Alberta Look Out - Here Comes the Wild Rose Alliance

by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke | December 11, 2009 at 04:18 pm

468 views | 38 Recommendations | 7 comments

The Conservative Party in Alberta has been in power since 1971. Some of the noteworthy leaders were Peter Lougheed, Don Ghetty and Ralph Klein, who retired recently to make way for Ed Stelmach.

The last election in Alberta had voter turn out of about 40%. This was mainly due to the fact that Albertan saw no clear alternative to the Conservatives. Ed Stelmach and his merry crew of Conservatives easily took 72 of 83 seats in the Provincial Legislature.

Alberta is running a deficit for the first time in a decade. Programs are being slashed from the Provincial Health Care System. The two most notable are the revamping of the Senior Drug benefit and canceling the entitlement for sex change operations. Guy Boutilier, MLA for Fort McMurray, recently slammed his own government for canceling a Long Term Care Centre that had been promised to the community. He paid the price and was kicked out of caucus. He now sits as an independent. The administration of the H1N1 vaccine was also a boondoggle.

With the emergence of the Wildrose Alliance, lead by Danielle Smith, it seems Albertans have found an alternative. The party won a recent by-election in Calgary. A recent Angus Reid Poll shows that the party clearly leads in every region of the province.

A poll of 1000 Albertans gives the Wildrose Alliance a clear double digit lead over the Conservative Party. If an election was called tomorrow, 39% of voters would vote for Danielle Smith, while Ed Stelmach Stelmach's Conservatives and David Swann's Liberals would get 25% of voter support. Brian Mason, New Democratic Party would get 9%. The remaining 2% would go to other parties.

Albertans are clearly showing their discontent for the Stelmach Government and its disregard for voters.

Alberta Look Out, Here comes Danielle Smith and her Wildrose Alliance.

The Wildrose Alliance party would form the next provincial government in Alberta if an election were held tomorrow, according to a new poll of decided voters that gives the right-of-centre party a double-digit lead in popular support over the long-ruling Tories.

A new Angus Reid Public Opinion survey of 1,000 Albertans, provided exclusively to the Calgary Herald, suggests 39 per cent of voters would cast a ballot for Danielle Smith and the Wildrose Alliance.

The fledgling party is pulling away from Premier Ed Stelmach's Progressive Conservatives, who were tied with David Swann's Liberals for second place with the backing of 25 per cent of decided voters provincewide, according to the poll.

Brian Mason and the NDP are in fourth spot with the support of nine per cent of Alberta voters, while two per cent said they would vote for another party.

4 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Hugh Askew

at 17:25 on December 11th, 2009

How does that play in the rest of Canada, cowboy?

Uwe Paschen

at 17:37 on December 11th, 2009

A 40% turn out is not much at all. I do not even call this a democracy.

70% should be minimum or the vote is invalid.

Interesting though the "wildrose party",

Germany had the WhiteRose movement in the 1930s that opposed the Nazi, they all ended up executed and in KZ.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 17:48 on December 11th, 2009

I agree, but when the other two parties had nothing too inspiring to offer, people chose not to vote. Consequently Stelmach got himself a dictatorship and it permitted this party to emerge. The Alberta Liberal Party, also under new leadership, has a real opportunity now. They have never been even with the Conservatives here in 40 years. The Wildrose (the flower of Alberta) Alliance is the only party making gains against the Conservatives. The NDP and Liberals are hovering around the same numbers as always.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 17:40 on December 11th, 2009

It won't have a major effect on Canada period. The majority of Albertans vote centre right and both the Conservative Party and Wildrose Alliance are centre right parties. You guys would call them blue dog democrats lol. Danielle Smith and her Wildrose Party Alliance will offer:

a gov that values free enterprise, less government intrustion in our lives, respects and honours individual rights, seeks public input to develop policies, understands that elected officials are public servants and not masters of the people.

marianmo

at 20:36 on December 11th, 2009

it wasnt a senior centre that alberta government cancelled, it was a long term care facillity for those who can no longer look after themselves, the money for this facility had been set aside land had been purchased and all was ready to go,,,,,,,when it was yanked from the citizens

of fort mc,murray, and the money dispersed tiinteresting ly enough the small town mr stelmach lives near with a population 1/3 the size f fort mcmurray does have a long term care facility hmm

guy boutellier is a politician who regards his constituents as friends and neighbours....stelmach erred in both the withdrawl of the proposed long term care facility as well as in his treatment of mr boutellier

i applaud the wild rose party and wish them well

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 02:53 on December 12th, 2009

Thank you for clarifying that marianmo. I know it was a $35 Million project. I agree that Mr. Stelmach, erred here. When challenged by Mr. Boutillier he had two choices, remove him or build the centre. He made the wrong choice.