Paul Hinman named interim leader of Alberta’s new Wildrose Independence Party

Alberta’s newly formed Wildrose Independence Party (WIP) has named Paul Hinman as its interim leader.

Members of the Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta and Wexit Alberta voted to merge their parties in June, forming the new party.

In a news release, the WIP said Hinman will be responsible for leading the party through its early development, founding policy convention and the party’s first leadership election.

“The time for asking Ottawa for a fair deal is over,” the release stated. “The time for half-hearted conservatism is over.

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“The time has come for we (sic) as Albertans to stand up for ourselves and put our house in order. It’s time to radically alter our relationship with Ottawa.”

Hinman is a former MLA and served as the leader of the Alberta Alliance and as the founding leader of the original Wildrose Party from 2005-2009.

“My mission is to put the new Wildrose Independence Party on the playing field and make sure that Albertans can become fully autonomous,” Hinman said in a news release. “If we can grow this party fast enough, hopefully, Premier Kenney will move on these key issues and we will not have to wait till 2023 to start.”

2:15 Can Wexit actually happen?