Alberta Party leader resigns

EDMONTON – Alberta Party Leader Glenn Taylor has resigned.

Members of the province’s newest political party have been asked to decide whether the organization should merge with another group, become a think-tank, or fold.

Three months after the party failed to win a seat in the April 23 provincial election, Alberta Party president Brian Thiessen confirmed Taylor has resigned and the party is in the process of appointing an interim leader.

Taylor’s resignation will be effective Sept. 22, at the party’s annual general meeting.

A leadership race has not been scheduled. Members who attend the general meeting will be asked to decide the fate of the party.

Ideas for the future will be culled from a survey distributed to members Sunday, which asks, among other things, whether the party should pursue a merger with the Alberta Liberals or dissolve.

“We’re always open to our membership and we don’t fear good, blunt feedback,” Thiessen said Monday.

“We’ve had a bunch of ideas presented to us, we’ve had party members come up with different ideas about how the party should proceed. No thought is too radical.”

Taylor could not be reached for comment. Thiessen said Taylor has accepted a new job in his hometown of Hinton, where he was mayor until he stepped down in January to run for the Alberta Party.

Edmonton-Rutherford candidate Michael Walters, who returned to his work as a community organizer after the election, said Alberta’s political landscape changed dramatically since the Tories elected Alison Redford as their leader

With ties to former federal leader Joe Clark, Redford is widely viewed as a progressive, centrist politician.

“I personally think the Alberta Party and the Liberal Party should merge and elect a new leader that has the ability to run a truly authentic centrist party that can provide some competition to the Progressive Conservatives,” Walters said.

He hasn’t ruled out a bid for elected office, but has no plans to run again at the provincial level.

“I am grateful for the direction the PC party is taking today, and I am happy to support their new approach to policy development and citizen engagement,” Walters said. “I am also passionate about Edmonton and making this city a great city.”

He declined to comment on rumours that he has been asked to run for a seat on Edmonton’s city council.

Walters said the idea of transforming into a think-tank has its roots in the early days of the Reboot Alberta movement.

Initially, people who attended the conferences debated between starting a think-tank or launching a political party; the latter idea won out.

Walters doesn’t support the idea, but Edmonton-Glenora candidate Sue Huff said it is a serious option.

“We have always been an idea-generator, it doesn’t seem like a jump to me that we would play a role in finding out what’s important to people and bringing that forward to government,” Huff said.

“All of the options are going to be seriously considered, and there could be others. It will be interesting to see what the membership does want to see happen.”