EDMONTON – Just eight months ago, the idea of Wildrose leader Danielle Smith joining the Progressive Conversatives was so outrageous, it was an April Fool’s joke.
On April 1, 2014, the Wildrose Party sent out a news release announcing Smith would be running for the leadership of the PCs.
The notice, meant as a joke, said Smith had already secured endorsements from “several high-profile PC members” and former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel. The names of the PC MLAs listed in the faux news release were all spelled incorrectly.
“When I said that no one person could fix the PC Party, obviously, I wasn’t counting myself. I got this,” a quote from Smith in the spoof reads.
However, on Monday night, details started to emerge about a possible merger that took the punch out of that April Fool’s joke.
Alberta’s opposition Wildrose caucus was expected to meet Tuesday to discuss merging with Premier Jim Prentice’s Progressive Conservatives, according to sources.
The former president of the Wildrose Party believes Smith will be one of the party members to defect to the PCs.
Several people on Twitter pointed out the contradiction on Tuesday, as news of a potential merger — or defections — swirled.
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