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2006 Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta leadership election

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2006 Progressive Conservative leadership election
File:PCP Alb logo.png
DateNovember 25 2006 (First Ballot)
December 2 2006 (Second Ballot)
ConventionAt least one poll per constituency
Resigning leaderRalph Klein
Won byongoing campaign
Candidates8
Entrance Fee$15,000
Spending limitNone
Progressive Conservative leadership conventions
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The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta held the first ballot of its leadership election on November 25 2006 with a run-off vote on December 2 2006. The leadership election was to choose a new leader to replace Premier Ralph Klein who sent a letter of resignation to party executives on September 20 2006. Klein will officially leave office as leader and tender his resignation as Premier of Alberta to Albertan Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong after the new leader is elected. Strict constitutional convention dictates that Kwong appoint the new PC leader as the 13th Premier of Alberta.

Klein initially set his resignation date for October 2007, but that date was pushed up when he received only 55.4% support from party delegates at the PC Convention on March 31 2006.

Timing

Klein announces resignation date

On March 14, 2006, 16 days before the PC Convention and leadership review, Klein announced his plan to tender his resignation on October 31, 2007, but remain as Premier for several months until a leadership election in early 2008.

Implications for Cabinet ministers

Shortly after announcing his timetable with regards to stepping down, the Premier instructed all current members of the Albertan Cabinet to resign and move to the backbench by June 1 2006, if they wanted to run for the leadership. Premier Klein's request is not unusual or unprecedented on his part - former Albertan Treasurer Stockwell Day was required to resign as Treasurer upon declaring his candidacy for leadership of the Canadian Alliance in 2000. However, the lengthy notice Klein has demanded has proven controversial - after announcing his own resignation Klein's predecessor Don Getty also required cabinet ministers who wanted the leadership to resign, but Getty only requested their resignations a few months prior to the vote.

March 2006 leadership vote

On March 31, 2006, Premier Klein faced a mandatory leadership review when party delegates voted on the question of whether he should continue as leader of the party and, by extension, as premier. Although Klein was not widely expected to lose this vote, he had said he would resign as leader quickly if he did not get an overwhelming majority. Klein had not publicly divulged what this threshold would be but most political observers pegged it at 75%, far more than the 55.4% the premier actually received. In previous years, Klein had scored as high as 97% in support of his leadership.

There was known to be pressure from within the party to force Klein out sooner than planned. On March 23, 2006, Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Lyle Oberg was suspended from the party's legislative caucus for six months and dismissed from the Cabinet after he told constituents in Brooks that he would not urge delegates at the March 31 leadership review to support Klein. Oberg had been considered a contender for the leadership prior to this decision, but described the premier's directive regarding the June 1 deadline as a "bombshell" and infuriated fellow Tories when he told constituents "If I were the premier, I wouldn't want me sitting as a backbencher... I know where all the skeletons are." Despite this, Oberg pressed on with his leadership campaign and was re-admitted to caucus on July 25, 2006.

Political analysts believe the result of the March 31 vote can be attributed to concerns over how a "long goodbye" by a sitting premier can affect governing parties. There are still fresh memories across Canada of former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's lengthy retirement notice and a belief that this delay was the cause of party infighting in 2004 followed by reduction to a minority government in the 2004 federal election and then defeat in the 2006 election. In addition, many Albertans believe that crucial and decisive actions will need to be taken in the coming months as a result of Alberta's booming economy and massive budgetary surplus, thus they believe now is not the time for a lame duck premier to remain in office. Even worse for some, Premier Klein's retirement plans, had they been carried out as intended, would inevitably have resulted in him appointing lame duck cabinet ministers who would replace the leadership candidates only to face probable removal from the Cabinet following the leadership vote.

Format

The party has confirmed that the format for the 2006 election is to be identical to the previous leadership election held in 1992. This means it will be a one member one vote voting system in which the top three candidates from the first round will be eligible to move on to a second round, in which preferential voting will be used should all three elegible candidates stay in the race. At least one polling station will be placed in each of Alberta's 83 electoral divisions - larger rural districts may have multiple polling stations. In 1992, third place candidate Rick Orman dropped out thus leaving two candidates in the race: Klein and future Liberal leader Nancy Betkowski. Klein then defeated Betkowski.

Compared to Canadian political parties in general, and especially governing parties, there are very few restrictions regarding membership and regarding eligibility to vote in a leadership election in Alberta's PC Party. First, Alberta PC party rules do not forbid members from holding membership in rival parties. Some other Alberta parties, notably the Liberals and New Democrats do forbid their members from being members of other parties although the Alberta Alliance recently removed a similar restriction possibly in response to Ted Morton's PC leadership candidacy. Second and perhaps more significantly, the Progressive Conservatives have confirmed that as was the case in 1992 they will allow anyone who wishes to vote in the leadership election to purchase a five dollar membership right up to the polling day - memberships will even be available for purchase at the polling stations. This is very unusual in Canada - in fact no other major federal or provincial party is known to allow leadership voters to buy memberships on polling day. Even those parties which do not employ delegated leadership conventions and allow the general membership to vote for the leader usually have a deadline for purchasing memberships of no later than seven days prior to the vote.

