running provincial government in Canadian history; the Ontario PCs spent 42 consecutive years in office from 1943 to 1985.
With her approval rating at 18% and growing caucus discontent, including the defection of two MLAs, Redford announced on March 19, 2014, that she was resigning as Premier effective March 23, 2014.
After her departure, it emerged that Redford had used provincial resources for personal and partisan purposes.
Interim leadership under Hancock and defeat under Prentice
Deputy Premier
Dave Hancock
David Graeme Hancock (born August 10, 1955) is a Canadian lawyer and was the 15th premier of Alberta in 2014. Since 2017, he has served as a judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta. From 1997 to 2014, he was a Member of the Legislative Ass ...
took over as interim leader and premier pending a leadership convention. On September 6, 2014, former federal
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
cabinet minister
Jim Prentice
Peter Eric James Prentice (July 20, 1956 – October 13, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candida ...
was elected leader on the first ballot with more than 76% of the vote. Two days earlier, the Alberta PCs passed the
Nova Scotia Liberals as the longest-serving provincial government in Canadian history; the Nova Scotia Liberals spent 43 consecutive years in government from 1882 to 1925.
On October 27, 2014, the PCs swept four byelections, electing Prentice and three other PC candidates.
On November 24, 2014
Kerry Towle (
Innisfail-Sylvan Lake
Innisfail-Sylvan Lake is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. It is one of 87 current districts mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.
The distri ...
), and
Ian Donovan
Ian Donovan (born July 7, 1976) is a Canadian politician who was an elected member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Little Bow. Donovan was the Agriculture and Rural Development Critic with the Wildros ...
(
Little Bow
Little Bow was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1913 to 2019.
Throughout its history, this district has been dominated by agricultural activities ...
),
crossed the floor
Crossed may refer to:
* ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis
* ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie
* "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead''
S ...
to join the PC Party's caucus giving the turmoil within the Wildrose Party, uncertainty about official opposition
Wildrose Party
The Wildrose Party (legally Wildrose Political Association, formerly the ''Wildrose Alliance Political Association'') was a conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. The party was formed by the merger in early 2008 of the Al ...
Danielle Smith
Marlaina Danielle Smith (born April 1, 1971) is a Canadian politician and journalist who has been serving as the 19th premier of Alberta since October 11, 2022, and leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) since October 6, 2022. Smith ent ...
's leadership and confidence in Prentice as reasons for their move.
They were followed on December 17, 2014, by Smith and eight other Wildrose members — deputy leader
Rob Anderson,
Gary Bikman
Gary W. Bikman (born November 13, 1943) is a Canadian politician who was previously an elected member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Cardston-Taber-Warner.
Prior to his election to the legislature ...
,
Rod Fox
Rodney M. "Rod" Fox (born c. 1981) is a Canadian politician who is a former elected member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Lacombe-Ponoka.
Fox's professional background is in insurance, finance, ma ...
,
Jason Hale,
Bruce McAllister
Bruce McAllister (born 1946) is an American author of fantasy, science fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. He is known primarily for his short fiction. Over the years his short stories have been published in the major fantasy and science fiction m ...
,
Blake Pedersen
Blake James Pedersen (born February 9, 1965) is a Canadian politician who was an elected member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, previously representing the electoral district of Medicine Hat. He was born at Gull Lake, Saskatchewan.
He wa ...
,
Bruce Rowe
Thomas Bruce Rowe (born November 8, 1942) is a Canadian politician who was an elected member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills from 2012 until 2015. Prior to the 2012 provin ...
and
Jeff Wilson — also joining the Progressive Conservative caucus. Smith said that extensive talks with Prentice revealed that she and Prentice had much common ground, and therefore it made no sense for her to continue in opposition. The defections were termed "an unprecedented move in Canadian political history" and reduced the Wildrose Party to just 5 seats, tied with the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
.
Prentice's efforts were not enough to save the PCs from being heavily defeated at the
May 5, 2015 provincial election. The
Alberta New Democratic Party
The Alberta New Democratic Party (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Alberta), commonly shortened to Alberta's NDP, is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada. It is the provincial Alberta affiliate of the federal New Democr ...
, led by
Rachel Notley
Rachel Anne Notley (born April 17, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Alberta from 2015 to 2019, and has been the leader of the Opposition since 2019. She sits as the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for E ...
