December byelection to determine if Jason Kenney sits in Alberta legislature

United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney is getting his chance to gain a seat in the Alberta legislature.

Premier Rachel Notley called a byelection Thursday in the constituency of Calgary-Lougheed for Dec. 14.

The riding has been vacant since Nov. 1 when United Conservative member of the legislature Dave Rodney resigned to give Kenney a chance to win a seat.

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READ MORE: Alberta MLA Rodney says giving up seat for Kenney was his idea

Earlier this week, Kenney was acclaimed as his party’s candidate in the constituency.

Kenney is a former federal Conservative cabinet minister who successfully merged Alberta’s Wildrose and Progressive Conservatives this year.

READ MORE: Jason Kenney wins United Conservative Party leadership

He won a vote last month to become leader of the new party.

Calgary doctor Phillip van der Merwe is the sole candidate for the NDP nomination and is expected to be acclaimed this weekend.