The timing of the potential second ballot was a bit of a surprise to some people as it coincides with the start of the federal Liberal Party's leadership convention.

Declared candidates

In order to be a declared candidate, the candidate had to have their nomination papers filled out and returned to the party by October 16, 2006. Eight candidates have been declared. Of the nine initial candidates, six are former members of the Albertan Cabinet. Three of the candidates are not current MLAs, however Premier Klein has announced he will resign as the MLA for Calgary Elbow when he resigns as Premier, thus the new leader will have a vacant seat to contest in a by-election should he need one. In the order they filed their nomination papers, the candidates are:

Ed Stelmach

Ed Stelmach, the former Intergovernmental Affairs minister, announced his resignation from cabinet in accordance with Klein's directive.[1] He was the first declared candidate. Website: [2]

Supporters in caucus: 19 Guy Boutilier, Pearl Calahasen, Ray Danyluk, Hon. Iris Evans, Hector Goudreau, George Groeneveld, Carol Haley, Doug Horner, LeRoy Johnson, Phil Klein, Mel Knight, Fred Lindsay, Hon. Luke Ouellette, Lloyd Snelgrove, Ed Stelmach, Ivan Strang. Plus second ballot endorsements from three dropped candidates: David Hancock, Lyle Oberg, Mark Norris.

Lyle Oberg

Lyle Oberg, the former Transportation minister, had said he intended to resign from Cabinet by the June 1 deadline. However, as noted above Oberg was fired from Cabinet and suspended from Caucus on March 22, 2006. He pursued the leadership despite these events, and was re-admitted to caucus on July 25. Website: [3]

Supporters in caucus: 3 Hon. Guy Boutilier[4], Hung Pham[5], Lyle Oberg.

Mark Norris

Mark Norris, a former MLA who became celebrated within the party when he defeated former Tory leadership candidate-turned-Liberal leader Nancy MacBeth in Edmonton McClung in 2001. However, Norris lost his seat in the 2004 election to Liberal candidate Mo Elsalhy. Website: [6]

Supporters in caucus: 2 Carol Haley, Hon. Doug Horner.

Ted Morton

Ted Morton, a first-term MLA and former professor in the political science department of the University of Calgary. Although Morton is a backbencher, he is considered a strong contender for the leadership due to his high profile in the former Reform Party and Canadian Alliance. He is considered to be on the right of the political spectrum, and has declared his intent to privatize the Alberta public health care system and reopen the same-sex marriage debate. [7] Morton became one of two Senators-in-Waiting chosen by Albertans in a 1998 election. Website: [8]

Supporters in caucus: 2 Ted Morton, Hung Pham
Supporters in Alberta Alliance caucus: 1 Paul Hinman
Supporters in Federal Conservative caucus: 2 Rob Anders, Myron Thompson.[9]

Dave Hancock

David Hancock, former Advanced Education Minister, was one of three Edmonton MLAs to retain their seats for the Tories in the 2004 general election. He was first elected in 1997 and has held the International, Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs portfolio as well and Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Until his resignation from Cabinet to run for leader, Hancock was the Government House Leader and Minister of Advanced Education. At that time, Hancock was also the only MLA to sit on both Agenda and Prioirties and the Treasury Board committees. He is the author of the Government of Alberta 20 Stategic Business Plan setting the long range framework for the future of the province. He resigned from Cabinet in April 2005 to pursue his leadership bid on a full-time basis. Website: [10]

Supporters in caucus: 1 Dave Hancock
Supporters in Federal Conservative caucus: 1 Laurie Hawn[11].

Jim Dinning

Jim Dinning, Alberta's former Treasurer, is currently not an MLA but sits on various provincial and national boards. He is considered to be on the left of the political spectrum. Website: [12]

Supporters in caucus: 38 Cindy Ady, Moe Amery, Neil Brown, Wayne Cao, Hon. Mike Cardinal, Hon. Harvey Cenaiko, Hon. David Coutts, Alana DeLong[13], Hon. Clint Dunford, Hon. Heather Forsyth, Hon. Yvonne Fritz, Hon. Gord Graydon, Doug Griffiths, Hon. Denis Herard, Mary Anne Jablonski, Art Johnston, Hon. Ken Kowalski, Ron Liepert, Rob Lougheed[14], Thomas Lukaszuk, Hon. Ty Lund[15], Richard Magnus, Hon. Gary Mar, Richard Marz, Hon. Barry McFarland, Hon. Greg Melchin, Len Mitzel, Frank Oberle, Ray Prins, Hon. Rob Renner, Dave Rodney, George Rogers, Shiraz Shariff, Hon. Ron Stevens, Janis Tarchuk, Hon. George VanderBurg, Len Webber, Hon. Gene Zwozdesky.[[16]]
Supporters in Federal Conservative caucus: 2 Deepak Obhrai, Bob Mills[17], Lee Richardson.[18]

