Alberta UCP leadership results: Smith leads after first ballot, Aheer drops off
Leela Aheer #LeelaAheer
Politics in Alberta are about to get even more interesting, if you can believe it.
After months of politicking and posturing, Alberta will finally see a new premier crowned Thursday as United Conservative Party (UCP) members elect a new leader.
Nearly 124,000 members of the United Conservative Party will select their new leader tonight from Calgary’s BMO Centre. On Thursday afternoon, the UCP announced they will not begin to announce the results until 7:30 p.m..
The candidate who emerges victorious will immediately become Alberta’s premier-designate and will replace the embattled Jason Kenney, who announced his intention to resign the leader’s seat in May following tepid support in a review of his leadership.
The winner could be officially sworn in as premier as early as Friday.
LIVE BLOG: Join in the conversation with Edmonton Journal digital editor Trevor Robb and a team of Postmedia journalists as the results come in.
Watch Live: UCP leadership results 8:45 p.m. No clear winner after three ballots, Loewen, Sahwney and Aheer drop off
8:35 p.m. No clear winner, Sahwney drops off 8:30 p.m. Smith leads after first ballot, Aheer drops off
The results of the first ballot are in and no candidate has been able to achieve a majority. Chestermere-Strathmore MLA Leela Aheer has dropped out of the running.
4:40 p.m. Calm before the storm at BMO Centre
By Dylan Short
BMO Centre remains quiet as ballots continue to be counted several hours before Albertans will learn who will be their next premier.
Results were expected to be announced around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, however, the UCP said they expected the announcement to come around 7:30 p.m.
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“The mail-in ballot count is moving along well but there are over 80,000 of them. In the count room are more than 250 volunteers who are carefully counting each ballot, overseen by scrutineers from the leadership campaigns. We are adding more volunteers to accelerate progress,” read a statement from the party shortly before 2 p.m.
“We believe it is more important to ensure accuracy than to rush the program. We will share more updates as the day progresses.”
Shortly after 4:30 p.m. the stage was set in one of the main halls of BMO Centre on Stampede Park with media and party staffers beginning to mill about and stake their places on the floor. A stage draped in blue lights and a large Alberta flag was flanked by two large screens displaying UCP displays. Music played a low dull and several bars were waiting to welcome their first patrons of the evening.
4:30 p.m. Party unity should be priority for next UCP leader
By Anna Junker
The biggest issue the new leader of the United Conservative Party will face is unity within the ranks, political scientists say.
No matter who of the seven candidates takes the helm after Thursday’s results, party unity will be the number one issue for the new leader to tackle, said Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt. Over the last few weeks and months, some MLAs have been announcing whether or not they will run in the upcoming 2023 provincial election.
“I think a lot of them are holding off to see who wins. Now, I have been tracking MLA turnover and I’ve got records back to 1971 and there’s usually 15 to 20 per cent turnover from one election to the next election of people who don’t run again for a variety of reasons,” Bratt said.
“But there are years when there’s a massive spike. This could be one of those elections where there is a large spike. And that would be interesting given that, especially in the UCP caucus, most of them were not elected prior to 2019. And so it is rare to serve one term, and then leave. Usually, we start to get that when governments are tired so I’ll be watching for the announcements, not just the backbenchers but of cabinet ministers as well.”
Read the full story here
Watch Party
A watch party is being held at the Edmonton Inn and Conference Centre, 1834 Kingsway NW, Thursday with former city councillor and UCP Edmonton-Castle Downs candidate Jon Dziadyk.
Doors open at 5:00 p.m. The event is expected to start around 5:30 p.m. and end sometime after 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $45 and come with a tax receipt.
The Race
Seven candidates are vying for the top job. The party is using a preferential voting system, in which members will rank candidates. If no one gets a simple majority in the first ballot, the candidate with the least preferred votes will be removed, and their voters’ second-preference votes are then rolled into the other candidates’ counts in subsequent ballots, until a winner is chosen.
Leela Aheer, former culture, multiculturalism and status of women minister 
The former UCP cabinet minister and MLA for Chestermere-Strathmore is vying for the province’s top job, competing against the man who first gave her an opportunity as an elected official, Brian Jean, and the woman who sparked the situation that opened that door, Danielle Smith. Aheer’s platform focuses on multiple issues she’s heard about from Albertans on the campaign trail: health, education, inflation, seniors care and AISH benefits, topics she said Albertans are concerned about and engaged with. Read their full profile here.
Brian Jean, Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche MLA 
Jean, who co-founded the UCP, took a break from politics when he resigned his seat as MLA in March 2018, months after losing the UCP leadership race to Premier Jason Kenney in 2017. He re-entered provincial politics in March, after winning a byelection for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche. If elected as leader, the first thing he promises to do is open up constitutional negotiations, while focusing on the other issues. Read their full profile here.
MLA Todd Loewen, Central-Peace Notley MLA, Independent 
The Central Peace-Notley MLA hasn’t drawn the attention of the other candidates for the premier’s job, but insists reflecting the views of those who elected him is most important to him. He says those he’s met with have cited the performance of Alberta Health Services, the province’s relationship with the federal government, the UCP’s response to COVID-19 and the rising cost of living as issues of note. Read their full profile here.
Rajan Sawhney, MLA for Calgary North-East 
Sawhney argues her leadership platform is genuine and borne of her experience working close to Alberta’s most vulnerable. And her behind-the scenes record, she said, speaks for itself, though quietly. She also points to what she calls a principled, against-the-party-grain attitude by noting she’s calling for an independent public inquiry into her government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read their full profile here.
Rebecca Schulz, MLA for Calgary-Shaw 
The Calgary-Shaw MLA and former children’s services minister said Albertans have been frustrated for a long time and she would stand up for the province and its priorities, vowing to build alliances and relationships with other provinces as opposed to being a lone wolf. Schulz, who calls herself a fiscal conservative, has experience working with Ottawa in helping negotiate the $4-billion deal this past year for $10-a-day child care. Read their full profile here.
Danielle Smith, former Wildrose Party leader 
Smith has dominated the leadership race by railing against the federal government and COVID-19 rules, buttressing the argument for her flagship platform promise of an Alberta sovereignty act. The former media personality and Wildrose leader is the perceived frontrunner, drawing the most media coverage and criticism, and largely defining the focus of an anti-establishment UCP base in the summer contest. Read their full profile here.
Travis Toews, former finance minister 
In a recent interview with Postmedia, the former finance minister said the party will need to quickly shift focus to beating Rachel Notley and the NDP in next year’s general election and continuing to build on positive aspects of what has been achieved since his party formed government three years ago. If he is successful, he said he will turn his attention to fixing health-care issues on his first day in his new job. Read their full profile here.
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