The 2006 Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership election was held in November and December 2006 to choose a new leader for the
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (and consequent
Premier of Alberta) to replace the retiring
Ralph Klein.
Ed Stelmach emerged as the winner of an eight candidate field, despite placing third on the first ballot.
Timing
Klein announces resignation date
On March 14, 2006, 16 days before the PC Convention and leadership review, Klein announced his plan to tender his resignation on October 31, 2007, but remain as Premier for several months until a leadership election in early 2008. However, at a party convention March 31, he received only 55.4% support from party delegates, and consequently decided to submit his resignation September 20 and to leave office as soon as a successor was chosen.
Implications for Cabinet ministers
Shortly after announcing his timetable with regards to stepping down, the Premier instructed all current members of the
Albertan Cabinet to resign and move to the
backbench by June 16, 2006, if they wanted to run for the leadership. Premier Klein's request is not unusual or unprecedented on his part - former Albertan Treasurer
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 required to resign as Treasurer upon declaring his candidacy for leadership of the
Canadian Alliance in 2000. However, the lengthy notice Klein has demanded has proven controversial - after announcing his own resignation Klein's predecessor
Don Getty also required cabinet ministers who wanted the leadership to resign, but Getty requested their resignations only a few months prior to the vote.
March 2006 leadership vote
On March 31, 2006, Premier Klein faced a mandatory leadership review when party delegates voted on the question of whether he should continue as leader of the party and, by extension, as premier. Although Klein was not widely expected to lose this vote, he had said he would resign leader quickly if he did not get an overwhelming majority. Klein had not publicly divulged what this threshold would be, but most political observers pegged it at 75%, far more than the 55.4% the premier actually received. In previous years, Klein had scored as high as 97% in support of his leadership.
There was known to be pressure from within the party to force Klein out sooner than planned. On March 23, 2006, Infrastructure and Transportation Minister
Lyle Oberg was suspended from the party's legislative caucus for six months and dismissed from the Cabinet after he told constituents in
Brooks that he would not urge delegates at the March 31 leadership review to support Klein. Oberg had been considered a contender for the leadership prior to this decision, but described the premier's directive regarding the June 1 deadline as a "bombshell" and infuriated fellow Tories when he told constituents "If I were the premier, I wouldn't want me sitting as a backbencher... I know where all the skeletons are." Despite this, Oberg pressed on with his leadership campaign and was re-admitted to caucus on July 25, 2006.
Political analysts believe the result of the March 31 vote can be attributed to concerns over how a "long goodbye" by a sitting premier can affect governing parties. There were still fresh memories across Canada of former
Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
's lengthy retirement notice and a belief that this delay was the cause of
party infighting in 2004 followed by reduction to a
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
in the
2004 federal election and then defeat in the
2006 election
The following elections occurred in the year 2006.
* Elections in 2006
* Electoral calendar 2006
* 2006 Acehnese regional election
* 2006 American Samoan legislative election
* 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election
* 2006 Costa Rican presidential ...
. In addition, many Albertans believed that crucial and decisive actions would need to be taken in the coming months as a result of
Alberta's booming economy and massive budgetary surplus, thus they believed it was not the time for a lame duck premier to remain in office. Even worse for some, Premier Klein's retirement plans, had they been carried out as intended, would inevitably have resulted in him appointing lame duck
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
s who would replace the leadership candidates only to face probable removal from the Cabinet following the leadership vote.
Format
The format for the 2006 election was identical to the
previous leadership election held in 1992. It was a
one-member-one-vote voting system in which the top three candidates from the first round were eligible to move on to a second round, in which
preferential voting would be used should all three eligible candidates stay in the race. At least one
polling station was placed in each of Alberta's 83
electoral divisions - larger rural districts had multiple polling stations. In 1992, third-place candidate
Rick Orman dropped out, leaving two candidates in the race:Klein and future
Liberal leader
Nancy Betkowski
Nancy MacBeth ( Elliott; born December 29, 1948) is a Canadian politician who was the leader of the Alberta Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1998 to 2001. She was the first female opposition leader in the province's history.
Ear ...
. Klein then defeated Betkowski.