Victor Doerksen

Victor Doerksen, the MLA for Red Deer South and former Minister for Innovation and Science, announced his candidacy on August 17 after resigning from the Cabinet on August 15. Website: [19]

Supporters in caucus: 1 Victor Doerksen.

Gary McPherson

Gary McPherson, former chair of the Premier's Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities, is a quadripalegic since a childhood bout with polio. He announced his candidacy on August 18. Website: [20]

Supporters in caucus: 0 .

First-round results

Candidate Votes Percentage
Dinning 29,470 30.2%
Morton 25,614 26.2%
Stelmach 14,967 15.3%
Oberg 11,638 11.9%
Hancock 7,595 7.8%
Norris 6,789 6.9%
Doerksen 873 0.9%
McPherson 744 0.8%
TOTAL 97,690 100.0%

Second-round voting

It will be held on December 2nd. No candidate achieved the more than the 50% requirement, so the top three candidates, Jim Dinning, Ted Morton and Ed Stelmach will head for a second round. Lyle Oberg, Dave Hancock, and Mark Norris have thrown their support behind Ed Stelmach after knowing they would not advance to the second round. McPherson threw his support to Dinning, and Doerksen chose not to endorse any of the three remaining candidates.

Results of ballot first choice.

Candidate Votes Percentage
Dinning 46,270 38.9%
Stelmach 40,093 33.7%
Morton 32,630 27.4%
TOTAL 118,993 100%

74 out of 83 ridings reporting according to CHQR[21]

Voters indicated their first and second choice on the ballot. If no candidate receives 50% plus one of votes cast after first preferences are counted the third place candidate will be dropped and the second choices of his voters will be tabulated.

Instant runoff results with second choice of Morton supporters.

Candidate Votes Percentage
Dinning 0 0.0%
Stelmach 0 0.0%
TOTAL 0 100%

0 out of 83 ridings reporting.

Withdrawn candidates

Alana DeLong

Alana DeLong is a Calgary member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), and the only woman in the race. She dropped out before handing in her nomination papers on October 11.[22]

Timeline

  • March 15 - Klein orders all cabinet ministers who intend to run in the leadership election to succeed him to resign from cabinet by June 1st 2006.[24]
  • March 22 - Transport Minister Lyle Oberg, a possible contender for the party's leadership, is ousted from Cabinet and suspended from caucus for six months after making critical comments about Klein to his riding association and saying he won't ask delegates from his riding to support Klein in the March 31 leadership review.[25]
  • March 31 - 1,500 delegates to the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party convention vote on Klein's leadership in a secret ballot. Klein had indicated he'd resign immediately if he does not receive a "substantial majority" in the leadership review.[26] Klein's leadership is endorsed by only 55.4% of delegates, described as a "crushing blow" to the Premier who asks for a few days to decide whether to submit his resignation.[27]
  • April 4 - In a press conference, Klein announces that he will write party officials a formal letter in September asking them to commence a leadership election. He stated that he expects a new leader will be chosen in October or November 2006 and that he would leave office in December.[28]
  • July 25 - Leadership candidate Oberg is re-admitted to caucus.
  • August 17 - Former Innovation and Science Minister Doerksen announces his candidacy. Premier Klein confirms he will tender his resignation as leader on or around September 14, and that he will resign as the MLA for Calgary Elbow upon leaving the premiership. [31]
  • August 18 - Former chair of the Premier's Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities, Gary McPherson, announces his candidacy. [32]
  • September 20 - Klein resigns as leader of the party, officially opening the Conservative leadership election. [33]
  • November 25 - First ballot of the leadership election. Because no candidate received greater than 50% plus one of the votes, a second ballot will be held; Dinning, Morton and Stelmach will be on the second ballot.
  • December 2 - Second ballot of the leadership election. Polls were open between 9:00am and 7:00pm MST. The election was between Dinning, Morton, and Stelmach, the candidate with the most votes will become the 13th Premier of Alberta, following the resignation of Premier Ralph Klein.

Trivia

When Klein's successor assumes the premiership, the Progressive Conservatives will become the first party in Albertan history to have had four premiers. All of the previous governing parties (the Liberals, United Farmers and Social Credit) were defeated in the elections immediately following their third premiers' assuming the office.


Template:Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership 2006

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