Wither the Alberta Party

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Albertans had made up their mind, and delivered unto Jason Kenney a strong mandate to govern. Meanwhile, the main opposition parties, the NDP and the Alberta Party both saw their support, in terms of actual votes, increase; in the case of the latter, significantly. "300%!" Their website cheered. But alas, they all lost seats. In the case of the Alberta Party, all...

So where do they go from here? How can they go anywhere from here?

This is without question the worst possible outcome for the Alberta Party. If they could trade half the votes they received provincially for Greg Clark to get back in the legislature, they almost certainly would. Clark was the best asset the party had. He was a tireless advocate, crossing the province regularly to promote the party's (his) views. Why would anyone book him as a former MLA? Why would he even bother trying? Judging by his twitter account, he has stopped trying, at least for now.

Mandel, the elder responsible for the party's misfortune, has yet to resign. I imagine he's somewhere in Edmonton now, holding his breath for the awaited news that David Khan has finally resigned as liberal leader, thereby allowing him to start his retirement anew, safe in the thought he wasn't the first to go. Perhaps it hasn't dawned on him yet that there's an election on...


Update

Clearly, you may have been noticing by now that I've been finishing a number of incomplete essays. Being a teacher is incredibly taxing on time, and beyond that, I've brutal attention problems that usually prevent me from finishing anything. That being said, I've at least been able to leave my past columns unadulterated, while having room to comment on them after. So I will here.

Over the past several months, I have simply been under a growing impression that the Alberta Party's campaign may have been hijacked into nothing more than a spoiler effort. Their campaign during the election was more tone-deaf and toothless than the NDP's, and given that Clark and Mandel are both now safely ensconced in UCP sinecures, it's not hard to wonder if their hearts were really in it. Moreover, UCP behaviour in the year they have been in office has been astonishingly corrupt, partisan and patronizing, and I can scarce believe that they would reward anybody who hadn't done them a favour.

What is left of the Alberta Party seems to have imploded. Its fundraising efforts are worse than the Liberal Party's (though in fairness, the Alberta Liberals are a timeless, perpetual-motion machine that will go on as long as its organizers draw breath). Its once significant social media presence has evaporated, both at a central and grassroots level. Its once hyperactive twitter account is averaging less than a post a day, not counting retweets - mostly of form letter announcements concerning their CAs. Nobody is talking about the Alberta Party anymore, except nerds, and as a joke, and rarely at that.

Is it really over for them? They do have an interim leader. They are hosting an AGM in Calgary in early April. They don't seem to have lost any Constituency Associations. Maybe there's still life in that party. There's certainly a place in Alberta for them. They did well during the last election, and had some great candidates who exceeded the low expectations set by their horrible leader. Given the pace at which UCP becomes mired in scandal and disaster, there's undoubtedly room for a less conservative conservative party to become secure and vital. If not, I'm sure Rachel Notley and Jason Kenney are both looking forward to an "us vs. them" 2023 election.