Compared to
Canadian political parties
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 ...
in general, and especially governing parties, there were very few restrictions regarding membership and regarding eligibility to vote in a leadership election in Alberta's PC Party. First, Alberta PC party rules did not forbid members from holding
membership in rival parties. Some other Alberta parties, notably the Liberals and
New Democrats do forbid their members from being members of other parties although the
Alberta Alliance
The Alberta Alliance was a right wing provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Many of its members were supporters of the defunct Canadian Alliance federal political party and its predecessor, the Reform Party of Canada. Members also joined f ...
removed a similar restriction, possibly in response to
Ted Morton's PC leadership candidacy. Second and perhaps more significantly, the Progressive Conservatives, as in 1992, allowed anyone who wished to vote in the leadership election to purchase a five-
dollar membership right up to the polling day—memberships were even available for purchase at the polling stations. This was very unusual in Canada—in fact no other major federal or provincial party is known to allow leadership voters to buy memberships on polling day. Even those parties that do not employ delegated
leadership conventions and allow the general membership to vote for the leader usually have a deadline for purchasing memberships of no later than seven days prior to the vote.
The timing of the potential second ballot coincided with the start of the
federal Liberal Party's leadership election.
Declared candidates
In order to be a declared candidate, the candidate had to have their nomination papers filled out and returned to the party by October 16, 2006. Eight candidates were declared. Of the nine initial candidates, six were former members of the
Alberta Cabinet
The Executive Council of Alberta (the Cabinet) is a body of ministers of the Crown in right of Alberta, who along with the lieutenant governor, exercises the powers of the Government of Alberta. Ministers are selected by the premier and typical ...
. Three of the candidates were not current MLAs; however, Premier Klein announced he will resign as the MLA for
Calgary Elbow when he resigns as Premier, thus the new leader will have a vacant seat to contest in a
by-election should he need one.
In the order they filed their nomination papers, the candidates were:
Ed Stelmach
Ed Stelmach, the former Intergovernmental Affairs minister, announced his resignation from cabinet in accordance with Klein's directive. He was the first declared candidate.
Website
:Supporters in caucus: 13
Pearl Calahasen,
Ray Danyluk
Raymond Bruce "Ray" Danyluk (born 1952 or 1953) is a farmer and former provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 2001 to 2012 with the Progressive Conservative caucus before ...
,
Iris Evans,
Hector Goudreau,
George Groeneveld,
LeRoy Johnson,
Phil Klein,
Mel Knight,
Fred Lindsay
Frederick Lindsay (born March 12, 1946) is a politician and was a provincial Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Alberta, Canada.
Political involvement
Lindsay has been a longtime Progressive Conservative, having served on the Stony Pl ...
,
Luke Ouellette,
Lloyd Snelgrove
Lloyd Snelgrove (born March 27, 1956) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Vermilion-Lloydminster in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.
Political career
S ...
,
Ed Stelmach,
Ivan Strang
Ivan Strang (born June 1, 1940) is a former Progressive Conservative Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for West Yellowhead. He served as a member in the Alberta Legislature from 1997 to 2008.
Political career
Ivan Strang ran for a ...
.
:Additional supporters in caucus after first ballot: 6
Guy Boutilier
Guy Carleton Boutilier is a Canadian politician, who sat as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1997 to 2012. He was elected as a Progressive Conservative, and served in several capacities in the Cabinet of Alberta under Premi ...
,
Carol Haley,
David Hancock,
Doug Horner,
Lyle Oberg,
Mark Norris.
Lyle Oberg
Lyle Oberg, the former Transportation minister, had said he intended to resign from Cabinet by the June 1 deadline. However, as noted above Oberg was fired from Cabinet and suspended from Caucus on March 22, 2006. He pursued the leadership despite these events, and was re-admitted to caucus on July 25.
Website: http://www.lyleoberg.com
:Supporters in caucus: 3
Guy Boutilier
Guy Carleton Boutilier is a Canadian politician, who sat as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1997 to 2012. He was elected as a Progressive Conservative, and served in several capacities in the Cabinet of Alberta under Premi ...
,
Hung Pham,
[http://www.jimdinning.ca/v3/whats-new/releases/half-of-tory-caucus-for-dinning.htm] Lyle Oberg.
Mark Norris
Mark Norris, a former MLA who became celebrated within the party when he defeated former Tory leadership candidate-turned-Liberal leader
Nancy MacBeth
Nancy MacBeth ( Elliott; born December 29, 1948) is a Canadian politician who was the leader of the Alberta Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1998 to 2001. She was the first female opposition leader in the province's history.
