Wildrose Alliance short 22 candidates (updated)

This is from the Edmonton Journal. The lack of candidates in some Edmonton ridings may help the Conservatives retain some urban seats that they otherwise might lose through a split vote.Although the Greens are running more candidates it remains to be seen if they are able to elect anyone.

Wildrose Alliance short 22 candidates (updated)
edmontonjournal.comPublished: Monday, February 18
EDMONTON - Voters in 22 Alberta ridings won't be able to choose a far-right alternative to the Conservatives. The Wildrose Alliance is fielding only 61 candidates this election, party officials confirmed shortly after today's nomination deadline for Elections Alberta. Its predecessor party, the Alberta Alliance, fielded a full slate of 83 candidates in the 2004 election, electing one member and getting 90,829 votes. Paul Hinman, the party's leader and lone MLA, has attributed the recent merger with the fledgling Wildrose party to the organizational woes. As it was, several Wildrose Alliance candidates barely made this afternoon's 2 p.m. deadline. "It's been a mad rush to find candidates, and to get the paperwork in place," Hinman said in an interview from his riding of Cardston-Taber-Warner, where he's in a tough race to keep his own seat. "My understanding is there would have been 10 others, if we had one more day." Meanwhile, the Alberta Greens' website proclaimed they had nominated 79 of 83 candidates. Last election, the party ran 49 candidates but won no seats.
"It's going to give us a huge leap in credibility," said a jubilant George Read, the Greens' leader. "A lot more people are going to have the opportunity to vote Green."
The Liberals, NDP and Progressive Conservatives all announced full slates shortly after the campaign began Feb. 4, but the Liberal in Peace River dropped out at the last moment. The declared candidate was Cory Van Der Aa, an Edmonton scaffolder who had never been to the northwestern riding before tentatively putting his name forward, according to a local media account.
Kevin Taft's party ran one candidate shy of a full slate in 2004 as well, when the Liberals' contender in Drumheller-Stettler also pulled out.


The Alliance's vacancies include five ridings in Edmonton - including the three currently held by Tories Gene Zwozdesky, Thomas Lukaszuk and Dave Hancock. The Alliance garnered about 500 votes in each of those constituencies last election. The absence of those votes this time may boost the re-election chances of the capital's only Tory MLAs.

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."