Real democracy’ in Alberta tops agenda for new Party

by albertacowpoke | October 17, 2009 at 05:13 pm

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The newly elected leader of the upstart party Wildrose Alliance told a jam packed conference room in Edmonton, "My No. 1 job is to turn Alberta into a real democracy again,"

Danielle Smith as won the leadership of he Wildrose Alliance Party, defeating Calagary chiropractor Mark Dyrholm.

The Wildrose Alliance has recently pulled even with the provincial liberals.

Danielle, who is 38, is now at the helm of the conservative protest party in Alberta. Alberta has been ruled by the Conservative party consecutively since 1971. There has been discontent with the Conservative Party since Premier Ed Stelmach replaced Ralph Klein. Recent cuts in Health Care and the first deficit in Alberta in 13 years have been the cause for discontent.

Below is a short biography of Danielle Smith, her background for one so young is extensive and her background should be invaluable during the next provincial election.

Danielle Smith was selected Saturday as the new leader of Alberta's fledgling Wildrose Alliance Party.

Party members from across the province met at a South Edmonton hotel to select a leader to replace interim leader Paul Hinman.

Smith, 38, a former broadcaster, beat businessman Mark Dyrholm, the only other candidate.

In her victory speech, Smith took a swipe at the governing Progressive Conservative leader.

"[Premier] Ed Stelmach, you haven't even begun to imagine what's going to hit you," she said. "We have become a party of winners."

The Wildrose Party earned a shot of credibility last month when Hinman, a former MLA under the Alberta Alliance banner, won a byelection in Calgary-Glenmore.

It is the party's only seat, but it's one the governing Progressive Conservatives had held for more than 35 years.

The Wildrose Party espouses fiscal and social conservatism, and recent polls have it matching or beating the Alberta Liberals as the second most popular party in the province.

Until recently, Danielle was the Director of Provincial Affairs for Alberta with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. She worked with all levels of government to represent the interests of CFIB’s 10,000 small business members in Alberta.

Prior to joining CFIB, Danielle had extensive experience in the media. She was an editorial writer and columnist at the Calgary Herald for six years. She also served as host of Global Sunday, a national current affairs television talk show and was the host of two programs on CKMX 1060 AM radio in Calgary, Health Frontiers and Standing Ground. She has made frequent guest appearances as a commentator on TV and radio.

Danielle’s work in policy research began with a year-long internship at the Fraser Institute, she tried her hand at elected office as a trustee for the Calgary Board of Education and she worked in advocacy as director of the Alberta Property Rights Initiative and the Canadian Property Rights Research Institute.

Danielle received a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Calgary. She was named one of Calgary Inc. Magazine’s Top 40 under 40 in 2004.

Danielle's profile was copied from her website

EDMONTON — Calgarian Danielle Smith won the leadership of the upstart Wildrose Alliance on Saturday, defeating Calgary chiropractor Mark Dyrholm.

The former journalist and business lobbyist, 38, steps to the helm of the Alberta conservative protest party that recent polls show has made significant inroads in a province that has been ruled by an uninterrupted series of majority Progressive Conservative governments since 1971.

She defeated chiropractor Mark Dyrholm, also 38 and also from Calgary.

"My No. 1 job is to turn Alberta into a real democracy again," she told more than 400 delegates to a leadership convention in a packed Edmonton hotel conference room.

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a211423

at 21:32 on October 17th, 2009

Congratulations cowpoke on your candidate winning. I hope she fulfills all your expectations.

albertacowpoke

at 01:10 on October 18th, 2009

shhhhh:) Thanks

marianmo

at 03:39 on October 18th, 2009

glad she won time for a change

albertacowpoke

at 03:58 on October 18th, 2009

You bet marianmo, you know all about Alberta:)

sara star

at 04:57 on October 18th, 2009

The (Wildrose) party ran on a platform of:

minimal taxes...

smaller, efficient government...

free market economics ...establishing a maximum royalty rate on a per well basis at no higher than 37%

democratic reform ...establishing set election dates every four years,

reclaiming provincial responsibilities from Ottawa

sara star

at 04:55 on October 18th, 2009

On election night, Hinman lost his seat and no other Alliance candidate won a seat... The Wildrose Alliance received 6.8% of the popular vote across the province, performing on par with the Green Party (4.6%) and the NDP (9.8%).

albertacowpoke

at 05:17 on October 18th, 2009

Since then there has been a by-election which the the Wildrose Alliance won. That was a seat held by the Conservative Party for 35 years. Also the Wildrose Alliance has surpassed the Liberals in the polls.

Albertans are increasingly dissatisfied with Ed Stelmach and his merry band of conservatives. Danielle's leadership will change the political picture in Alberta

Hugh Askew

at 04:56 on October 18th, 2009

Looks promising!

is she a southern version of Sarah Palin? (sorry i had to ask....the MSM isn't aware that Alberta actually exists)

albertacowpoke

at 05:21 on October 18th, 2009

No Hugh, I wouldn't compare here to Sarah Palin. The MSM in Canada knows very well that Alberta exists.

The MSM in the US knows it too, they like the Alberta Oil Sands thrashing as Dirty Oil. Syncrude is presently touring Canada on a campaign to demonstrate to Canadian what is being done regarding the environment in the oil sands. I may do a story on that.

sara star

at 06:29 on October 18th, 2009

There can be no other Sarah Palin.... thank goodness.

albertacowpoke

at 05:09 on October 18th, 2009

Sara please note that the Wildrose Party is one of two parties that merged as the Wildrose Alliance Party.

The Wildrose Alliance was named after the Wildrose Party of Alberta and the Alberta Alliance Party. The new party was named for the flower Rosa acicularis commonly known as the Alberta Wild Rose, which grows in Alberta and other areas in North America. The Alliance portion of the name comes from the former Alberta Alliance Party that existed from 2002 to 2008.

The party was created by merger at a special convention on January 19, 2008. The Alberta Alliance Party changed its name to the "Wildrose Alliance Party of Alberta", and accepted the members, assets and liabilities of the Wildrose Party.[2] By-laws were adopted that were substantially similar to those of the Wildrose Party, and a new executive committee was elected.