Ear ...
in
Edmonton McClung
Edmonton-McClung is a provincial electoral district in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The district was created in 1993 and is named after Nellie McClung. The current MLA is Lorne Dach of the NDP, who was first elected in 2015.
History
The elect ...
in 2001. However, Norris lost his seat in the 2004 election to Liberal candidate
Mo Elsalhy
Mo Elsalhy (born March 20, 1971) is a politician, pharmacist and businessman from Alberta, Canada. He received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Alberta in 1994.
Political career
Elsalhy contested the nomination for ...
.
Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20060613190856/http://marknorris.ca/
:Supporters in caucus: 2
Carol Haley,
Doug Horner.
Ted Morton
Ted Morton was first elected to the Alberta legislature in the
2004 Alberta general election
The 2004 Alberta general election was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
The election was called on October 25, 2004. Premier Ralph Klein decided to go to the polls earlier than the legislated dead ...
. He had previously served as a professor in the
political science department of the
University of Calgary where he was considered to be member of the conservative
Calgary School of professors. Morton served a six-year term as a senator-in-waiting between 1998 and 2004 after he was elected by Albertans in the
1998 Alberta Senate nominee election
The 1998 Alberta Senate nominee election, formally the 2nd Alberta Senate nominee election of Alberta was held on October 19, 1998, to nominate appointments to the Senate of Canada. The Senate nominee election was held in conjunction with Alberta ...
and used this position to advocate for democratic reform. Although Ted Morton was a backbencher, he was considered a strong contender for the leadership because of his high profile in the former Reform Party and Canadian Alliance. Morton was considered to be on the right of the political spectrum, and supported allowing people to pay for non-emergency health care services such as hip and knee replacements. Ted Morton also presented a private members bill in the Alberta legislature which would have allowed marriage commissioners who objected to same-sex marriage to opt out of performing same-sex marriages. Morton became one of two senators-in-waiting chosen by Albertans in a 1998 election.
Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20050422165319/http://www.tedmorton.ca/
:Supporters in caucus: 2
Ted Morton,
Hung Pham
:Supporters in Alberta Alliance caucus: 1
Paul Hinman
:Supporters in Federal
Conservative caucus: 3
Rob Anders,
Myron Thompson
Myron D. Thompson (April 23, 1936 – January 5, 2019) was a Conservative Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada. He represented the riding of Wild Rose in Alberta.
Early life and education
A dual citizen of Canada and the Un ...
,
Jason Kenney.
Dave Hancock
David Hancock, former Advanced Education Minister, was one of three
Edmonton MLAs to retain their seats for the Tories in the
2004 general election. He was first elected in 1997 and has held the International, Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs portfolio as well and Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Until his resignation from Cabinet to run for leader, Hancock was the Government House Leader and Minister of Advanced Education. At that time, Hancock was also the only MLA to sit on both Agenda and Priorities and the Treasury Board committees. He is the author of the Government of Alberta 20 Strategic Business Plan setting the long range framework for the future of the province. He resigned from Cabinet in April 2005 to pursue his leadership bid on a full-time basis.
Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20060615210425/http://www.davehancockcrew.ca/
:Supporters in caucus: 1
David Hancock
:Supporters in Federal
Conservative caucus: 1
Laurie Hawn
Laurie Daniel Hawn PC CD (born May 11, 1947, in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force, businessman, and former federal politician from Edmonton, Alberta. He was the Member of Parliament for Edmo ...
.
Jim Dinning
Jim Dinning, Alberta's former
Treasurer, was not a current MLA but was (and remains) on the board of directors of each of a number of major corporations and some other organisations, mostly concerned with public policy research.
Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20060613192108/http://jimdinning.ca/
:Supporters in caucus: 38
Cindy Ady
Cindy Lou Ady is a Canadian politician and was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. She served in this capacity from the 2001 provincial election, being re-elected in both the 2004 provincial election and 2008 provincial electio ...
,
Moe Amery,
Neil Brown,
Wayne Cao
Wayne Cao (born Nguyễn Cảo; December 7, 1946) is a Canadian politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, where he represented the district of Calgary-Fort as a Progressive Conservative. He was first elected in the ...
,
Mike Cardinal,
Harvey Cenaiko,
David Coutts,
Alana DeLong
Alana Suzanne DeLong (born c. 1949) is a Canadian politician who was the candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford federal riding in the 2019 general election. She is a former member of the Legislative Assem ...