, rebounded from fourth place in the legislature to a strong majority government. They actually finished second in the popular vote, more than 50,000 votes ahead of the Wildrose. However, due to a near-total collapse in Edmonton (where they lost every seat) and Calgary (where they won only eight seats), they were reduced to 10 seats–all but two of which were in Calgary–and third place behind the NDP and the Wildrose. The PCs were reduced to their smallest presence in the legislature since 1967. It was one of the largest defeats suffered by a provincial government in Canada. With the result beyond doubt, Prentice immediately announced his resignation as party leader, disclaimed his election to a full term in his Calgary riding, and retired from politics.
Ric McIver
Richard William McIver (born August 28, 1958) is a Canadian politician who has represented Calgary-Hays in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta since 2012. A member of the United Conservative Party (UCP), McIver is the current minister of munic ...
was chosen
interim leader by caucus on May 11, 2015.
The party under Kenney and merger
The 2017 leadership election was held on March 18, 2017, and resulted in former federal cabinet minister
Jason Kenney
Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...
, formerly the
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
federal MP for
Calgary Midnapore
Calgary Midnapore is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. It has been represented by Stephanie Kusie since she won the 2017 by-election.
Calgary Midnapore was ...
, winning on the first ballot.
Kenney campaigned on a pledge to seek a merger with the Wildrose and form a unified centre-right party, similar to the
Unite the Right movement that formed the federal Conservative Party.
On May 18, 2017, Kenney and Wildrose leader
Brian Jean
Brian Michael Jean (born February 3, 1963) is a Canadian politician who has served as the minister of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development since 2022 and the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche since Mar ...
announced that their two parties had come to a merger agreement pending the outcome of votes that will be held by the membership of both parties on July 22, 2017. Pending approval by a margin of 50%+1 of Progressive Conservative members and 75% of Wildrose members, the parties were slated to begin the process of merging into the
United Conservative Party
The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party ...
, with a leadership election to occur on October 28, 2017, and a founding convention to be held in 2018. On July 22, 2017, Progressive Conservative and the Wildrose members voted, in both cases with 95% of voting members in favour, to approve the merger.
Of the 42,617 Wildrose members eligible to vote on July 22, 2017, there was a 57 per cent turnout with 23,466 voters (95%) in favour of the agreement and 1,132 (5%) against, clearing the 75% threshold required by the party's constitution. The Progressive Conservative membership also approved the agreement by a margin of 95% to 5%. With a turnout of 55% of eligible members, 25,692 PC members voted yes and 1,344 voted no with 24 spoiled ballots; the party's constitution required a
simple majority of its membership to approve the merger.
With the exception of
Richard Starke
Richard Karl Alfred Starke (born June 18, 1960) is a Canadian politician who represented the electoral district of Vermilion-Lloydminster in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Starke was elected to his first term as MLA for Vermilion-Lloydmin ...
, the entire PC caucus joined the new UCP caucus on July 24, 2017. Starke continued as the lone PC MLA until he announced he would not be running for re-election in the 2019 Provincial Election.
Post-merger legal status and official dissolution
Because Alberta electoral law did not permit parties to formally merge (or even to transfer money among themselves), the PC and Wildrose parties did not formally dissolve upon creation of the new UCP. As a result, when the UCP officially came into existence on July 24, 2017; the UCP's interim leadership team formally assumed the leaderships of the PC and Wildrose parties as well. In that role, they withdrew both organizations from any meaningful public presence, thus effectively dissolving them although they continued to exist on paper. In order to give ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' effect to the merger, all PC members in good standing of as of July 24 became members of the UCP from that date, and all but a few PC members formally withdrew their memberships in the PCs. Legally, the core leadership team of the UCP remained members of both the PC and Wildrose parties. (Notwithstanding this, after he refused to join the UCP caucus, Richard Starke continued to be designated a PC member of the legislature until the 2019 election.)
To maintain their registration through the
2019 Alberta general election
The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16, 2019, to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest, the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 ...
, both the PCs and Wildrose ran one
paper candidate
In a representative democracy, a paper candidate (also known as a no-hope candidate) is a candidate who stands for a political party in an electoral division where the party in question enjoys only low levels of support. Although the candidate ...
each in that election. Both of these nominal candidates appeared on the ballot in
Edmonton-Strathcona
Edmonton-Strathcona is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. It shares the same name as the federal electoral district of Edmonton Strathcona.
The boundaries of Edmonton-Strathcona include the neig ...
, the riding held by incumbent Premier Notley and considered among the NDP's safest seats.
The newly elected UCP government passed legislation allowing parties to merge during the Fall 2019 legislative session. On February 7, 2020, the merger was formally approved by Elections Alberta, allowing the party to officially merge into the UCP and dissolve.
Party leaders
Northwest Territories Liberal-Conservative Party
*
Frederick Haultain
Sir Frederick William Alpin Gordon Haultain (November 25, 1857 – January 30, 1942) was a lawyer and a long-serving Canadian politician and judge. His career in provincial and territorial legislatures stretched into four decades. He served ...
