Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said he’s been seeking to unite his party and the Progressive Conservatives since shortly after the 2015 election in a Friday morning interview with Global News.
“In the AGM, in November, over a year ago, I asked Albertans and Wildrose members to think about how we could bring the parties together – we can bring the conservatives together. It’s very important to do so,” Jean said.
READ MORE: Wildrose’s Brian Jean ‘prepared to step down’ and run for a merged Alberta conservative party
On Thursday, Jean announced he’s prepared to step down as Wildrose leader and seek the leadership of a single conservative party if his members approve a unity agreement with the PC party.
“I’ve clearly heard from people that they want to unify conservatives into one single party,” Jean said. “They don’t want to take a chance on another NDP government.”
Last summer, the Wildrose leader and his party said they were focused on consolidating conservatives under the Wildrose banner.
“Any Albertans who want a conservative movement certain of victory in 2019, their safest, their only option is to build and strengthen Wildrose…let’s not get bogged down in distractions,” Jean said on July 7.
The July statement was made one day after former federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney announced his plans to seek the PC leadership under the campaign “Unite the Right.”
“The fact remains, Wildrose under Brian Jean is already set to defeat the NDP government in 2019 and has a growing campaign war chest to do so,” Wildrose deputy director of communications Samantha Johnston said in a statement in June.
READ MORE: Brian Jean sees Wildrose building towards government
During a his speech at the Wildrose AGM in October, Jean said his party pitched exploratory meet and greets with the PCs in the past only to be rejected. At that time, he said, the PCs were in flux.
“That party still remains confused about its values, its principles and what it actually stands for. They dithered on opposing the carbon tax and still haven’t outright rejected it,” he said.
“Right now, their party is rife with uncertainty, division, and instability.”
Jean said his party would forge ahead.
“We cannot lose focus on making our party the true home to all like-minded, free-enterprise Albertans.”
READ MORE: Wildrose leader Brian Jean blasts NDP at party’s AGM: ‘They’ve waged a war on business’
Despite accusations from Albertans that Jean has changed his stance on unifying the two parties, the Wildrose leader remained steadfast Friday that his message has been consistent.
“I have not flip-flopped. I’ve been very consistent all the way through this that I’m interested in unity and I’m very interested in moving forward with what WR members want.”
Jean added possible unification of the Wildrose and PC parties is “totally different” than when then-Wildrose leader Danielle Smith crossed the floor to join the PCs in 2014.
“What I’m doing is putting to the members different options,” Jean said.
Jean said he will be travelling across the province to hold town halls with his team over the next few months to solicit feedback and “seek a clear mandate.”
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