The party is in the process of selecting a new leader, but the Friday evening deadline for nominations came and went with no news from officials, or any prospective candidates, as to who might be on the ballot come the September vote.
As of Saturday, the party had not announced any nominees and the link to its “leadership” page had been removed from the homepage of its website.
According to Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt, it could be the death knell for Alberta’s longest-standing political party — one that formed the first four governments after the province’s inception, holding office from 1905 until 1921.
“At what point do you shut down the party? You’re not raising money, you don’t have any MLAs, no one wants to be your leader. At a certain point you just have to wind this up, don’t you?” Bratt said. “Is it a party if no one shows up?”
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According to quarterly fundraising reports released by Elections Alberta, the Liberal Party’s fundraising has been minuscule this year.
Through the first two quarters of the year, the Liberals raised just shy of $37,000, while the UCP and NDP raised $1.4 million and 2.5 million, respectively. The Liberals’ fundraising numbers also fall behind the year-to-date amounts raised by other smaller parties like the Alberta Party, which collected about $60,000, and the Pro-Life Alberta Political Association, which raised $162,000.
The party’s popularity has been on a downward trend since Decore’s departure in 1994, holding onto small official Opposition caucuses through 2000s before falling to third-party status after winning just five seats in the 2012 election under leader Raj Sherman — who unsuccessfully attempted to add his name to the UCP leadership ballot this year. The fall continued as the party earned a single seat in 2015 under interim leader David Swann, the last Alberta Liberal to hold a seat in the legislature.
(ironically, I think the liberal party might be more popular in Alberta than in Saskatchewan)
As of Saturday, the party had not announced any nominees and the link to its “leadership” page had been removed from the homepage of its website.
According to Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt, it could be the death knell for Alberta’s longest-standing political party — one that formed the first four governments after the province’s inception, holding office from 1905 until 1921.
“At what point do you shut down the party? You’re not raising money, you don’t have any MLAs, no one wants to be your leader. At a certain point you just have to wind this up, don’t you?” Bratt said. “Is it a party if no one shows up?”
'Is it a party if no one shows up?': Deadline passes, no leadership candidates revealed for Alberta Liberal Party — Calgary Herald
'You're not raising money, you don't have any MLAs, no one wants to be your leader. At a certain point you just have to wind this up, don't you?'
According to quarterly fundraising reports released by Elections Alberta, the Liberal Party’s fundraising has been minuscule this year.
Through the first two quarters of the year, the Liberals raised just shy of $37,000, while the UCP and NDP raised $1.4 million and 2.5 million, respectively. The Liberals’ fundraising numbers also fall behind the year-to-date amounts raised by other smaller parties like the Alberta Party, which collected about $60,000, and the Pro-Life Alberta Political Association, which raised $162,000.
The party’s popularity has been on a downward trend since Decore’s departure in 1994, holding onto small official Opposition caucuses through 2000s before falling to third-party status after winning just five seats in the 2012 election under leader Raj Sherman — who unsuccessfully attempted to add his name to the UCP leadership ballot this year. The fall continued as the party earned a single seat in 2015 under interim leader David Swann, the last Alberta Liberal to hold a seat in the legislature.
(ironically, I think the liberal party might be more popular in Alberta than in Saskatchewan)
