The list of candidates to replace Jason Kenney as leader of Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP) continues to lengthen even though eligibility rules have not yet been finalized.
Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche UCP MLA Brian Jean will launch his campaign on June 15 in Edmonton. Jean was the leader of the Opposition and the last leader of the Wildrose Party from 2015 to 2017 before it merged with the Progressive Conservatives. Prior to this, he was a Conservative MP for Fort McMurray–Athabasca from 2006 to 2014.
Jean’s latest stint as an MLA began March 16, 2022, after a by-election win. Before this, he had briefly left politics in 2018 when he resigned from his seat after losing his bid for UCP leadership in 2017.
Alberta’s Children’s Services Minister Rebecca Schulz stepped down on June 14 to run for leadership and formally launched her campaign that afternoon. The MLA for Calgary-Shaw told Postmedia that people have had enough of divisive politics and the party needs a united front to defeat Rachel Notley and the NDP in the next election.
“We need somebody who will invite party membership back to the decision-making table and who will not only be competent and disciplined, but also show compassion and common sense in addition to conservative values,” she said.
Chestermere-Strathmore UCP MLA Leela Aheer announced her candidacy on June 7 on a morning radio talk show. Aheer was first elected as a Wildrose Party MLA in 2015. After winning her second term in 2019 with the UCP, she was named Alberta’s minister of culture, multiculturalism, and status of women.
Aheer lost her cabinet post in 2021 shortly after publicly criticizing leader Jason Kenney for dining with three ministers on an Edmonton patio linked to government office space, nicknamed the Sky Palace. At the time, it was in violation of COVID-19 health regulations.
Todd Loewen announced his leadership bid the same day as Aheer. The Independent MLA for Central Peace-Notley was booted from UCP caucus in May 2021 after challenging Kenney’s leadership in a letter posted to Facebook. He was first elected as a Wildrose MLA in 2015.
At his campaign launch in the town of Valleyview, 350 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, Loewen said he aimed to “build a movement for the little guy.”
“Albertans fully expect us to get back to the fundamentals of good accountable and ethical government. It’s time to get big money influences out of politics,” he said.
Former finance minister Travis Toews launched his campaign on June 4 at the Stampede grounds in Calgary. He said his goal is to return the party to the vision it held at its founding in 2019.
Toews’ February budget projected a surplus of $511 million in 2022-23 and was only the second balanced Alberta budget since 2008. He resigned his finance minister post days prior to his campaign launch to enable him to run in the race.
On June 3, former Wildrose candidate Bill Rock entered the race. Rock is the mayor of Amisk, a village of 206 people 220 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. He finished third place when he ran for the Wildrose in 2015. Electors in Wetaskiwin-Camrose gave him 21.5 percent of the vote.
In an interview with Postmedia, Rock called himself “the wild card” and said he wants to be a loud voice for rural Albertans, highlighting their concerns about rural crime, hospital and ambulance services, public school funding, and infrastructure deficits.
Smith is currently seeking the nomination in Livingstone-McLeod. The 51-year-old was president of the Alberta Enterprise Group and worked in the media for years, most recently as a radio talk show host. She was also the director of provincial affairs in Alberta for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
