Days after Alberta’s two right-leaning parties merged, the United Conservative Party is wasting no time getting the ball rolling with full-fledged support from a local MLA.
Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken signed a letter to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly July 22 that would recognize him as a sitting UCP MLA.
“My message for members and Albertans is to trust the process going forward as we build this new party,” he said.
“I believe the foundation that we’re building this party on will stand the test of time and continue to recognize that the members are the ones driving the process.”
Of the 24,598 Wildrose members casting ballots, 95.4 per cent voted to unite with the Progressive Conservatives under one banner.
van Dijken said he was surprised by the result but reflecting on voter response, he said it showed that members “trusted the leadership of Brian (Jean) and the unity agreement that was negotiated, and were also willing to recognize that we have to put our individual differences aside at this time for the betterment of all Alberta.”
That’s something van Dijken had to do personally after leaving the party in 2008 with his concerns that “the members weren’t being listened to and fully respected.”
“We had been slipping away from good governance, the way I believe good governance was meant from years previous, so what I’m looking forward to in this new party is the foundation that this party is built on ensures that the member’s voice continues to be heard going forward,” he said, adding that he was looking forward to renewing old acquaintances and continuing to build relationships locally and provincially.
Juggling act
At this point, he noted the UCP has many “balls in the air” as the building blocks of the party are pieced together.
The leadership race hasn’t been officially called, but a couple of candidates have stepped forward and another are two still on the fence. Regardless, a new leader will be appointed Oct. 28.
In the meantime, a founding convention and a number of committees have been struck based on the terms of the unity agreement.
That includes the interim board, which had its first meeting July 24, a policy committee consisting of six members from the two parties, a nomination committee that will look at the nomination process in each of the constituency associations, and a leadership election committee to form rules for the race.
“There’s a lot of things that are happening to ensure that we get off to a strong start,” he said. “It’s been well laid out in the unity agreement and I believe also our interim leader Nathan Cooper understands many of the things that need to get accomplished and will be helping to ensure that happens in a very timely matter.”
Locally van Dijken met with the presidents from the Wildrose and PC constituency associations July 25 to work on the next steps of the merger.
Up to 15 members from each of the legacy party’s constituency association boards will form a new board, and that process had started immediately.
“There is some uncertainty as to what is going to be the policies of the new party and I feel confident that the members of the two members of the legacy parties coming together will be able to work that out and have a very focused platform for the 2019 election.”
Party funding
The merger also raised questions about financial contributions and the contents of both parties’ bank accounts.
van Dijken indicated that the merger would not mean the two accounts would be combined.
Alberta’s chief electoral officer is overseeing the funds and how the two parties will be legally allowed under legislation to use what remains.
“There are ways the legacy parties will be able to make use of those funds because those legacy parties will continue to exist going forward under the control of the United Conservative Party,” van Dijken noted.
Though the details have yet to be worked out, he said locally, each constituency association would be making a decision on the funds that are currently in place.
