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Prentice named Premier-designate of Alberta

After a whirlwind couple of months keeping up with all the highs and lows of the battle for leadership of the provincial Progressive Conservative party, Alberta finally has a man in place who promises to bring “positive change” to a party in disarray
Jim Prentice (near), in Bonnyville last month for an open forum, was elected as leader of the Prgressive Conservative Party on Saturday.
Jim Prentice (near), in Bonnyville last month for an open forum, was elected as leader of the Prgressive Conservative Party on Saturday.

After a whirlwind couple of months keeping up with all the highs and lows of the battle for leadership of the provincial Progressive Conservative party, Alberta finally has a man in place who promises to bring “positive change” to a party in disarray as former federal cabinet minister Jim Prentice ran out to a landslide victory in Saturday's election.

In what has been revealed to be a record-low in regards to voter turnout, Prentice swept aside both Thomas Lukaszuk and Ric McIver, receiving a staggering 77 per cent of the party members' votes to be named the Premier-designate of Alberta.

Speaking to media following the revelation of his victory, Prentice promised to rebuild what he described as a “broken party” once he is formally introduced to the legislature later this year.

“I want to be candid with the people of Alberta, with those of you who are here tonight, for those of you who are watching and for those of you who will read these words over time,” Prentice said. “The government has lost its way, and watching from afar, I was as disappointed and frustrated as anyone.”

He added, “I wasn't at the table when some (of the questionable decisions) were made in recent years, but I am at the table now.”

“I will restore a commitment to fiscal prudence and ethical conduct in Alberta. I will enforce the rules and I will make tough choices when they need to be made and stand by them. I will provide the kind of principled leadership that Alberta deserves.”

Prentice garnered over 17,000 votes in the election with his competitors McIver and Lukaszuk collecting 2,742 and 2,681 votes respectively.

Regarded as the heavy favourite heading into the race, Prentice was backed by 50 of the 59 MLA's currently in office to lead the party into a new period of trust and dependability. Local MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake Genia Leskiw was one of those to throw her support behind Prentice and she believes the provincial PC's now have “the right man” in place to revitalize the broken party.

“I'm ecstatic with the results of this weekend's leadership election,” Leskiw told the Nouvelle on Monday. “I came out very early on with my support for Mr. Prentice and moving forward now I'm hoping that the promises he made (on the campaign trail) come to fruition. Everybody is excited about what the future brings, we're looking forward to cleaning up whatever misconceptions there are out there and working to put the bests interests of the province and its people first.”

She added, “I'm excited – it's a great time to be involved in Alberta politics right now.”

Having put together what he calls his “transition team”, which includes such prominent provincial presences as former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel, Tim Hearn, Sarah Raiss, Robert Seidel and MLA for West Yellowhead Robin Campbell, Prentice said he is confident of making the changes needed to return good government to Alberta.

“My election of the leader of this party marks the beginning of a commitment to integrity and acceptance of responsibility in this province,” Prentice said. “Albertans expect excellence and they expect performance from those that are in positions of trust, and they will not accept excuses.”

“These values, ladies and gentlemen, must apply to the government of Alberta, but first and foremost (they) must apply to our party,” he added.

Wildrose leader Danielle Smith last night congratulated Prentice on winning the PC leadership race and becoming Premier-designate of Alberta, but warned he had much work to do to ensure his party regains the trust of the public.

“Mr. Prentice has a tremendous road ahead of him in order to rebuild trust with Albertans and get a grip on a government that has spiraled out of control,” Smith told media over the weekend. “Albertans will now look to him to start repairing the government's damaged reputation and making progress on the many challenges we face as a province.”

Wildrose MLA for St. Paul – Lac La Biche – Two Hills Shayne Saskiw mocked the record low voter turnout experienced over the weekend, stating the numbers only served to show that Albertans have lost faith in the provincial PCs.

“I could sense that few people were interested in the PC leadership race, but the mere 23,000 people who voted is less than what you would see at a poorly attended football game,” Saskiw told media over the weekend. “This is a shockingly low number – despite them literally giving away PC memberships. I think this demonstrates that many Albertans believe a change of leadership cannot change the culture of entitlement that exists throughout the whole organization.”

“The Wildrose has been busy listening to Albertans and creating policy on a principled basis by putting Albertans first. If Albertans give us the responsibility of governing in 2016, we will be ready,” he added.

Head of the Alberta Party Greg Clark claimed the fact that Prentice is set to overlook the open seat in Calgary Elbow for his by-election shows the provincial PCs “still has the same sense of entitlement and lack of respect for tax dollars.”

“The PC government didn't change last night,” Clark said. “Jim Prentice needs a seat and there is an open seat in Calgary Elbow. Why should taxpayers have to foot the bill for a needless by-election when there is already an open seat?”

Clark goes on to claim that a by-election would likely cost the province well over $100,000.

It is expected that Prentice will announce a by-election in another Calgary riding, with Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill MLA Neil Brown offering to leave his seat so Prentice can run, while it is believed he will hold several more throughout the province as a way of bringing members of his transition team into legislature.

Speaking at the open forum in Bonnyville last month, Prentice also committed to holding a provincial election sometime in 2016.

He will soon be sworn is as Alberta's 16th Premier.

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