Alberta election: Wildrose Alliance

This is from Canadian Press. The Wildrose Alliance has one seat. It remains to be seen if it will make much difference in the election. The platform is partly populist and partly pro-business but donations from big oil and other businesses are unlikely until the party seems like a good investment! The party will have to depend upon local grassroots support.

Wildrose Alliance unveils Alberta elxn platform; targets Premier Ed Stelmach
22 hours ago
CALGARY - Alberta has had a history of being the birthplace of new political movements.
The Social Credit, the United Farmers of Alberta and Reform Party took root and grew in power and influence, while others like the Representative Party and Western Canada Concept eventually disappeared.
The Wildrose Alliance is hoping to grow on the electoral success of electing Paul Hinman in the last provincial election and to strengthen its numbers in the March 3 provincial election.
Hinman was elected in southern Alberta riding of Cardston-Taber-Warner for the Alberta Alliance party, which recently merged with another right-of-centre political party to form the Wildrose Alliance.
"Well, four (seats) is the critical mass that we need in order to have official party status and four going forward is great," said Hinman, who was in Calgary Saturday to release his party's election platform.
"We'll make it onto the scene and make a significant difference and sent a message to (Premier Ed) Stelmach."
"They just think the worry is they gotta spend more money and have more programs than the Liberals."
Hinman's election was seen as a protest vote by many political analysts and was an embarrassment for the Conservative government of then premier Ralph Klein.
Hinman is aware the Stelmach government is putting significant resources in winning back the riding of
"That's my understanding. They're certainly wanting to squash the true Conservative voice in the province here," he said.
"Stelmach called an early election and he's on a downslide that we're travelling down. The bridge is out and he hasn't told Albertans."
Hinman outlined a series of platforms he said will be aimed at improving life for Alberta families:
-fixed-election dates, laws to recall members of the legislature and referendums on citizen initiatives;
-increasing personal income tax exemptions to $20,000 and reducing the corporate income tax to eight per cent from 10.
-offering doctors forgiveness of the cost of their education in exchange for remaining in Alberta for five years;
-eliminating health-care premiums immediately;
-creation of an Alberta pension plan.
The Wildrose Alliance is also calling for an equitable royalty regime to ensure outside investment continues in Alberta. Hinman said thousands of Alberta jobs are at risk and action needs to be taken to ensure the oil and gas sector remains strong.
The new royalty regime implemented by the Stelmach government will require a 20 per cent increase in the amount of royalties that energy companies will have to pay to the government.
"He is not growing the pie, he is shrinking it," warned Hinman.
The party has not revealed how many candidates it will be able to field by the time that Albertans go to the polls but is expected to garner much of its support in rural Alberta.
Hinman remains optimistic that the Wildrose Alliance will fare better than other Conservative movements have done in the past.
"The difference is 36 years," he said. "The Tories have been around for 36 years and their ship is sinking and all they focus is on what they have to do to get re-elected when a government should be worried about what we have to do to protect the prosperity."