,
Clint Dunford
Clinton Earl Dunford (February 21, 1943 – October 14, 2021) was a Canadian politician in Lethbridge, Alberta. He was first elected in 1993 as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lethbridge West, and elected to his fourth term on Novemb ...
,
Heather Forsyth,
Yvonne Fritz
Yvonne Marie Fritz (born September 17, 1950) is a Canadian politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Calgary-Cross as a Progressive Conservative.
She designed the flag of Calgary al ...
,
Gord Graydon,
Doug Griffiths,
Denis Herard,
Mary Anne Jablonski
Mary Anne Jablonski (born c. 1952) is a Canadian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Red Deer North as a Progressive Conservative.
Early life
Jablonski was born and raised wit ...
,
Art Johnston,
Ken Kowalski,
Ron Liepert
Ronald Liepert (born October 8, 1949) is a Canadian politician who serves as the Member of Parliament for Calgary Signal Hill in the House of Commons of Canada. He previously served in the Cabinet of Alberta as Minister of Finance, Energy, Heal ...
,
Rob Lougheed
Rob Lougheed (born 1947) is a politician from Alberta, Canada.
Lougheed was born in Grande Prairie in 1947 and attended the University of Alberta. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1997 general election as the member ...
,
Thomas Lukaszuk
Thomas Adam Lukaszuk (born April 5, 1969) is a Polish-born Canadian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He represented the constituency of Edmonton-Castle Downs from 2001 to 2015 as a Progressive Conservative. ...
,
Ty Lund
Tyrone Orville Lund (March 31, 1938 – February 28, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the constituency of Rocky Mountain House (electoral district), Rocky Mountain House (n ...
,
Richard Magnus
Richard Magnus (born July 31, 1950) is a Canadian politician currently living in Alberta, Canada.
Magnus served as a municipal alderman for Calgary City Council representing Ward 4 from 1989 until his resignation in 1993. He was elected to the L ...
,
Gary Mar
Gary Glen Mar , (; born July 26, 1962) is a Canadian businessman and former politician in Alberta. He is currently the President and CEO of the Canada West Foundation.
Mar had served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1993 ...
,
Richard Marz
Richard Marz (born April 30, 1944, in Three Hills, Alberta) is a Canadian politician who was the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills as a Progressive Conservative.
Early lif ...
,
Barry McFarland
Barry McFarland (born April 22, 1948) is a Canadian politician and was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Little Bow as a Progressive Conservative.
Early life
McFarland was born and raised near C ...
,
Greg Melchin
Gregory Knowles Melchin (born December 14, 1953) is a politician and accountant who formerly served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and Cabinet Minister in the Alberta government.
Early life
Melchin was born in Raymond, Albe ...
,
Len Mitzel,
Frank Oberle,
Ray Prins
Raymond Frank "Ray" Prins (born April 15, 1951) is a Canadian politician and was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the constituency of Lacombe-Ponoka as a Progressive Conservative.
Early life
Prins was born April ...
,
Rob Renner
Robert William Renner (born October 6, 1954) is a Canadian politician and was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the constituency of Medicine Hat as a Progressive Conservative.
Early life
Renner was born October 6, 1954 in ...
,
Dave Rodney
David Anthony Rodney (born June 27, 1964) is a Canadian politician and was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Calgary-Lougheed, first as a Progressive Conservative and then the United Conservative ...
,
George Rogers,
Shiraz Shariff,
Ron Stevens,
Janis Tarchuk
Janis Tarchuk is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the constituency of Banff-Cochrane as a Progressive Conservative.
Early life
Tarchuk has a long history of community involvement. ...
,
George VanderBurg
George VanderBurg (born February 15, 1957) is a Canadian politician, who formerly represented the electoral district of Whitecourt-Ste. Anne in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.
VanderB ...
,
Len Webber,
Gene Zwozdesky.
:Supporters in federal
Conservative caucus: 3
Deepak Obhrai,
Bob Mills,
Lee Richardson.
Victor Doerksen
Victor Doerksen, the MLA for
Red Deer South and former Minister for Innovation and Science, announced his candidacy on August 17 after resigning from the Cabinet on August 15.
Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20061024030954/http://www.voteforvictor.ca/
:Supporters in caucus: 1
Victor Doerksen.
Gary McPherson
Gary McPherson, former chair of the Premier's Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities, was a quadriplegic since a childhood bout with polio. He announced his candidacy on August 18.
Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20070929080918/http://www.teammcpherson.com/blog/
:Supporters in caucus: 0 .
First-round results
Second-round voting
No candidate achieved the more than the 50% requirement in the first round of voting, so the top three candidates - Jim Dinning, Ted Morton and Ed Stelmach - headed for a second round held on December 2. Lyle Oberg, Dave Hancock, and Mark Norris threw their support behind Ed Stelmach after failing to advance to the second round. McPherson threw his support to Dinning, and Doerksen chose not to endorse any of the three remaining candidates.
Voters indicated their first and second choice on a
preferential ballot. As no candidate received 50% plus one of votes cast after first preferences were counted, the third place candidate, Morton, was dropped and the second choices of his voters were apportioned to the two remaining candidates. These second choices overwhelmingly favoured Stelmach, making him leader of the party and incoming premier of Alberta.
Instant runoff results
Withdrawn candidates
Alana DeLong
Alana DeLong
Alana Suzanne DeLong (born c. 1949) is a Canadian politician who was the candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford federal riding in the 2019 general election. She is a former member of the Legislative Assem ...
was a Calgary
member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), and the only woman in the race. She dropped out before handing in her nomination papers on October 11 and endorsed Dinning.
Timeline
*March 14, 2006 - Premier Klein announces that he intends to tender his resignation on October 31, 2007, but remain premier until early 2008.
*March 15 - Klein orders all cabinet ministers who intend to run in the leadership election to succeed him to resign from cabinet by June 1, 2006.
*March 22 - Transport Minister
Lyle Oberg, a possible contender for the party's leadership, is ousted from Cabinet and suspended from caucus for six months after making critical comments about Klein to his riding association and saying he won't ask delegates from his riding to support Klein in the March 31 leadership review.
*March 31 - 1,500 delegates to the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party convention vote on Klein's leadership in a secret ballot. Klein had indicated he'd resign immediately if he does not receive a "substantial majority" in the leadership review. Klein's leadership is endorsed by only 55.4% of delegates, described as a "crushing blow" to the Premier who asks for a few days to decide whether to submit his resignation.
*April 4 - In a press conference, Klein announces that he will write party officials a formal letter in September asking them to commence a leadership election. He stated that he expects a new leader will be chosen in October or November 2006 and that he would leave office in December.
*May 17 - Former
Reform Party of Canada leader
Preston Manning announces he will not be a candidate. Manning had been widely expected to be the frontrunner in the race.
*July 25 - Leadership candidate Oberg is re-admitted to caucus.
*August 15 - Innovation and Science Minister
Victor Doerksen resigns from the Cabinet.
*August 17 - Former Innovation and Science Minister Doerksen announces his candidacy. Premier Klein confirms he will tender his resignation as leader on or around September 14, and that he will resign as the MLA for
Calgary Elbow upon leaving the premiership.
*August 18 - Former chair of the Premier's Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities, Gary McPherson, announces his candidacy.
*September 20 - Klein resigns as leader of the party, officially opening the Conservative leadership election.
*October 16 - Nominations close at 5:00pm MST.
*November 25 - First ballot of the leadership election. Because no candidate received greater than 50% plus one of the votes, a second ballot will be held; Dinning, Morton and Stelmach will be on the second ballot.
*December 2 - Second ballot of the leadership election. Polls were open between 9:00am and 7:00pm MST. The election was between Dinning, Morton, and Stelmach. Stelmach finished first followed by Dinning. After the second choices of Morton's supporters were factored in Stelmach was declared the winner.
*December 14 - Klein formally tenders his resignation as Premier to
Albertan Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong, who then invites Stelmach to form a government.
Trivia
* The Progressive Conservatives are the first party in
Albertan history to have had four premiers. All of the previous governing parties (the
Liberals,
United Farmers United Farmers may refer to:
*The United Farmers' MPs in the Canadian House of Commons who founded the Progressive Party of Canada in 1920
*United Farmers of Alberta, a political party which governed Alberta from 1921 to 1935 and also elected membe ...
and
Social Credit) were defeated in the elections immediately following their third premiers' assuming the office.
See also
*
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta leadership elections
References
Further reading
*
External links
Leadership Election Details (PDF)Daveberta, tracking leadership endorsements by PC MLAs.Project Alberta's discussion forum on the PC Leadership Race
{{PC Alberta
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
Alberta Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta leadership election