PC Alberta Leadership Race

Smoky Lake Signal Article No. 184
(August 17, 2011)

PC Alberta has to be congratulated on their publication of statements from the six PC leadership hopefuls - Gary Mar, Doug Griffiths, Rick Orman, Alison Redford, Doug Horner and Ted Morton.  The first part of each candidate's statement offers what appears to be an independent view on each candidate's experience and qualifications for the job of leader of Alberta's Progressive Conservative Party and Premier of the Province of Alberta.  In the second section of the statement, each candidate offers a personal perspective on why he/she is best qualified and why they should be Premier.  The third section of the statement offers the candidate's policies and priorities in the form of a Policy Statement.  Following are my assessments of the six candidate statements:

GARY MAR - Gary Mar has well over 15 years government experience, including a number of important cabinet positions and a number of years as Alberta's representative in Washington.  Mr. Mar indicates that parental roots have a lot to do with his values and his approach to government should he be elected to the PC leadership post.  Mr. Mar's Policy Statement (offers 9 pronouncements) which is all well and good but what I want from Mr. Mar are clear ideas on what his legislative priorities are going to be and what he wants to achieve prior to the next provincial election.  According to some polls, Mr. Mar is among the most popular of the six candidates, so if elected he will be running the show from the sidelines for a number of months and there is a by-election.  My prediction is that Mr. Mar will be one of three in the run-off election on October 1st.

DOUG GRIFFITHS - Doug Griffiths is a young, ambitious candidate with limited experience in any executive position in government or elsewhere.  In my view Mr. Griffiths' Policy Statement lacks clear, specific ideas on how to deal with Alberta's economic and social challenges.  I feel Mr. Griffiths will be dropped from the final ballot election on October 1st - but wait, in 10 years Mr. Griffiths will be a formidable political voice in Alberta.

RICK ORMAN - Rick Orman is another candidate who is not a sitting member of the Alberta Legislature, so if elected leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party, Mr. Orman will be pulling the strings from the sidelines, at least for the first while.  When Mr. Orman was in government he held a number of cabinet posts including the powerful Minister of Energy position.  Mr. Orman lost his bid to be Premier in 1992 and currently maintains strong, influential ties in the energy sector, particularly in southern Alberta.  Mr. Orman's Policy Statement is generally, very general but he does cover all the bases.  If there is one short-coming for Mr. Orman he is not exposing himself to rural Alberta, particularly northern Alberta - he has not visited Smoky Lake!

ALISON REDFORD - Alison Redford entered Alberta politics in 2008 and was named Justice Minister and Attorney General - in 2010 Alison Redford was appointed Political Minister for Calgary - Alison Redford's experience also includes important national and international assignments including, policy advisor to the Mulroney government.  Alison Redford's Policy Statement focuses on three areas:  Health Care where she wants to establish community health care clinics; Education where stable funding will be offered to avoid local school disruptions; and Energy where innovative "externships" will be offered to export and develop energy technology internationally.  In my view, Alison Redford will be one of the three final candidates on October 1st, for leader of the PC party - and yes, she has visited Smoky Lake!

DOUG HORNER - Doug Horner is another candidate that has visited Smoky Lake and has garnered a lot of support in rural Alberta.  Mr. Horner was first elected 10 years ago and has held two important cabinet posts:  Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Minister of Advanced Education and Technology.  Mr. Horner's Policy Statement offers 5 themes; specific policy statements are forthcoming.  Mr. Horner's themes are quite interesting but I want to see concrete ideas that Mr. Horner will implement if he is chosen as leader.  Mr. Horner's chances are good to be on the final ballot but most of his support will come from northern Alberta - so who knows if he will get support in the urban centers?

TED MORTON - Ted Morton has a particularly interesting background in politics - first elected 2004, Mr. Morton held two important cabinet posts:  Minister of Sustainable Resource Development and Minister of Finance and Enterprise.  Mr. Morton also was closely associated with the former Alliance Party and appears to be a stanch right-wing fiscal conservative.  In my view Mr. Morton's Platform Statement is based on two themes - fiscal conservatism and bringing together of the two conservative parties (the PCs and the right-wing Wildrose Party) into one cohesive group.  I don't think I'm exaggerating Mr. Morton's philosophical perspectives so only time will tell if two very distinct right of center philosophies can be merged - remember what happened in Canada's political movements; the Reform, the Alliance and now the Conservative Party of Canada which wiped out much of the "progressive conservative" movement.  Mr. Morton has not visited Smoky Lake.