The president of the Alberta Liberal Party acknowledges it is “a challenging time for our party and for politics in this province” after no one decided to take a stab at becoming the party’s new leader.
The deadline to put names forward for the race was Friday afternoon.
“There were several interested candidates, but some could not make the commitment for personal reasons,” Helen McMenamin said in a news release.
“Other young leaders in the party feel they need more time to learn and grow while building the party in other ways before they step into the leadership role.”
Despite the lack of candidates, McMenamin said the party was “encouraged by the support we saw for the Alberta Liberal Party” in the lead-up to what should have been a leadership race.
“People believe in our message, our values and our policies,” she said. “There is genuine interest in building the party and continuing our good work.
“We see signs of a brighter future for the Alberta Liberal Party. We will keep working towards that future and a better tomorrow for Albertans.”
READ MORE: Alberta Liberals announce new interim leader: John Roggeveen
McMenamin said John Roggeveen will continue to serve as the party’s interim leader.
The Liberals did not win a single seat in the 2019 provincial election when David Khan was the party’s leader. In the 2015 election, the party only managed to win a single seat in the legislature.
READ MORE: Alberta Liberal Party says leader, David Khan, stepping down to accept new job in law
The party said in the wake of nobody running to become leader, the Alberta Liberals’ board of directors “will discuss the next steps for the party in the coming days.”