Former Alberta premier Lougheed supports sagging Tories

Peter Lougheed a former premier of the province of Alberta threw his support behind the Progressive Conservative Party and its leader Alison Redford in the upcoming election. The Conservatives are being out polled by the upstart Wildrose party also on the right of the political spectrum.

Lougheed noted:"This is a harder campaign...because we’ve been there for 40 years and obviously these are difficult and challenging times." The Conservatives have been characterising the Wildrose party as the party from the past with an agenda set by old white guys. Now the Conservatives have the support of an old 83 year old patriarch white guy from the past.

Lougheed became premier in 1971 defeating another right wing party Social Credit. That party had itself ruled Alberta for decades. Now another right wing party is hoping to knock out the Conservatives.

The article here claims that the Conservatives have been trailing or running neck-and-neck.. However recent polls put Wildrose far ahead.. See this site.. As you can see the most recent poll puts the Wildrose party at 46 per cent and the Progressive Conservatives at 29.. There are several other recent polls that put Wild Rose far ahead. The Wildrose leader's campaign has promoted free votes in the legislature so that representatives can represent the opinions of their constituents and also citizen sponsored referenda. The program has popular appeal as a return to grass roots democracy. For much more see the full article.

Seat Projections: There are seat projections at this site. The most recent projections give the NDP 5 seats, Progressive Conservatives 29 seats and Wildrose party 52 seats. Obviously the Conservatives need to turn things around.