(1897–1905)
Conservative Party of Alberta
*
Richard (R.B.) Bennett (
1905 election)
*
Albert Robertson
Albert John Robertson (September 17, 1864 – January 3, 1952) was a Canadian politician from Alberta and the first Leader of the Opposition in the province's history. He led the Conservatives in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 t ...
(1905–1909)
*
Richard (R.B.) Bennett (1909–1910)
*
Edward Michener
Edward Michener (August 18, 1869 – June 16, 1947) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and senator from Alberta.
Early life
Edward Michener was born on August 18, 1867, to Jac ...
(1910–1917)
*
George Hoadley (1917–1920)
*
James Ramsey (1920–1921)
*
Alexander McGillivray
Alexander McGillivray, also known as ''Hoboi-Hili-Miko'' (December 15, 1750February 17, 1793), was a Muscogee (Creek) leader. The son of a Muscogee mother and a Scottish father, he had skills no other Creek of his day had: he was not only liter ...
(1925–1930)
*
David Milwyn Duggan
David Milwyn Duggan (May 5, 1879 – May 4, 1942) was a Welsh-born Canadian politician who was the Mayor of Edmonton from 1920 to 1923, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and a leader of the Conservative Party of Alberta.
Early li ...
(1930–1942)
*
John Percy Page
John Percy Page (May 14, 1887 – March 2, 1973) was a Canadian teacher, basketball coach, provincial politician, and the eighth Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
Early life and education
Born in Rochester, New York, the son of Absalom Bell Page ...
(
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
,
1955 elections)
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
*
Cam Kirby
William J. Cameron "Cam" Kirby (January 12, 1909 – June 27, 2003) was an Alberta politician, leader of the Conservative Party, barrister, Queen's Counsel, and a Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench.
Born in Calgary. Kirby's great grandf ...
(
1959 election)
*
Ernest Watkins
Ernest Shilston Watkins (June 18, 1902 – 1982) was a provincial politician and author from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1957 to 1963.
Political career
Watkins was elected in a by-election ...
interim (1959–1962)
*
Milt Harradence
Asa Milton "Milt" Harradence (1922 – February 28, 2008)Komarnicki, Jamie, March 2, 2008 ''Edmonton Journal'' was a Canadian criminal lawyer, pilot, politician and judge of the Court of Appeal of Alberta.
Early life
Harradence was born in Bl ...
(1962–1964)
*
Peter Lougheed (1965–1985)
*
Don Getty
Donald Ross Getty (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergo ...
(1985–1992)
*
Ralph Klein
Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 20 ...
(1992–2006)
*
Ed Stelmach
Edward Michael Stelmach (; born May 11, 1951) is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th premier of Alberta, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and fluently speak ...
(2006–2011)
*
Alison Redford (2011–2014)
*
Dave Hancock
David Graeme Hancock (born August 10, 1955) is a Canadian lawyer and was the 15th premier of Alberta in 2014. Since 2017, he has served as a judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta. From 1997 to 2014, he was a Member of the Legislative Ass ...
interim (2014)
*
Jim Prentice
Peter Eric James Prentice (July 20, 1956 – October 13, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candida ...
(2014–2015)
*
Ric McIver
Richard William McIver (born August 28, 1958) is a Canadian politician who has represented Calgary-Hays in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta since 2012. A member of the United Conservative Party (UCP), McIver is the current minister of munic ...
interim (2015–2017)
*
Jason Kenney
Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...
(2017)
Electoral results
See also
*
List of Alberta general elections
The Canadian province of Alberta holds elections to its unicameral legislative body, the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The maximum period between general elections of the assembly is five years, but the Lieutenant Governor is able to call ...
*
List of political parties in Canada
This article lists political parties in Canada.
Federal parties
In contrast with the political party systems of many nations, Canadian parties at the federal level are often only loosely connected with parties at the provincial level, despite ha ...
*
Northwest Territories Liberal-Conservative Party
The North-West Territories Liberal-Conservative Party also known formally as the Liberal-Conservative Association prior to 1903 and the Territorial Conservative Association after 1903, was a short lived political party in the Northwest Territorie ...
*
*
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta candidates, 2012 Alberta provincial election
*
2017 Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta leadership election
Notes
References
{{Canadian Conservative Parties
Conservative parties in Canada
Organizations based in Calgary
Political parties established in 1905
Political parties disestablished in 2017
Progressive Conservative
1905 establishments in Alberta
2017 disestablishments in Alberta